In spite of failing health from years of drug abuse,
Bill Evans spent a fair amount of time touring in the year prior to his death in 1980. Most of this CD comes from a 1979 club date in Rome, though it is apparent from the very beginning that the recording was made from the audience, due to the slightly muffled sound and the rather obnoxious, overly talkative crowd (something that the pianist encountered much less often this late in his career, especially in Europe). With bassist
Marc Johnson and drummer
Joe La Barbera, he starts off with several of his most-loved originals, though the crowd doesn't seem to settle down until he launches
Jimmy Rowles' lovely ballad "The Peacocks." One notable surprise during this set is the inclusion of
Miles Davis' "Solar," which wasn't commonly a part of his concerts. An added bonus track is a spacy take of
Davis' "So What" from a club appearance in Pescara, Italy, in 1969, presumably around the time of his broadcast appearance at the festival in that city. On the final track, he's joined by
Eddie Gomez and
Marty Morell; the sound is a bit distorted and there's some feedback in the on-stage monitors, but there's an energy present that seems to be missing in the Rome set. Obsessive collectors of
Bill Evans' recordings will undoubtedly search for this Gambit CD, but it falls well short of being an essential release in his vast discography, particularly with the numerous number of superior live CDs recorded during 1979 and 1980 that are available.