Bill Evans
Interplay

THE REVIEW

Interplay by Bill Evans, here in quintet, is certainly one of the best albums by the pianist from Plainfield, among my favorites without a doubt as it deviates from the piano, bass, drums trio scheme.

In this excellent album, Mr. Evans is accompanied by artists like Freddie Hubbard, Jim Hall, Percy Heath, and P. J. Jones, who manage to give a great chromatic variety to the compositions present (all standards except the Title Track by Evans, which is the best track indeed..), conveying a sense of relaxation and great confidence, almost as if the various instruments were calmly conversing with each other in a small bar in front of a glass of whiskey... 

Unfortunately, Evans has rarely ventured into ensembles larger than the trio, (off the top of my head, besides Kind of Blue, The Blues and the Abstract Truth) and almost never as a leader as in this case.

Which is a real pity for me, Evans' "fresh" and relaxed modal style lent itself very well to "interplay" with other musicians, here we have a striking example, the integration with Hubbard's trumpet and Hall's guitar is spectacular..

In conclusion, I recommend to those who do not know Evans (and also to those who know him almost exclusively in Trio) to listen to this album, which is certainly not an absolute masterpiece but a pleasant occasion to spend 45 minutes of relaxation, perhaps in sweet company..