For a 1978 European tour,
Gil Evans used a nonet, a much smaller-than-usual band. However, all of the ingredients (good and bad) from his later groups are very much present on the German concert preserved on this LP (which was originally put out by Circle). The three performances ("Dr. Jekyll," "The Meaning of the Blues" and
Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing") are generally much too long, with "Little Wing" only two seconds short of 26 1/2 minutes. While
Evans is on electric piano, his contributions are rather minor, as his sidemen take overly long solos which alternate exciting and somewhat aimless sections. Heard from in prominent roles are altoist
Gerry Niewood, trumpeter
Terumasa Hino,
George Adams on tenor, trumpeter
Lew Soloff and the synthesizer of
Peter Levin. ~ Scott Yanow