Award-winning pianist, composer, and singer Larry McDonough brings the legendary pianist and composer Bill Evans back to life in a live solo recording covering the music and personal life of Bill Evans that has filled rooms across the country.
Jazz curator Steve Kenny has called pianist Larry McDonough the Bill Evans scholar of Minnesota. Larry grew up listening and transcribing Evans' music, having seen his live performances in the 1970s. Larry has become friends with Evans' widow Nenette, who supports Larry's projects. Larry is the only Minnesotan invited to study the Bill Evans Archival Collection at the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies. Movie director Bruce Spiegel chose Larry to host Minnesota showings of his documentary film Bill Evans Time Remembered.
"The Evans family is so grateful that Larry McDonough has chosen to remember my late husband Bill Evans. I like what Max Gordon said about Bill Evans in his book concerning his experiences as owner of the famed Village Vanguard club, where Bill eventually became a regular: ‘The first time Bill Evans played the Village Vanguard, he was the intermission pianist for the Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ). The room was quiet when they played. When Bill Evans played, the MJQ fans wondered, ‘Who the hell was that?' They'd never heard of him. He was filling space in between for the star attraction. Today Bill is the star attraction. When Bill Evans plays, the Village Vanguard becomes Town Hall.'" - Nenette Evans
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Tracks
2. Waltz for Debby (4:59)
3. Night and Day (4:23)
4. Peace Piece, Flamenco Sketches,
and Some Other Time (9:07)
5. Blue in Green (3:41)
7. All of You - Prelude (0:28)
8. All of You (3:25)
9. Jade Visions (4:03)
10. My Foolish Heart (3:51)
11. Stella by Starlight (3:50)
13. Emily (3:55)
14. Hullo Bolinas (3:17)
15. You're Nearer (3:32)
16. B Minor Waltz (3:15)
17. Bill Evans (1:10)
18. We Will Meet Again (2:50)
19. Happy Birthday! (1:55)
20. Tuscarora (3:30)
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Ordering and Streaming
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Liner Notes
I grew up listening to the music of Bill Evans. Knowing that I played piano, clarinet, and trumpet as a child, a librarian showed me Kind of Blue, exposing me to the music of Bill Evans on the classic Miles Davis recording. I then tried Bill’s recording Portrait in Jazz but I did not know what to expect from this pianist who looked like an accountant. As a classically trained pianist, I immediately noticed his classical touch in jazz. I began transcribing his pieces and practicing them. When he came to Minnesota to perform when I was in high school, music school, and afterward, I had to attend. I sat 10 feet from him but was too shy to approach him on the breaks. His death in 1980 was as significant to me as the death of John Lennon the same year.
All of my recordings over the last 26 years were influenced by Bill. Over the years, I became friends with Bill’s widow, Nenette, who has supported my projects and provided me with some of his manuscripts. I am honored to be the only Minnesotan invited to study the Bill Evans Archival Collection at the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies of Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) and to be chosen by movie director Bruce Spiegel to host Minnesota showings of his documentary film Bill Evans Time Remembered.
During the seclusion of the pandemic, I decided to dive deeper into Bill’s music, resulting in two live recordings: Kind of Bill, Marking 40 Years Since the Death of Bill Evans, by the Larry McDonough Quartet, and Intermodulating Undercurrents Live at the Kos: The Music of Bill Evans and Jim Hall, a duo with guitarist Joel Shapira. This led to the inescapable conclusion in 2024: it was time to tackle Bill’s music without the support of others, as a solo pianist. I re-read Peter Pettinger’s wonderful book, Bill Evans: How My Heart Sings; watched Bill Evans Time Remembered again; and listened to my vast catalog of his recordings. With some practice, I was ready to perform my show Conversations with Bill Evans Live around the country. The live recordings of shows in California and Minnesota are captured in Conversations with Bill Evans Live.
I begin at the beginning with “Very Early”, his first-known piece composed when he was an undergraduate at SLU, recorded on Moon Beams. Its angular melody and shifting harmonies belie his youth. Next is “Waltz for Debby”, written by Bill in 1953 at age 24 and first released on New Jazz Conceptions in 1957. Bill wrote it for his brother Harry’s daughter, and it became Bill’s most famous composition. I kept his joke, starting the piece as a waltz and then moving to 4/4 time and never returning. Bill played “Night and Day” throughout his life. I adopted his more aggressive style from Everybody Digs Bill Evans.
Bill’s compositions “Peace Piece” and “Flamenco Sketches” (co-written with Miles) and his arrangement of Leonard Bernstein’s “Some Other Time” all share the same opening harmonic pattern and rhythmic structure, so I created a medley of the three to underscore their similarities. Next up is “Blue in Green”, written by Bill in 1959 but often credited to Miles. I include Bill’s introduction from Kind of Blue.
In his essay, “Improvisations - Bill Evans” from his book Fakebook, Richard Terrill discusses Bill’s sound and his unique arrangement of the Cole Porter piece “All of You”. After reading the essay, I play a passage of “All of You” as written by Porter before diving into Bill’s arrangement. The Bill Evans Trio performed bassist Scott LaFaro’s composition “Jade Visions” on Sunday at the Village Vanguard, recorded live on June 25, 1961, shortly before Scott’s death. It is rarely performed today, even more rarely by a solo pianist. While it combines a structure of three-bar sections, complex harmonies, and unusual rhythms for 3/4 time (not sounding like a waltz), I find it a Zen experience on solo piano to remember Scott.
Next are a couple of Young and Washington pieces. “My Foolish Heart” is a wonderful ballad that Bill played and recorded many times over the years. I follow with “Stella by Starlight” from Bill’s Grammy Award-winning album Conversations with Myself, where he over-dubbed three different yet corresponding piano tracks for each song. I tried to capture the effect with my two hands. “Turn Out the Stars” is one of my favorite compositions by Bill, peaceful, with one of his most complicated harmonies. Bill loved waltzes, so including “Emily” from his album Further Conversations with Myself was obvious, including Bill’s unique modulated ending.
I move on to the 1970s with another waltz, “Hullo Bolinas”, by Steve Swallow, which reminds me of a Chopin waltz, perfect for Bill on The Tokyo Concert recording. Bill collaborated with singer Tony Bennett on two albums, The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album in 1975 and Together Again in 1977. The albums displayed Tony’s softer side and Bill’s skills as an accompanist. I chose “You’re Nearer” by Rodgers and Hart as the one piece I sang. Next is “B Minor Waltz”, which Bill wrote for his long-time partner Ellaine Schultz, who died by suicide. You can feel his sadness. Richard Terrill’s poem “Bill Evans” from his book Almost Dark follows, comparing the heights of Bill’s music and the depths of his demons. Bill wrote “We Will Meet Again” and dedicated it to his brother Harry who had killed himself. Bill recorded it on both You Must Believe in Spring in 1977 and released in 1981 after Bill’s death, and We Will Meet Again, his last studio album and another Grammy winner. It is a waltz like “Waltz for Debby,” but unlike the optimism of Debby, it is sad and deeply personal.
I finish with three pieces dedicated to Bill. He left a tape of variations on “Happy Birthday” for Joe LaBarbera that Joe continues to play on his birthday. I created my own variations for Bill. “Tuscarora” is my composition that was inspired by “Blue in Green”. It is named after a lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Northern Minnesota. Finally, I recently wrote “Waltz for Bill” to capture my feelings about Bill, his music, and his life. It is both sad and lyrical. I hope you enjoy Conversations with Bill Evans Live as much I did performing it.
Larry McDonough
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Credits
1. Very Early (3:59) by Bill Evans, Folkways Music Publishers, Inc.
2. Waltz for Debby (4:59) by Bill Evans, Folkways Music Publishers, Inc.
3. Night and Day (4:23) by Cole Porter, WC Music Corp.
4. Peace Piece, Flamenco Sketches, and Some Other Time (9:07) by Bill Evans, Miles Davis, and Leonard Bernstein; Folkways Music Publishers, Inc., Reservoir 416 and Jazz Horn Music Corp., and Universal - Polygram International Pub Inc. and Leonard Bernstein Music Pub. Co.
5. Blue in Green (3:41) by Bill Evans, Folkways Music Publishers, Inc., Downtown DMP Songs, Reservoir 416, Jazz Horn Music Corp. and East St. Louis Music, Inc.
6. Improvisations (0:59) by Richard Terrill, Proscenium Pub., Inc.
7. All of You - Prelude (0:28) by Cole Porter, Chappell & Co.
8. All of You (3:25) by Cole Porter and Bill Evans, Chappell & Co.
9. Jade Visions (4:03) by Scott LaFaro, Orpheum Music
10. My Foolish Heart (3:51) by Victor Young and Ned Washington, Shapiro Bernstein & Co., Catherine Hinen Music, Patti Washington Music, and Chappell & Co.
11. Stella by Starlight (3:50) by Victor Young and Ned Washington, Shapiro Bernstein & Co., Catherine Hinen Music, and Sony/ATV Harmony
12. Turn Out the Stars (4:15) by Bill Evans, T.R.O. Inc. and Ludlow Music Inc.
13. Emily (3:55) by Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer, BMG Gold Songs and Primary Wave Songs
14. Hullo Bolinas (3:17) by Steve Swallow, Mayflower Music Corporation and Wonderbuns Inc.
15. You’re Nearer (3:32) by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, Chappell Co. Inc., Williamson Music Co., and Lorenz Hart Publishing Co.
16. B Minor Waltz (3:15) by Bill Evans, Ludlow Music Inc.
17. Bill Evans (1:10) by Richard Terrill, University of Tampa Press
18. We Will Meet Again (2:50) by Bill Evans, Ludlow Music, Inc.
19. Happy Birthday! (1:55) by Patty Hill and Mildred J. Hill, Clayton F. Summy Co. - Public Domain
20. Tuscarora (3:30) by Larry McDonough, Larry McDonough Jazz
21. Waltz for Bill (4:10) by Larry McDonough, Larry McDonough Jazz
Recorded on June 30, 2024, at Crooner’s Dunsmore Jazz Room, Minneapolis, MN; May 11, 2025, at The Back Room, 1984 Bonita Ave., Berkeley, CA; and April 6, 2026, Palace Art and Music Gallery, St. Paul, MN, and mixed and mastered by Larry McDonough
Art and cover design by Eric Hanson
Editing by Carol Bergquist
CD design by Larry McDonough, Palace Art and Music Gallery
CD Duplication by Quickturn Duplication, Edina, MN
Produced by Larry McDonough, © 2026 Larry McDonough and Larry McDonough Jazz
