Just released (30th July) is an exciting limited deluxe edition double tape recording from Canadian label 2xHD: legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans’ Some Other Time: The Lost Session From The Black Forest.
Fans of jazz will no doubt know Evans through his association with Miles Davis, notably on the iconic album Kind of Blue (me included, I’m a huge Miles Davis fan). Miles wrote in his autobiography, “Bill had this quiet fire that I loved on piano. The way he approached it, the sound he got was like crystal notes or sparkling water cascading down from some clear waterfall.” There’s also a quote from Miles on Evans’ second album, which reads, “I’ve sure learned a lot from Bill Evans. He plays the piano the way it should be played.”
Here on Some Other Time, Evans plays with Jack DeJohnette on drums (another renowned Miles Davis collaborator) and Eddie Gomez on bass. The session was recorded at the celebrated MPS studios in Villingen, Germany on 20th June 1968. The date is significant because it was just five days after the trio played their famously ground-breaking set at the Montreux Jazz Festival (on 15th June 1968). The recording of the Montreux set won a Grammy, but this studio session somehow got stuck in the vaults for decades, until it was eventually unearthed and released in April 2016.
A quick skim of Discogs tells me that 8 versions of the album have been released since then, spanning vinyl, CD, SACD, digital downloads and reel-to-reel tape. On tape, there are two versions, both from 2xHD. The first came out in 2020: ‘Volume 1’, comprising six tracks. The second is this latest limited edition release (limited to a run of 100), which includes the six tracks on Volume 1, plus another six.
If you Google the album, you’ll find that the web is awash with glowing reviews of various versions in vinyl and digital formats, so to hear this on tape has surely got to be something very special indeed. Another one for the want list!
Tech-wise, these are two-track stereo recordings at 15 ips on 10.5″ reels. CCIR tape, also available in NAB.
You’ll find all the info and can order online here www.2xhd.com/analog-tapes.html
Dave Denyer: The Reel-to-Reel Rambler 