The progressions washed in like a warm summer breeze as the trio embraced the groove and straddled its natural beat. There was a beautiful silence as Evans touched the opening chords to "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life," from the studio album From Left To Right (MGM, 1971). The enthusiastic crowd got louder as every song ended, but also were completely silent as the music was played. The most handsome rendition is closed by Evans with alternately strong and gentle lines. Gomez and Morell comping well, with Gomez turning a bowed comp into a short duet with Evans. Here Evans stretches his ample jazz skills, moving in many directions with sumptuous note selections. "The Two Lonely People" has become a jazz standard, recorded many times, first appearing on The Bill Evans Album (Columbia, 1971). It was time for Evans to securely grab the reins. Gomez and Morell started to pull and punctuate the tune into a more spirited groove, in which both Evans and the crown invested. The classic "Who Can I Turn To?" was reimagined as rousing applause turned to silence to take in Evan's sentimental and soft opening refrain. Evans cued into the kicked-up tempo as the trio was now highly engaged in the moment. Imagination might see Emily sliding across the floor before Gomez raised the bar with a meaty bass solo. "Emily," a tune written for the motion picture The Americanization of Emily (British MGM, 1962) followed wistfully, charming and delighting a most receptive audience. The crowd was most appreciative and perhaps eager for a temporary escape. As it turned out, any hostility going on was not brought into the concert hall. Here it served as a chance for each of them to play, get their collective footing, and relax into a comfort zone. The trio opened with "Re: Person I Knew." The Evans original was first recorded on his album Moon Beams (Riverside, 1962) and later became the name of a live album, Re: Person I Knew (Fantasy, 1981). Oddly the concert was at ten o'clock in the morning due to the extraordinary circumstances in which the country was engulfed. They were protected from harm's way and escorted to the Teatro Gran Rex to perform. Pianist Bill Evans along with bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Marty Morell landed in Buenos Aires with some trepidation, no doubt. They are artists after all, often considered above the common bourgeois. There is an unwritten code of understanding, however, that musicians and athletes are to walk freely. Just what three jazz cats didn't need to hear as they made their way to Buenos Aires for a concert. The controversy brought emotions to the surface and created a dangerous environment. Argentina's former President Juan Peron was returning to the country after many years in exile. 1973 was a time of political volatility and unrest.
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