Bill Evans Trio – At Shelly’s Manne-Hole

An evening in Hollywood

In May 1963, Bill Evans played Shelly’s Manne-Hole, the Hollywood club associated with drummer Shelly Manne. The drummer on this recording, however, is Larry Bunker, with Chuck Israels on bass. The name above the door and the musicians on stage tell two different stories. This is a trio distinct from the celebrated Village Vanguard group of 1961, working through its own selection of repertoire.

Israels had taken over the bass position after Scott LaFaro’s death. Bunker was among the musicians with whom Evans worked during this period. Riverside consequently captured another document of the pianist’s trio playing before an audience. These eight tracks preserve one selection from that live collaboration. Looking beyond the Vanguard recordings brings another chapter of Evans’s trio history into view, with Israels and Bunker contributing their own musical experience.

Several approaches to the standard

The programme opens with “Isn’t It Romantic”, moving through “The Boy Next Door” and “Wonder Why” to Barney Kessel’s “Swedish Pastry”. Gershwin’s “Our Love Is Here to Stay”, Monk’s “’Round Midnight” and “Stella by Starlight” also appear. The closing selection is “Blues in ‘F’”, written by Chuck Israels. The bassist therefore contributes a composition as well as his instrumental part in the group.

These pieces present different melodic and harmonic possibilities. A Rodgers and Hart song provides a different starting point from Monk’s nocturnal ballad or a blues. For listeners who know Evans mainly through a handful of famous performances, the album offers several routes into his treatment of standards. Familiar titles establish a point of reference; the interest lies in what the three musicians choose to do within those forms.

Hear three voices

Try beginning with “Blues in ‘F’”. Follow Israels as a bassist while the trio plays his own composition. Which movements in the bass draw a response from the piano? How does Bunker articulate a phrase without carrying the melody himself? Listening in this way shifts attention from the leader’s name to the relationships that make the ensemble work from moment to moment.

“’Round Midnight” then offers a different perspective on time and phrasing. Notice the space between ideas and the points at which the accompaniment introduces fresh movement. This album does not contain the complete programme from the club engagement. Further material appeared later on “Time Remembered”, while the CD bonus track “All the Things You Are” is likewise absent from the eight selections on this LP edition.

About this edition

Analogue Productions lists “At Shelly’s Manne-Hole”, AJAZ 9487, as a double LP at 45 RPM on 180-gram vinyl. The publisher credits Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman at AcousTech Mastering and describes the source as original master tapes with analogue processing. That is the publisher’s specification. This release belongs to Analogue Productions’ Fantasy series; its catalogue number alone does not indicate playback speed. The specified format for this edition is two records at 45 RPM.

Michael 45 stores the set in Germany and dispatches it from Hilden, so customers in Germany and the EU can avoid arranging an individual US import and waiting for customs processing.

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Musicians

Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.