Crosscurrents
It makes a certain, perfect sense that pianist Bill Evans would eventually enlist a pair of formerLennie Tristanocollaborators to enlarge his sound. SaxophonistsLee KonitzandWarne Marshwere students of Tristano from the early 1950s, each adapting their teacher's abstract phrasing and fondness for skewed tonalities. For his part, Evans was enough of a Tristano acolyte that when the latter took his Marsh-Konitz quintet to New York for a stint at the Half Note in 1959, he asked Evans to sub for him on teaching days (check out Konitz'sLive at the Half Notefor evidence of this stellar group). Fast forward toCross-currents, recorded in 1977, and you have a near-facsimile of the Half Note band, and they sound crisp and fresh when tackling both standards and somewhat unlikely--though not atypical of the band's collective stylistic sense--tracks like Steve Swallow's "Eiderdown." Evans sounds warmer than usual, perhaps because Marsh and Konitz find so much room in the world of cool tonalities and long, untempered lines. Filled with yearninganda certain heat in the band's mutual discovery, this is one of Evans's best appearances with horns.--Andrew Bartlett