I remember Toots remarking not long after making the album on his gratitude for Bill Evans having included him on so much of the record. And I think that the "Affinity" that developed between Evans and Toots may have influenced the direction of the project away from whatever was originally planned. (But then, through that period Evans had done a number of one-on-one albums, collaborating with singer Tony Bennett, saxophonist Stan Getz, and guitarist Jim Hall.)
I know that for Toots, playing with Evans was a dream come true. You can hear the almost telepathic interplay between these two balladeers in Body and Soul, Blue In Green, This is All I Ask, and I Do It for Your Love, while Snow Peas is a marvelous and engaging study in rhythmic contrasts. Evans died soon after, but for the next several years Toots whenever possible would work with Evans' bassist from that period, Marc Johnson.
I note that Michael Rubin prefers the peppy 1950s Toots to the romantic and often introspective 1980s Toots. I like it all, of course, but I've noticed that some folk tend to strongly prefer one or the other.
Winslow
Winslow Yerxa Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5 Harmonica instructor, The Jazzschool for Music Study and Performance Resident expert, bluesharmonica.com Columnist, harmonicasessions.com
________________________________
From: Bob McGraw <harpbob@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Arthur Jennings <timeistight@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>; Brian Gordon <cobravenom94@xxxxxxxxx >
Sent: Saturday, December 24, 2011 2:14 PM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Essential listening suggestions
"Affinity" is the greatest jazz harmonica record ever...of course Bill Evans probably wasn't aware he was recording a harmonica record ;-)