The Larry McDonough Trio will celebrate the two live recordings of legendary pianist and composer Bill Evans, bassist and composer Scott Lafaro, and drummer Paul Motian on June 25, 1961 at the Village Vanguard. “Sunday at the Village Vanguard” and “Waltz for Debby” were the last recordings of this trio, as LaFaro died in a car accident just ten days after the live date at the Village Vanguard. The trio revolutionized jazz, with each member improvising at the same time while performing recognizable pieces.

Writing for Allmusic, music critic Thom Jurek wrote of the album: “This trio is still widely regarded as his finest, largely because of the symbiotic interplay between its members. This is a great place to begin with Evans.” Samuel Chell of All About Jazz wrote “Along with bassist wunderkind Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian, Evans perfected his democratic vision of trio cooperation, where all members performed with perfect empathy and telepathy… It is these performances, currently available as Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby that comprise the number one best jazz live recording in this present series.” The album was included in Robert Dimery’s 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Sunday at the Village Vanguard

Gloria’s Step (Scott LaFaro)

My Man’s Gone Now (George Gershwin)

Solar (Miles Davis)

Alice in Wonderland (Sammy Fain)

All of You (Cole Porter)

Jade Visions (Scott LaFaro)

Waltz for Debby

My Foolish Heart (Victor Young, Ned Washington)

Waltz for Debby (Bill Evans, Gene Lees)

Detour Ahead (Lou Carter, Herb Ellis, Johnny Frigo)

My Romance (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

Some Other Time (Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, Adolph Green)

Milestones (Miles Davis)

Larry McDonough has specialized in the music of Evans for many years. He has been called the Bill Evans scholar of Minnesota. He grew up listening and transcribing Evan’s music, having seen his live performances in the 1970s. His recent shows of the music of Miles Davis, Chet Baker, and Tony Bennett with Bill Evans, have focused on Evan’s role in each ensemble. On the CD “Solitude, poetry in jazz,” McDonough and saxophonist and poet Richard Terrill performed the Evans arrangement of “Some Other Time” along with Terrill’s poem “Bill Evans.”

Larry recently released the double CD set “Alice in Stonehenge and other AcoustElectric Adventures” includes “Alice in Wonderland,” based on the Evan’s arrangement, “Flamenco Sketches,” which Evans performed with Davis on “Kind of Blue,” and “You Must Believe in Spring,” which Evans recorded with Bennett. McDonough has become friends with Evan’s widow Nenette, who provided McDonough with a copy of the manuscript of the early Evans composition “It’s Love, It’s Christmas” that McDonough performs each year in the holiday concert. Larry will be joined by regular bandmates Greg Stinson on bass and Dean White on drums.

Music 8-10pm

RESERVATIONS WORK LIKE ADVANCE TICKETS
Call 612-379-3138 to save your spot!
$8 cover charges on the tab.