Bill Evans Live in Paris 1972 + 2022 Baranoff Pinot Noir
February 2024
I was about 25 years old, living in New York, when I was given a CD at work (Bill Evans, Live in Paris 1972). I knew very little about jazz, but my job was to write a short description for Barnes & Nobles’ CD listening station featuring the album. (anyone remember those? You could put on a headset in the store and try out a CD before buying) I got to keep the CDs I got at work, and I started putting the Bill Evans CD on whenever I needed background music. Over time, the CD went from being background music to something I was playing all the time, and starting to love.
Around that time, someone took me to a jazz club downtown. It was so tiny, the musicians took up more room than the audience. It was too loud to talk. You had to really listen, and watch. I had taken classical piano lessons for years growing up, but watching these musicians riff and improvise reinforced what I had been starting to feel… that jazz is a totally different plane of music. Something emotional, gritty, weird and satisfying.
Many years later, here I am in Healdsburg, jamming out work, running kids to practice and school and living a completely different life… and Bill Evans is still something I play weekly. Over the years, I’ve listened to lot more jazz, but Bill Evans is special to me. In reading the comments on YouTube about this live recording in Paris, I came across so many beautiful and emotional comments, I realized I’m not alone. I thought I’d share some with you:
“Before you listen, close your eyes. I never heard this first song before; soon, I was in tears. Like, ’Life is really hard; but this too shall pass.’”
“I don’t know why I like jazz. The chaos, loneliness, the deep emptiness I feel low down in my heart somehow resonates with the music. I feel understood and yet my miserable solitude is confirmed. A glass of gin and tonic or wine will prolong that grief. I love that.”
“The magic of Bill Evans in every note he plays. Music for the soul. Thanks from Italy”
“The intro to Nardis just unbelievably good. I listen to those two minutes on repeat and each time when the band comes in it’s straight eyes rolling back magic. What a gift music is, Thank you Bill and trio.”
“Feeling the sky, the cloud, the smooth gentle notes and sound of harmony and grace.”
“Person I Knew” is magical. I almost leave my body every time I hear it.”
You can stream Bill Evans on all the music platforms
The full Paris recording is on YouTube at youtube.com/watch?v=J6T5y9APZu.
2022 Baranoff Pinot Noir
It’s humbling to choose a wine that honors such heartfelt sentiments. Still, there are some beautiful threads to explore with Bill Evans and the 2022 Baranoff Pinot Noir. This vineyard, so small and unknown, is packed full of surprises (7 clones in 3 acres) and contradictions. It’s undiscovered but it doesn’t know, or care. It is perfectly in harmony with the nature that surrounds it. Unlike jazz, the wine is pure pleasure, never chaos, and doesn’t require as much time to appreciate it. But still, there are many layers to explore. Its color in the glass, its layers of fragrance on the nose, the way it hits the palate and lingers after. How it will change with time, and how our appreciation of wine will change until the next time we open a bottle, are all things to ponder. If you’re not a fan of jazz yet, just put it on as background music. And let’s revisit the topic in 25 years.
Need more Baranoff Pinot Noir? Purchase at https://www.grosventrecellars.com/product/2022-baranoff-pinot-noir.