Empathy

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Work

Empathy · Pianist Bill Evans and drummer Shelly Manne were playing together on the programme at the Village Vanguard in New York when Verve producer Creed Taylor proposed a studio session. Riverside, the label to which Evans was then tied, gave permission. Manne brought his bassist Monty Budwig, so that a trio came about. Evans moved to Verve a year later.

The record features well-known standards alongside two songs by Irving Berlin from the musical Mr. President. The attention is mainly on Evans, but the critic Leonard Feather observed that the interplay with Manne lifts the music far above that of an ordinary piano trio. A reviewer at AllMusic hears an Evans who plays more lightly, freely and relaxedly than before, as if the three musicians were enjoying a day away from their regular groups.

Listening

Track list

1. 1The Washington Twist6:27Apple Music ↗
2. 2Danny Boy3:40Apple Music ↗
3. 3Let's Go Back to the Waltz4:31Apple Music ↗
4. 4With a Song in My Heart9:12Apple Music ↗
5. 5Goodbye5:10Apple Music ↗
6. 6I Believe in You5:51Apple Music ↗

30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗