The Jazz Thing, Round One: John Coltrane v. Bill Evans

The Jazz Thing, Round 1 (40 Word/Album Limit)


#49 John Coltrane – "Blue Train" (1957)  v.  #66 Everybody Digs Bill Evans" (1958)

Compared to the later A Love Supreme, this set of bluesy small ensemble pieces seems downright conservative.  But then you think about what mainstream pop sounded like in 1957, and you realize that people must have been, like, whoa....

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And:

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It's not that I don't dig Bill Evans -- but nothing in his music has especially grabbed me yet.  It's very mellow, and I like playing it of a rainy afternoon.  But this is to damn with faint praise.

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Blue Train defeats Everybody Digs Bill Evans.

Keep it cool, daddies-o.