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Larry McDonough Quartet, Kind Of Bill On The Palace Grounds (LM Jazz)
Scott Yanow, L.A. Jazz Scene
December 2021
Pianist Larry McDonough has loved Bill Evans’ music ever since he was a youth in the late 1960s. Each of his recordings has included at least one tribute to his musical role model. When the 40th anniversary of Evans’ death was approaching in 2020, McDonough recorded Kind Of Bill, a full-length tribute album comprised of songs that the pianist used to perform.
With soprano and tenor-saxophonist Richard Terrill, bassist Greg Stinson, and drummer Dean White, McDonough plays creatively within the tradition of Bill Evans but without directly copying his musical hero. Terrill, who has a particularly attractive sound on soprano, also contributed two poems, “Improvisations” and “Bill Evans,” that discuss aspects of the pianist’s life. Each of the members of the quartet is a world class musician although, since they are based in Minnesota, they are not as well- known nationally as they deserve.
The music on Kind Of Bill is programmed loosely in chronological order (after the opening “Waltz For Debby” which is quite cheerful), following his career from “Blue In Green” and “My Foolish Heart” to “We Will Meet Again” and “I Will Say Goodbye.” It concludes on a happy note with a swinging “Milestones,” as if Evans near the end of his life was recalling an earlier memory.
Fans of Bill Evans are well advised to pick up Kind Of Bill which is available from www.amazon.com.
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Larry McDonough Quartet: Kind of Bill On The Palace Grounds
George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
November 4, 2021
I remember hearing on the radio the news the death of Bill Evans; pianist Larry McDonough reminds us that it’s the 40th Anniversary of that date, giving verbal and musical tribute to the jazz giant with Richard Terrill/sax-poetry, Greg Stinson/b and Dean White/dr re-visiting material from Evans’ songbook. There is a reflective spoken introduction as well as a couple poems that are heartfelt and personal. Musically, the idea of bringing in Terrill’s tenor sax was a work of genius, as it gives a fresh feel to pieces like “Blue In Green”, a bouncy “All Of You” and a rich “My Foolish Heat”. Stinson’s electric bass is gentle on “ Waltz For Debby” and McDonough himself is richly Chopinesque on “We Will Meet Again” and the energetic “So What”. Tributes are tough, as the first question is always “Why not just go to the original source”, but this guy keeps the ideas fresh and modern.
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Dave May, Desert Island Jazz
WHFC Radio, Bel Air MD
It's a great recording, Bill would be honored, I think.
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Great release and dedication to Bill Evans after 40 years.
Ed Smith, Jazz Now
WOWD, Tacoma Park, MD
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LARRY McDONOUGH QUARTET/Kind of Bill on the Palace Grounds
Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Volume 45/Number 279
August 6, 2021
Liz Story might have studied with Bill Evans but McDonough studied Evans. That’s why his remembrance of Evans is passionate like he has a he is risen kind of remembrance. No wonder McDonough is recognized as a foremost Evans interpreter, Evans was his lodestar. He plays like he is his own man all the way but you know where he’s coming from. Basically a non record recording of a 40th anniversary remembrance concert of Evans passing, this is as close to the real thing as you can come. Killer stuff that makes you wish you were there.
(LM Jazz)
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Eric Hanson
Author, Artist, and Jazz Historian
The quartet does more than replay the songbook. They relive it, reinterpret it for a new generation of jazz listeners, making then into now.
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Nenette Evans
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. 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.”
