That Bill Evans ventured into overdubbed pianos for this session was in 1963 a historic occasion. Overdubs were seldom in the age of Rudy Van Gelder- and Orrin Keepnews-produced sessions, which were sacrosanct in their on-the-spot nature. But by 1963 it was clear that very, very few people could play the way Evans did. Once he had himself to play along with, it was abundantly clear why he was so singular a musical mind. The melodies here fit together like two sets of fingers making a cradle, and Evans dances the lines, flows them irregularly, and entangles them so as to paint himself into constant binds. Then he escapes the binds, as artfully as he had done on Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby with the legendary trio of himself, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Paul Motian. This is rightly one of jazz piano's most enchanted recordings. --Andrew Bartlett