The best time to watch this documentary is on a cold, wet, winter day on the Mediterranean when you are basically confined to your home, sitting in your warm study with breaks from the film to sit down on your piano to channel Bill Evans.
I had listened to Bill Evans. Everyone knew Kind of Blue, of course. His earlier trio work was great, but I loved The Tony Bennet - Bill Evans Album from 1975. In my opinion, this was Bennet's finest recording, by far. This album steered me to Bill Evans and I listened intently to his trio work. Before I hadn't given him too much notice, preferring Oscar Peterson, Monk, and Errol Garner before I jumped into the future with Herbie Hancock and George Cables.
Look for this video on YouTube (there is a brief clip of it in the film):
Bill Evans Trio - Rome 1979 - The Two Lonely People
Bill Evans - Piano Marc Johnson - Bass Joe LaBarbera - Drums
Ugh. His personal life was a total train wreck. Bill Evans, junkie husband and father to two children. WTF? It's so tragic and sad and infuriating that he wasted so much talent on his love affair with drugs while so many of us would chop off our left foot (not much pedal action with the left) to have a fraction of his talent. Imagine if he had lived another ten, twenty, or even thirty years. Oscar Peterson was sill going at it when he was 80.
