Search - Bill Evans, Eddie Gomez :: Intuition

You Must Listen to Hi Lili Hi Lo

Curtiss Clarke | Calgary, Alberta Canada | 07/18/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This Bill Evans release has received less exposure than some of his earlier material on Riverside and Verve, partially due to the sheer number of titles the artist cut during this period of his career (early 1970's). Most of the titles Evans made for Fantasy are of very high calibre musically, due to the production talents of his then manager, the late Helen Keane, and this release is no exception to that fact. Evans was, not surprisingly, an inveterate musical perfectionist and his dissatisfaction with some of his recordings 1ed the record company (Fantasy) to release albums with little promotion or fanfare. What is most significant about this release is that it was Bill's first studio duo outing with the great bassist Eddie Gomez, who was probably the finest accompanist who ever played with him (with a salute to Scott Lafaro of course). Eddie was also Bill's longest-standing musical partner (10 years) over the course of the artist's 25-plus years career. Some purists may not care for several titles on this release where Evans plays electric piano but at this time (1974) the Fender Rhodes was at the height of its popularity, championed by Joe Zawinal from Cannonball Adderley's tremendously successful outfit. The single outstanding title from the Intuition release is the haunting melody Hi Lili Hi Lo, penned by Hollywood film score writer Bronislaw Kaper. There are few songs in the history of modern popular music with such overwhelming beauty as this number (played on acoustic piano by Evans). Evans played it just once in the studio and this is it. Buy this release for this song. You will never forget it."

Breathtaking!

Toshio Fukuhara | Yokohama, Japan | 01/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Among the Fantasy recordings, this and "I Will Say Goodbye" are the two best albums/CDs, in my opinion. But it's not really an inter-play filled duo album one might expect if Bill and Scott La Faro ever recorded a drums-less album together.

The absence of drums better features Bill's piano playing a lot more than a usual trio format, while Eddie's bass remains aside most of the time. My favorite tunes are "A Face Without A Name" and "Falling Grace." Both of them are breathtaking and I seem to get back to those tunes whenever I play this CD.



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Simply Beautiful

Anthony R. Guarriello | Rutherfordton NC | 11/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the best duo or otherwise albums in a acoustic jazz format that you could listen to period. Making this record was supposedly a dream of Bill's since Eddie Gomez joined the trio. At this time the current drummer Marty Morell had left the trio and instead of filling his spot, Bill chose to work as a duo and to make this record. There is a mixture of well known standards some originals and some lesser known tunes. The album opens with the classic Kaper song Invitation and it is a classic with threads of Chopin given the classic rhapsidic threatment. Two of my all time favorites are Track 4 The Nature of Things and track 6 A face without a name, written by Claus Ogerman who collaborated with Evans on another killer album Symbiosis. I think that A Face without a name is one of the best things that Bill has ever recorded. Eddie Gomez plays impecablly throughout,check out track 5 for killer Eddie. Also worth note is the last track Hi Li Hi Lo dedicated here to Evans late girlfriend Ellaine who had committed suicide a year earlier. Overall this album is one of the best and is in my opinon overlooked. If your a fan of killer music buy this disc now. Also check out Montreaux three which is also a duo."