Times Remembered: The Final Years of the Bill Evans Trio (Volume 15)

by Joe La Barbera, Charles Levin, Hal Miller (Foreword)

In the late 1970s legendary pianist Bill Evans, one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time, was at the peak of his career. He revolutionized the jazz trio (bass, piano, drums) by giving each part equal emphasis in what jazz historian Ted Gioia called a “telepathic level” of interplay. It was an ideal opportunity for a sideman, and after auditioning in 1978, Joe La Barbera was ecstatic when he was offered the drum chair, completing the trio with Evans and bassist Marc Johnson.

In  Times Remembered , La Barbera and co-author Charles Levin provide an intimate fly-on-the-wall peek into Evans’s life, critical recording sessions, and behind-the-scenes anecdotes of life on the road. Joe regales the trio’s magical connection, a group that quickly gelled to play music on the deepest and purest level imaginable. He also watches his dream gig disappear, a casualty of Evans’s historical drug abuse when the pianist dies in a New York hospital emergency room in 1980. But La Barbera tells this story with love and respect, free of judgment, showing Evans’s humanity and uncanny ability—even in his final days—to transcend physical weakness and deliver first-rate performances at nearly every show.

Times Remembered includes a foreword by Hal Miller, a discography of the band’s work, and numerous “breakout boxes” with reminiscences by musicians who knew Evans, interspersed with La Barbera’s memories of the same times.

Genres: Jazz

256 pages, Hardcover

Published October 20, 2021

Reviews

[Richard Lupino · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inside look into the performing & personal life of a great jazz musician

Jazz drummer, Joe LaBarbera tells the reader about his life & experiences performing with some of the world's best jazz musicians. He opens up that world to us in a very personal story, making us understand what its like to be a central part of the jazz community. He uses personal experiences, anecdotes, & photos
to accomplish this. But more so, he opens his heart & soul about his feelings for the music & musicians who create it.
I feel anyone with an interest in music, especially jazz, would thoroughly enjoy this book.

[John Gillies · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the music of the legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans. The author, Joe La Barbera, was the drummer for Evans's last great trio. He provides many insights into the process that went into creating their music and speaks insightfully about what it felt like to be creating such music.
The author gives a good background into his own musical growth and later in the book notes the many points of similarities between his background and musical development and that of Bill Evans. He is also honest in speaking about Evans's drug addiction and can look back and judge himself.
The book contains many wonderful anecdotes but its true value for me is how he gives us a sense of what living that life was like.

[Christopher Heaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little gem of a book I bought from a sidewalk book vendor for a couple of dollars. Jazz drummer and one-third of pianist Bill Evans' last trio, Joe La Barbera paints a picture of his two years working with Evans. Well-written and insightful, there are also short segments from other jazzmen who comment on their experiences with Evans that overlapped with La Barbera time with Evans.