| Moon Beams | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | Mid December 1962 [2] | |||
| Recorded | May 17, 1962 (#5,9) May 29, 1962 (#1, 8) June 2, 1962 (#2-4, 6-7) June 5, 1962 (#10-11) | |||
| Studio | Sound Makers Studio, New York City | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 39:00 (original LP) 49:30 (2012 CD reissue) | |||
| Label | Riverside RLP-428 | |||
| Producer | Orrin Keepnews | |||
| The Bill Evans Trio chronology | ||||
| ||||
Moon Beams is a 1962 album by jazz musician Bill Evans, and the first trio album recorded by Evans after the death of bassist Scott LaFaro.
With Chuck Israels on bass taking the place of LaFaro, Evans recorded several songs during these May and June 1962 sessions. Moon Beams contains a collection of ballads recorded during this period. The more uptempo tunes were put on How My Heart Sings! In 2012, Riverside released a new remastered edition which includes three previously unreleased alternative takes. Moon Beams and How My Heart Sings! were also released combined as the double album The Second Trio. The woman on the album cover is Nico, who would later achieve recognition as a musical artist herself.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Down Beat (Original Lp release) |    [3] |
| Allmusic | [4] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [5] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [6] |
Writing for Allmusic, music critic Thom Jurek said, "selections are so well paced and sequenced the record feels like a dream... Moonbeams was a startling return to the recording sphere and a major advancement in [Evans'] development as a leader." [4]
Bonus tracks on 2012 CD reissue:
Portrait in Jazz is an album by American jazz pianist Bill Evans, released in 1960. It is the first of only two studio albums to be recorded with his famous trio featuring bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian.
Explorations is an album by jazz pianist Bill Evans that was originally released on Riverside label in 1961. The album won the Billboard Jazz Critics Best Piano LP poll for 1961.
Sunday at the Village Vanguard is a live album by jazz pianist and composer Bill Evans and his Trio consisting of Evans, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Paul Motian. Released in 1961, the album is routinely ranked as one of the best live jazz recordings of all time.
Waltz for Debby is a live album by jazz pianist and composer Bill Evans and his trio consisting of Evans, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Paul Motian. It was released in 1962.
Sassy Swings the Tivoli is a 1963 live album by American jazz singer Sarah Vaughan and her trio, produced by Quincy Jones. The performances were recorded in the concert hall of the Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, over four days in July 1963.
Toshiko Akiyoshi at Maybeck is a solo jazz piano album recorded by Toshiko Akiyoshi at the Maybeck Recital Hall in Berkeley, California and released on the Concord Jazz record label. It is Volume 36 in Concord's "Maybeck Recital Hall Series".
How My Heart Sings! is an album recorded by jazz musician Bill Evans in 1962, at the same time as Moon Beams.
At Shelly's Manne-Hole is a live album by American jazz pianist Bill Evans, released in 1963 as his last recording for the Riverside label. The trio featured Chuck Israels, who followed Scott LaFaro on bass in autumn 1961, and Larry Bunker on drums, who just joined the reformed trio, after Paul Motian had left. An additional eight performances recorded during the trio's May, 1963 engagement at Shelly's Manne-Hole were released on the album Time Remembered.
Bill Evans at Town Hall is a live album by American jazz pianist Bill Evans and his Trio, released in 1966.
The Bill Evans Album is an album by the jazz pianist Bill Evans, released in 1971. It is his first album to feature all compositions written, arranged and performed by Evans.
Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio is a 1958 studio album by Stan Getz, accompanied by the Oscar Peterson Trio.
The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 2 is a studio album by jazz pianist Bud Powell, released on Blue Note Records in 1954, featuring a session Powell recorded with George Duvivier on bass and Art Taylor on drums at the WOR Studios in New York, on August 14, 1953. It was remastered in 2001 by Rudy Van Gelder and reissued as part of Blue Note's RVG Edition series. Prior to this, on all releases bar the first, the album also contained a number of tracks from sessions originally on The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 1. The version of the album included on the second disc of The Complete Blue Note and Roost Recordings, a 4 disc box set, is that from the first CD release in 1989.
Gravy Train is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Blue Note label in 1961 and performed by Donaldson with pianist Herman Foster, bassist Ben Tucker, drummer Dave Bailey and percussionist Alec Dorsey.
Nirvana is an album by jazz flautist Herbie Mann with Bill Evans's Trio featuring Chuck Israels and Paul Motian, released in 1964 on the Atlantic label and featuring performances recorded in 1961 and 1962.
Jazzhouse is a live album by jazz pianist Bill Evans with Eddie Gómez and Marty Morell recorded at the Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen in 1969 but not released until the 1980s on the Milestone label. The same concert also produced the album You're Gonna Hear From Me.
Consecration: The Final Recordings Part 2 is an 8-CD box set live album by jazz pianist Bill Evans with Marc Johnson and Joe LaBarbera recorded during a nine night residency at Keystone Korner in San Francisco in 1980 and released on the Milestone label in 2002. Additional recordings from this concert series were released as The Last Waltz: The Final Recordings in 2000.
Turn Out the Stars: The Final Village Vanguard Recordings is a six-CD box set live album by jazz pianist Bill Evans with Marc Johnson and Joe LaBarbera recorded over four nights at the Village Vanguard in New York City in 1980 and released on CD on the Warner Bros. label in 1996. A concurrent LP release was made on Mosaic.
Soul Night/Live! is a live album by saxophonist Willis Jackson which was recorded in New York City in 1964 and released on the Prestige label in 1966. This was the third album to be released from the same performance following Live! Action and Jackson's Action! with a fourth later release Tell It... appearing in 1967.
Everybody Likes Hampton Hawes is the third album by pianist Hampton Hawes recorded in 1956 and released on the Contemporary label.
Easy Living is an album recorded by American jazz saxophonist Paul Desmond featuring performances recorded between 1963 and 1965 which were released on the RCA Victor label.
