Interplay
Bill Evans had recorded only sparsely with horn players when this session was cut in 1962. His performance on Miles Davis'sKind of Bluehad portended a certain minimal presence when playing with horns, butInterplaydefies the earlier recording's hints with particularly strong playing. He's perhaps egged on by Philly Joe Jones, who seemed always able to throw Evans into overdrive (just listen to theSecret Sessionsfor plentiful confirmation of this). Here, you have Jones pushing Evans, and guitaristJim Halladding harmonic depth and brittle latticework around the edges while trumpeterFreddie Hubbardjoins in the fray. The instrument mix is odd, but Hubbard plays lyrically enough that he sounds snug in Evans's ever-surprising chord voicings. As for Hall, he sounds genteel and then engaged and then snapping as the band pushes hard on several standards.--Andrew Bartlett