In the past few months, I played several tunes all composed by jazz horn players. Now I want to try something new. I am going to play tunes that composed by jazz piano players. When it comes to jazz piano player, Bill Evans would first occur to my mind. His use of contemporary classical impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire continues to influence jazz pianists today. Evans’ playing style may not as skillful as Art Tatum or Oscar Peterson, but his introspective lyricism and beautiful harmony broaden the spectrum of the modern jazz piano playing.
I still remember my first Bill Evans album is “Waltz for Debby”, which is a famous recording by the classic trio including bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian. The second track “Waltz for Debby” is my favorite tune in the record. "Debby" in the composition's title refers to Evans's niece, Debby Evans. The composition itself is not very complicated, and the most chord progressions are the traditional cycle of fifth and II-V-I progression. However, Evans use the inversion technique to make the chord transition much more smooth. Besides that, he inverted the chords in two A section different way, and that make the music more interesting. The arranging technique that he used is less common in traditional jazz music, and you will feel the beauty of the classical music. It is worth mentioning that although the title indicated “Waltz”, only the beginning melody is played in 3/4. Once go into solo section, the tune change to 4/4 swing groove. I did hear some musicians played the whole song in 3/4, but Evans’ trio always play this way. If you are interested, notice the moment of the rhythmic transition in the music. It actually sounds quite smoothly.

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Guitarina Duo (Guitar+Ocarina)
Eric Chuang 莊智淵 - Ocarina & Guitar
Music by Bill Evans

Eric Chuang plays Letu AF wooden quadruple ocarina and Cordoba RCWE guitar.
影片中使用的陶笛為“樂土AF四管木陶笛“。