Sunday at the Village Vanguard

It is Jazz... I listened to it... I will give myself 5*

As background music it isn't too bad, but if you have to actually sit-down and listen to it, then you might as well start cleaning the attic while you're at it.

Evans was an amazing player and musical mind; there's a reason that Miles entrusted him to man the piano for Kind of Blue. His work on that record speaks for itself, as does his work on Oliver Nelson's The Blues & The Abstract Truth and quite a bit of his solo material. And yet, while I find albums like Sunday at the Village Vanguard perfectly easy and enjoyable to listen to, I don't find him as engaging as many other pianists when it comes to leading a trio. As some people here have pointed out, the late, great Scott LaFaro often appears to be the MVP of this performance (a claim that Evans himself might not have disputed), but with all due respect to him, I want to hear Evans handle a little bit more of the heavy lifting. Which isn't to say that Bill isn't amazing; I think his playing on "Gloria's Step" and "Alice in Wonderland", in particular, is spectacular. I just don't think, especially at this point in his career, he was the most charismatic performer, and while I don't want/need him to be Jerry Lee Lewis behind the piano, I find myself gravitating toward people like Red Garland, Ahmad Jamal, and a host of other pianists when I consider who I'd prefer to hear in this environment. Still, good stuff.

3.5/5

I'll give it a 4, and only because jazz isn't really my thing! In any case, it's clearly one of those albums to revisit on a sunset evening by the window, sipping a glass of wine ;-)

Great live jazz album, one you can just sit back and chill too, added to my frequent rotation.

Scott LaFaro's death shortly after this recording is really tragic because his bass really steals the show on this album. The piano compliments it perfectly, making for a super catchy album. This really showcases how powerful a jazz trio can be.

Sunday At The Village Vanguard is about as typical jazz album as typical jazz albums get and that means another elevator album. There is nothing inherently wrong about this album but it is very uninteresting. The songs, while sounding fine and were pretty well recorded, all were generally very similar sounding and didn't really have identities of their own. I can't even think of a single song that stands out as particularly good or bad. I do not hate this album but it failed to interest me in any way.
Best Song: Jade Visions
Worst Song: Alice In Wonderland

I liked the bass playing but nothing stood out to me here. Most of this faded into the background.

A technically outstanding jazz record, and recorded in a day, while also recording a second album. Especially the bass solos are a joy to behold.
But the album never grabbed me, never made me really listen. I liked it, but didn't love it.

This could be is a rewarding, multi layered experience, but while surface level club chatter might suggest background music, focused listening reveals a brilliant lesson in jazz. The trio’s chemistry, particularly the delicate piano and bass on "Gloria's Step" and "Alice In Wonderland", is what lifts this up above general mediocrity.

some good jazz for a nice day

That is absolutely pure jazz.

I could nitpick; a few tracks have the instruments going a little too hard sometimes for it to be a super relaxed jazz album, but that’s the type of nitpick that would get you punched in the face. It’s just a great album for easy listening – there are some points where I was maybe hoping for lyrics or a brass section moment, but nothing ever really felt empty. Absolutely a must-listen record, even if it’s only as background noise, because it will eventually suck you in, either with the bass, the piano, or the drums.

I don't think it's a 5 – it's not the type of album that I'd give a 5, but I’m gonna go with a 4. I'm giving it that just because it’s a REALLY timeless jazz record; there’s not a single missed note or beat here. Just a great listen.

I don’t know how to appraise this. I feel truly neutral. The album repeated itself on my phone, and I only realized it started over when it occurred to me the album was incredibly long.

3. But not a 3 for “pretty good.” A 3 for “I dunno.”

The was a lot to like here--and I'm not really a jazz guy. My biggest gripe about this was that something sounded like a broken or loose linkage in my car when this was playing. Whenever I paused the music, it would stop so it was definitely something in the recording. I took me forever to realize this and it drove me nuts on my way to work. Besides that, great jazz album. 4/5

Better off spending Sunday at church under the steady gaze of the blessed sweet little blue eyed baby Jesus. Nah, it's fine. I'm not a jazz guy but I s'pose I'd throw this on in the event that it seemed like a time to throw on some jazz.

4.5 rounding down

starting to think im a sucker for jazz

It's jazzy! Yeah, my ear is too untrained to tell good and bad jazz, but this is enjoyable background music. So, like, a 2* for me? It was aight.

It's not nearly as exciting as what Miles Davis or Charles Mingus were doing around this time, but I'm certainly not gonna say no to calming jazz

Do you know what this is? Yes, this is jazz.

Fine, if unexciting piano tinkling

Keskimäärin jazz-levyt tällä listalla on olleet todella kovia! 4/5