Conversations with Myself (album)


Conversations with Myself is a 1963 album by American jazz musician Bill Evans.

History

Recording with Glenn Gould's piano, CD 318, at studio sessions on February 6 and 9, and May 20, 1963, Evans used the then controversial method of overdubbing three different yet corresponding piano tracks for each song.
Evans followed Conversations with Myself with Further Conversations with Myself and New Conversations, both recorded in a similar vein.

Critical reception

The album earned Evans his first Grammy Award in 1964 for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group. It received a 5-star review in Down Beat in 1963.
Writing for Allmusic, music critic Michael G. Nastos wrote:
Certainly one of the more unusual items in the discography of an artist whose consistency is as evident as any in modern jazz, and nothing should dissuade you from purchasing this one of a kind album that in some ways set a technological standard for popular music – and jazz – to come.
Jason Laipply of All About Jazz wrote:
was an instant classic for the jazz community. Evans' work on the ten tunes included here is truly inspired and amazing to behold... this glimpse of the artist at a heightened level of expression is very rewarding indeed. However, for the casual fan, I would not suggest this disc. The musical vocabulary is complex enough that the simple beauty of the songs, and Evans’ playing, is at times lost.

Track listing

  1. "'Round Midnight" – 6:35
  2. "How About You?" – 2:50
  3. "Spartacus Love Theme" – 5:10
  4. "Blue Monk" – 4:32
  5. "Stella by Starlight" – 4:52
  6. "Hey There" – 4:31
  7. "N.Y.C.'s No Lark" – 5:36
  8. "Just You, Just Me" – 2:37
  9. "Bemsha Swing" – 2:56
  10. "A Sleepin' Bee" – 4:10
Tracks 9 and 10 not part of original LP release. Track 7 recorded on February 6, 1963; tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 8-10 on February 9; tracks 3 and 4 recorded on May 20, 1963.

Personnel