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Jim Witzel Quartet: Very Early (Remembering Bill Evans)

By Troy Dostert
September 6, 2025
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Jim Witzel Quartet: Very Early (Remembering Bill Evans)

While tributes to pianist

Bill Evans

piano
1929 - 1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Evans have certainly not been in short supply over the years, he has unsurprisingly been given far more attention by pianists than from other instrumentalists. Efforts from guitarists have been particularly rare. There are some noteworthy exceptions:

John McLaughlin

guitar
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">John McLaughlin took a stab at it in 1993 with Time Remembered (Verve) alongside three other guitarists, for example, and

John Abercrombie

guitar
1944 - 2017

" data-original-title="" title="">John Abercrombie worked with pianist

Andy LaVerne

piano
b.1947

" data-original-title="" title="">Andy LaVerne on Timeline (Steeplechase, 2003) in an homage to Undercurrent (Blue Note, 1962), Evans' stellar session with guitarist

Jim Hall

guitar
1930 - 2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Jim Hall. Now veteran guitarist

Jim Witzel

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Jim Witzel has teamed with his frequent partner, pianist

Phil Aaron

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Phil Aaron, along with bassist

Dan Feiszli

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Dan Feiszli and drummer

Jason Lewis

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Jason Lewis, to offer his own tribute, and it provides plenty of savory moments for both Evans afficionados and casual fans alike.

Of the album's nine tracks, the only two Evans compositions are the title track, "Very Early," one of Evans' gorgeous ballads, and "Peri's Scope," given a bossa-nova-like treatment. But there are plenty of the pieces Evans put his inimitable stamp upon, such as

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis' "Nardis" and Earl Zindars' "How My Heart Sings." To its credit, the quartet avoids facile imitation of Evans, choosing rather to present an affectionate rendering of these tunes in its own hard-swinging style. As this is a group which has worked together since Witzel's Breaking Through Gently (Joplin & Sweeney, 2023), the musicians have a steady affinity that serves the music well, as on Victor Young's "Beautiful Love," the tune of which is sketched in a lovely rubato by Witzel before the band joins him with a spirited take that makes room for well-structured solos by the leader and Aaron before Feiszli and Lewis trade eights.

A subtle muscularity anchors much of the quartet's work. The band is locked in tight for the medium-tempo numbers like "Solar," the album's other Davis piece, or

John Carisi

trumpet
1922 - 1992

" data-original-title="" title="">John Carisi's "Israel," the latter of which highlights Aaron's nimble keyboard work alongside Feiszli and Lewis, their close interactions bringing to mind Evans' telepathic exchanges with bassist

Scott LaFaro

bass
1936 - 1961

" data-original-title="" title="">Scott LaFaro and drummer

Paul Motian

drums
1931 - 2011

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul Motian in Evans' first immortal trio.

Steve Swallow

bass
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Swallow's "Falling Grace" also possesses a surging energy, with both Witzel and Aaron digging into the incisive groove established by Feiszli and Lewis. But the group's chemistry on the ballads is no less evident, with

Leonard Bernstein

composer / conductor
1918 - 1990

" data-original-title="" title="">Leonard Bernstein's "Some Other Time" given an especially poignant reading, as both the pianist and the guitarist trace the piece's lyrical contours with skill and sensitivity. And "Very Early" is another charmer, with Evans' waltz melody shining brightly via Witzel's crystalline delivery.

This will hardly be the last of the Evans tributes we can expect to see in the years to come. But it is a fine one, and Witzel and colleagues are to be commended for recognizing the pianist's artistry with such dedication and integrity.

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Track Listing

Beautiful Love; How My Heart Sings; Falling Grace; Solar; Very Early; Israel; Some Other Time; Nardis; Peri��s Scope.

Personnel

Jim Witzel

guitar

Phil Aaron

piano

Dan Feiszli

bass

Jason Lewis

drums

Album information

Title: Very Early (Remembering Bill Evans) | Year Released: 2025 | Record Label: Joplin & Sweeney

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