Empathy / A Simple Matter of Conviction
The jazz wisdom regarding Bill Evans's relationship to drummers is that only Philly Joe Jones could light a bona fide rhythmic fire beneath the often mellow, circuitous pianist. But here California-cool-identified rhythm aceShelly Manneshows both intimate knowledge of Evans's modus operandianda keen manner for destabilizing the picture enough to drive uncommonly hard-swinging trio interplay. This two-fer collects both dates Manne played with Evans--and bassists Monty Budwig (onEmpathyin 1962) and longtime trio memberEddie Gomez(onA Simple Matter of Convictionin 1966)--and the pairing makes great sense. Not only did Manne push the trio to new places, but Evans yanked Manne into a kind of ultrasensitive spot, too, engaging the drums and ride cymbals so that they sound harmonic and melodic. The net result is hair-raising in its exactness and a pleasure to hear.--Andrew Bartlett