Eddie Gomez: Per Sempre

BFM Jazz
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Per Sempre

Bassist Eddie Gomez, born in Puerto Rico, emigrated to New York with his family at an early age. He began to play the double bass when he only 11, while a student in the New York City school system. Two years later, he was attending the NYC High School of Music, and he eventually graduated from Juilliard.

He quickly became a key element in the jazz world; it’s difficult to find a name artist he hasn’t played with. He’s best known for his association with Bill Evans; Gomez was a member of that trio for 11 years, and the group won two Grammy Awards during his tenure. 

Gomez has been playing and touring with his own groups for a number of years; he won another Grammy in 2010, for Best Instrumental Album (Duets). 

Per Sempre, although just released, was recorded during a tour in Italy in the winter of 2009, with a quintet. The combo members included Marco Pignataro on tenor and soprano sax, Matt Marvuglio on flute, Teo Ciavarella on piano, and Massimo Manzi on drums. The album set includes three compositions by Gomez, two by Pignataro, one each from the flautist and pianist, and the beautiful old standard “Stella by Starlight.” 

This is “classical” jazz; it won’t get your feet tapping or fingers snapping, but it will satisfy your soul. Gomez was one of the first bassists to demonstrate that the instrument could produce complex musical lines that were equal to those of reed and brass horns, and solos that were just as dazzling. He and his compatriots here present some of the most beautiful stuff I’ve heard in a long time. 

The Bill Evans Trio: Live at Art D'Lugoff's Top of the Gate

Resonance Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Live at Art D'Lugoff's Top of the Gate

All serious jazz fans are aware of Bill Evans’ impact on our favorite musical genre; that said, he was a late bloomer. As a 6-year-old, he began training as a classical pianist, became a proficient flautist at 13, and also could play the violin. But the piano became his love. Interestingly, he developed his skills backwards: He could sight-read anything put in front of him but, as he put it, “I couldn’t play ‘My Country ’Tis of Thee’ unless you put the notes in front of me.”

Evans also was very slow to learn the technical aspects of music; when he    began to play jazz professionally, the bassist would call out the chord changes. Evans hadn’t studied harmonics at that point, and he wasn’t able to improvise. All that changed as he studied music in college, under a scholarship.

Few artists have left us with such an extensive discography. During his all-too short career, he was featured on well over 100 albums: almost 50 as a sideman with name artists; more than 70 with various versions of his own groups (usually trios); and more than a dozen compilations (most released after his death).

This album — in many ways, one of his best — was recorded live on October 23, 1968, at the then-famous Greenwich Village jazz club Top of the Gate, which was located above the equally famous Village Gate; both were owned by Art D’Lugoff. Twenty-two-year-old recording engineer George Klabin was granted access to the club on that night by Evans’ longtime manager, Helen Keane. Klabin positioned microphones on each member of the trio and, considering the technology available at that time, the result is phenomenal; this album has been described as “quite possibly the best engineered and most gorgeous-sounding live recording ever made of Evans.”

Evans’ trio at the time included bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Marty Morell; the former worked with the pianist for 11 years, while the latter had joined the group just that week. Two sets were played that night; both are included in their entirety. Evans was concentrating on standards then; only one of his originals (“Turn Out the Stars”) was included.

These two CDs contain a total of 17 tracks, and three tunes (“Emily,” “Yesterdays” and “ ’Round Midnight”) appear in both sets. Not to fear: The trio’s treatment is not in the least repetitive. 

The musicians weren’t constrained by time limitations associated with the usual  recording sessions; Evans, Gomez and Morell got everything possible out of each song. The result was perfection, as the club patrons well knew. 

Consider this: Thanks to this double-CD, listeners can witness a performance originally heard only by a very limited audience, experiencing one of the finest groups that ever existed. Lucky, lucky you!

Eddie Gomez and Cesarius Alvim: Forever

Plus Loin Music
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Forever

The quality of music always is directly related to the quality of the musicians who perform it. Bassist Eddie Gomez and pianist Cesarius Alvim are two of the finest elder statesmen of jazz, and this album presents them in a duet setting.

Gomez has played jazz for decades; how many musicians have worked with Benny Goodman, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan and Bill Evans during their career? Evans hired Gomez when he was only 21 years old, and “the kid” subsequently spent 11 years with that august group.

The Rio de Janeiro-born Alvim moved to France in the 1970s and enrolled in a conservatory as a classical double-bass major. His choice of piano as a primary instrument came later, but his familiarity with the bass has had a profound effect on his style. It’s key to the performance with Gomez on this album.

Bill Evans fans know how important the bassist was to his groups, and he was blessed with two of the best masters of that instrument: Scott LaFaro (who died in a car accident at age 25) and Gomez. Alvim may not be Bill Evans, but this outstanding duo obviously has been influenced by that jazz legend.

Half of these 12 tracks were composed by Alvim. Gomez wrote one, and the rest are covers of not often played standards by the likes of Wayne Shorter (“Witch Hunt”) and Rogers & Hart (“Spring Is Here”).

Yes, these artists may sound like Evans at times, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying one of the most accomplished duos to come along in years.