The Bill Evans Trio: Moon Beams—Craft Original Jazz Classics Vinyl Reissue (2025)
Moon Beams is an album I discovered later in my exploration of Bill Evans’s catalog. Like many listeners, I started with Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby—the classic live recordings featuring the legendary trio of Evans on piano, Scott LaFaro on bass, and Paul Motian on drums. Captured in an intimate club setting, these albums showcase a kind of musical telepathy between the players, shifting focus seamlessly while supporting each other with delicate intuition.
Recorded in 1962 at Sound Makers Studio in New York City and produced by Orrin Keepnews, Moon Beams was the first studio album Evans made following the tragic death of LaFaro, more than a year earlier. It marked the beginning of a new chapter for the Bill Evans Trio, now featuring the gifted bassist Chuck Israels. These sessions yielded some of the most beautiful music in Evans’s discography. A separate batch of up-tempo tracks from the same sessions would later be released as How My Heart Sings! in 1964.
Bill Evans with bassist Chuck Israels.
The eight ballads on Moon Beams are introspective and lyrical, some becoming staples in Evans’s later live performances. While tinged with melancholy, the album radiates serenity and quiet optimism. Standards like “Polka Dots and Moonbeams,” “I Fall in Love Too Easily,” “Stairway to the Stars,” and “It Might As Well Be Spring” unfold with a meditative grace. Evans’s touch is delicate and varied, as if translating private thoughts into sound. Israels contributes several poignant solos that punctuate the mood beautifully, while Motian’s brushwork and shimmering cymbals add depth and atmosphere. The overall experience is intimate and deeply moving.
For the past year, I’d been listening to a 1990 reissue mastered by Phil De Lancie for Fantasy’s Original Jazz Classics series. Though it may have included a digital step (even De Lancie was unsure), it remained a solid, budget-friendly pressing that served me well. But I had always hoped Moon Beams would receive the full Craft Original Jazz Classics treatment—and now, it finally has.
This new 2025 edition is fully analog, with lacquers cut from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI and housed in a glossy Stoughton tip-on jacket, the package is visually and sonically stunning. The iconic cover photo—featuring Nico, who would later gain fame with the Velvet Underground—appears a bit more subdued here, but still haunting.
Sonically, Gray has delivered a more refined and nuanced presentation of this timeless music. Evans’s piano has greater body and presence, with improved dimensionality and air around the notes. Subtle dynamic shifts become more apparent, revealing the emotional layers in Evans’s phrasing. Israels’s bass gains weight and realism, each note clearly defined, creating the vivid sensation of a live performance. Motian’s drums are more articulate, with brushes rendered in tactile detail and cymbals that seem to shimmer and vanish into the soundstage. The effect is immersive and natural—never flashy, but deeply engaging.
One standout moment comes early, in “Re: Person I Knew.” During Israels’s bass solo, Evans lowers his volume and gently drifts across the keys, as if momentarily lost in thought. It’s a fleeting, intimate gesture that captures the essence of Moon Beams: a glimpse into the reflective inner world of Bill Evans.
In short, Moon Beams is a masterwork—made even more compelling by this exceptional Craft reissue. Essential listening, both musically and sonically.
MOON BEAMS (ORIGINAL JAZZ CLASSICS SERIES) (180G LP)
$39.00
Release Date: May 30, 2025
