Gil Evans Project Live at Jazz Standards Vol.2 – Shades of Sound
Ryan Truesdell; Gil Evans Project
Outside In Music OiM2515 (ryantruesdell.com/shades-of-sound)
This gorgeously produced, historically priceless recording is actually “Volume 2” and just like the Grammy nominated “Volume1” Shades of Sound was recorded live at the now defunct Jazz Standard in Chelsea, NYC. The music here was entirely arranged by the late Gil Evans and produced and conducted by the guiding light of both Evans-centric recordings, Ryan Truesdale. This album is dedicated to the late Frank Kimbrough, who was a consummate pianist and pioneering voice of the Gil Evans Project. This new recording lovingly presents vibrant takes on four never before recorded works as well as four of Evans’ more familiar compositions and arrangements. The 23-piece orchestra includes outstanding soloists too numerous to name.
On Spoonful, drawn from Evans’ original 1964 recording The Individualism of Gil Evans, Kimbrough’s luminous, complex tone clusters seamlessly mesh with bass and viola as the rest of the ensemble creeps in on a beam of micro-tones. Donny McCaslin’s tenor solo is sexy, rhythmic and bracing and Dave Pietro’s alto breaks the sound barrier as he soars into the sonic stratosphere. The Ballad of the Sad Young Men is a unique tune written by Fran Landesman and Tommy Wolf for the 1959 Off-Broadway musical, The Nervous Set. Kimbrough’s playing is breathtaking and the arrangement itself is a thing of special beauty. The ensemble moves like a single-celled organism, with skill, insight and deep sensitivity – words that easily apply to the incomparable Canadian/North American treasure, Gil Evans.
