Album of the Day

Among the most revered arrangers in jazz history, Gil Evans may be best known for his collaborations with Miles Davis but he also released numerous albums of his own. SVENGALI (an anagram of his name) captures the Canadian-born pianist leading an ensemble through half a dozen live performances made in New York City during the summer of 1973. Evans’ broad musical interests and masterful balance of acoustic and electronic instruments are on full display here, from versions of old favorites including “Summertime” and “Blues In Orbit” to a pair of tunes penned by saxophonist Billy Harper (also performing on sax at these dates is a young David Sanborn). SVENGALI is one of Gil Evans’ best releases of the 1970s and is now available on blu-ray audio as part of Rhino’s Quadio series.