Waltz for Debby-Bill Evans Trio

Newbee,

No need to apologize about Shirley, these two recordings are very good. I'm sure Shiley will grow on me. She just doesn't grab me yet. Certainly, some of your other suggestions were dynamite! I will check out Rene Marie.

To all,
Tower records has a sale running until July 10 I believe on some of the Jazz labels, Verve and Concord included. You guys may want to check it out. I placed my order on a Friday with their free shipping option and received the CDs on Monday. Excellent service from Tower! I had not shopped them much but I will be back. I will get around to some of the other suggestions soon. Thanks again all!

Hoopster, if you liked Haden, here is one of his best : http://www.thenaimlabel.co.uk/artists/anderson_cd022.htm

Hope you can get it.

I agree with most of the previous posts - some of the suggestions are outright classics. Here are a couple of laid back and mellow recordings for late night that no one has mentioned yet:

Ahmad Jamal - Cross country Tour (recorded live in night clubs)
Modern Jazz Quartet - Live at the Lighthouse
Miles Davis - In A Silent Way (Studio)
Lee Konitz - Inside Hi-Fi (Studio)
Norris Turney - Big, Sweet & Blue (Studio)
Getz/Gilberto - featuring Antonio Carlos Jobim (Studio)

Hoopster,

My favorite Bill Evans discs are Waltz for Debbie, Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Symbiosis (which is nothing like the other two - its a large scale orchestral thing.) Serious jazz fans may end up with 15-20 evans discs - there are just so many to choose from. Others have mentioned the Metheny/Charlie Haden disc - Under the Missouri sky - which really is brilliant and took me a while to appreciate. Haden and Metheny would both say they are largely influenced by Evans - at least I've heard metheny say this.

I listen to lots of jazz pianists - Keith Jarett is very much in the Evans vein - his trio is excellent and they have dozens of great live albums. And there are new guys I like such as Brad Melhdau, Tord Gustavson, Alan Pasqua, the Peter Erskine Trio (forget the name of his pianist). Not that strictly piano jazz is the right answer to your question...

Great thread! Not sure if anyone has mentioned this but in the last twelve
months the Complete Bill Evans Trio Live at Village Vanguard Sessions were
released in a 3 disc set - newly remastered. This encomapsses Live at the Village
Vanguaged and Waltz for Debby.....and a few other un-released tracks as well I
think. What is nice about this set is you can listen from beginning to end as the
performaces unfolded across these magical days.

Also, I second the recommendation for the Tord Gustavson Trio -- I believe they
only have two albums. I like their first.