Moon Beams marked an important moment for Bill Evans. Recorded in 1962, it was his first trio album following the sudden death of bassist Scott LaFaro, whose intuitive style had shaped much of Evans’ earlier sound. Rather than returning with something bold or experimental, Evans chose a softer approach—an album built almost entirely around ballads. It’s reflective and unhurried, showing a pianist more interested in exploring emotion than making a statement. As part of Craft Recordings – Original Jazz Classics series, Moon Beams is being reissued on 180-gram vinyl from lacquers cut from the original stereo tapes (AAA) by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.
From the opening track, “Re: Person I Knew,” you can sense the quiet intimacy Evans was chasing. It’s a slow, moody piece with a melody that feels like it’s being spoken rather than played. That’s the beauty of Evans—he doesn’t pound the piano. He seems to coax the music out of it. There’s a feeling of space on Moon Beams, a kind of breathing room that lets each note land and linger. Chuck Israels, who stepped in on bass, plays with subtlety and warmth, while drummer Paul Motian gives everything a kind of brushed softness. On “Polka Dots and Moonbeams,” a standard that could easily veer into sentimentality, Evans finds the emotional core without overstating it. “Stairway to the Stars” and “I Fall in Love Too Easily” are other standouts. These ballads are full of restraint; Evans doesn’t show off, but he does open up. His chords are rich, but never crowded.
“If You Could See Me Now” is a highlight, a gentle, melancholic tune that Evans treats with great care. He draws out the melody with a kind of fragile grace while Israels provides a thoughtful, steady bass line, and Motian’s drumming is nearly invisible, more felt than heard.
“It Might As Well Be Spring” adds a bit of lightness, with a more playful, almost skipping rhythm, though Evans still keeps things restrained. He plays around with the tune in small ways, changing the phrasing, adding subtle flourishes, without ever disrupting its calm flow.
The album closes with “Very Early,” one of Evans’ original compositions. It’s more harmonically rich than some of the standards that precede it, and its winding, slightly off-kilter melody hints at the direction Evans would explore more deeply in later years.
There’s also a kind of quiet courage to this album. After the brilliance of the earlier trio with LaFaro, there must have been pressure on Evans to match that energy or innovate in some bold way. But Moon Beams doesn’t try to prove anything. It’s a record of grief, grace, and slow healing. In short, Moon Beams is a gentle masterpiece. It doesn’t ask much from the listener aside from attention, and maybe a little quiet. The crystal clear audio on this pressing creates a perfect late-night kind of record that reveals a little more of itself each time.
