Turn Out the Stars - the Songs of Bill Evans

In his tribute to Bill Evans, English singer, pianist, and cabaret performer Dominic Alldis performs not only music composed by the great pianist, but songs that Evans was especially associated with during his too-short career. The familiar Evans-composed songs "Waltz for Debby," "Turn Out the Stars," and "Peri's Scope" are here, and luckily for the listener Alldis has included less familiar Evans material like "My Bells" and "Very Early" on the program as well. The complex "My Bells" was written by Evans for a recording session with Zoot Sims and Jim Hall. "Very Early" was one of his "very early" compositions written while still in school. Then there's "Laurie," written for one of Evans' girlfriends and to which Bob Dorough later added lyrics.

To Alldis' credit, he knows he is not Bill Evans and doesn't try to be. His approach to the play list is simply to perform music that Evans did, but in his own unique way with both his piano and vocal cords. Featuring a string quartet, the lyrical "Waltz for Debby" is given a fervent but lilting rendition, which is the way Evans intended it be performed. On "You Must Believe in Spring" the singer/pianist is joined by long-time associate Adam Glasser on harmonica, which provides an appropriate setting as Alldis sings this song in French. Glasser's mouth organ also appears on "Waltz for Debby" and on "Days of Wine and Roses," the latter recalling the Evans/Toots Thielemanns recording of 1978. One of the album's highlights is "You and the Night and the Music," with Alldis joined by Claire Martin. Each gets a chorus and then Alldis scats beneath Martin's vocalizing for a second run-through. Quite nice.

Alldis has a very pleasant voice that is just right for cabaret: emotional and intense with an excellent expressive technique. In addition to Glasser and Martin, he gets some impressive help from Geoff Gascoyne and Dave Ohm. This is a relaxing hour of music performed by the entertaining and accomplished Dominic Alldis, who honors a major jazz performer without imitating him. Recommended.