Conversations with Myself (album)

Conversations with Myself is a 1963 album by American jazz musician Bill Evans.

History
Recorded at three different studio sessions on February 6 and 9, and May 20, 1963, Evans recorded the album using the then controversial method of overdubbing three different yet corresponding piano tracks for each song. Evans used Glenn Gould's piano, CD 318.

Evans followed Conversations with Myself with Further Conversations with Myself and New Conversations, both recorded in a similar vein.

Reception
The album would earn Evans his first Grammy Award in 1964 for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group. It received a 5-star review in Down Beat in 1963.

Writing for Allmusic, music critic Michael G. Nastos wrote: "Certainly one of the more unusual items in the discography of an artist whose consistency is as evident as any in modern jazz, and nothing should dissuade you from purchasing this one of a kind album that in some ways set a technological standard for popular music — and jazz — to come." Jason Laipply of All About Jazz wrote: "[The album] was an instant classic for the jazz community. Evans work on the ten tunes included here is truly inspired and amazing to behold... this glimpse of the artist at a heightened level of expression is very rewarding indeed. However, for the casual fan, I would not suggest this disc. The musical vocabulary is complex enough that the simple beauty of the songs, and Evans playing, is at times lost."

Track listing

 * 1) "'Round Midnight" (Monk, Williams) – 6:35
 * 2) "How About You?" (Lane, Ralph Freed) – 2:50
 * 3) "Spartacus Love Theme" (Alex North) – 5:10
 * 4) "Blue Monk" (Monk) – 4:32
 * 5) "Stella by Starlight" (Young, Washington) – 4:52
 * 6) "Hey There" (Richard Adler, Ross) – 4:31
 * 7) "N.Y.C.'s No Lark" (Bill Evans) – 5:36
 * 8) "Just You, Just Me" (Jesse Greer, Raymond Klages) – 2:37
 * 9) "Bemsha Swing" (Denzil Best, Monk) – 2:56
 * 10) "A Sleepin' Bee" (Arlen, Capote) – 4:10

''Tracks 9 and 10 not part of original LP release. Track 7 recorded on Feb 6, 1963; tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 8-10 on Feb 9; tracks 3 and 4 recorded on May 20, 1963''

Credits

 * Bill Evans - overdubbed piano