Translation of the German review:

With the review Andy LaVerne Piano Trio - Legend I would like to present a new release by International Phonograph Inc. (ipi) from the USA. The Andy LaVerne Piano Trio was recorded in October 1980 and consists of Andy LaVerne on piano and the last rhythm section with Bill Evans: Marc Johnson on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums.

The American jazz musician Andy LaVerne (piano, composition) was born in New York City in 1947. He studied classical piano and was later a student of Bill Evans as a jazz musician. From 1973 to 1975, he toured with Woody Herman's big band. He made his first recordings. After appearances with John Abercrombie and Miroslav Vitouš, he was a member of Stan Getz's group from 1977 to 1980. In the 1980s, he performed with Chris and Dan Brubeck as the Brubeck-LaVerne Trio. Since the 1980s, LaVerne has increasingly concentrated on his teaching activities. In addition to numerous albums as a sideman, LaVerne recorded around 40 albums as a soloist and bandleader. In the field of jazz, he was involved in around 150 recording sessions between 1973 and 2018.

The American jazz bassist Marc Johnson was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1953. After learning piano and cello, he switched to bass at the age of 16. Alongside his studies, he played double bass with the Fort Worth Symphony from 1972 and toured with the Woody Herman Big Band in 1977. In 1978 Bill Evans invited him to join his last trio; in 1982 he played on the album Pure Getz. Johnson began recording under his own name for ECM in 1985. He was a member of guitarist John Abercrombie's trio for a long time. His list of prominent musicians is long. These include Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny, Paul Motian, Lee Konitz, Charles Lloyd, Gary Burton, Jack DeJohnette and Dino Saluzzi.

The American jazz drummer and composer Joseph James (Joe) LaBarbera was born in New York in 1948. He received lessons in drums, clarinet and saxophone from his father. LaBarbera studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston from 1966 and played in a US Army band for two years. This was followed by arrangements in Chuck Mangione's and Woody Herman's quartet. LaBarbera's first album under his own name was released in 1979. He was also in Bill Evans' last trio from 1978. His list of collaborations with prominent musicians is also long: Phil Woods, Art Farmer, Jim Hall, Gary Burton, Art Pepper, John Scofield, Scott Hamilton, Tony Bennett, Randy Brecker, Kenny Wheeler, Bud Shank, Lee Konitz, Toots Thielemans and many more.

The album contains four tracks with a total running time of 31 minutes. The first two tracks TBFBS and He, She, It are smooth and follow a lyrical character. On the uptempo track Arena, it is fascinating how the trio maintains the common thread despite the high speed, while also adding accents with ease. Sabra is powered by the fabulous drumming of Joe LaBarbera, who lets off steam with an incredibly dynamic solo. This album is therefore a halfway mixture between harmonious jazz and excursions into somewhat wilder jazz specialties.

The excellent recording brings the listener very close to the recording situation and has everything that makes the heart of tape lovers beat faster. The music sounds very open and natural and is perfectly reproduced on the stereo stage, which is certainly also due to the use of only two Brüel & Kjær omnidirectional microphones. Minimal technical effort and equipment of the highest quality (such as amplifiers from Mark Levinson) guarantee maximum yield and confirm the high level of expertise of sound engineer Jonathan Horwich. The equipment used has no limits, resulting in a huge dynamic range. The copy on the RTM SM900 tape sounds simply superb. The RTM aluminum reel is stored in a simple plastic box with a yellow sticker. ipi's focus is on music and recording technology. One can argue about the need for more extensive equipment, but not at the hot price of 150.00 USD.

Publisher's Notes: Note that there is a one second tape fault at the beginning of He, She, It due to an error in the master. Only a production copy is available (150 USD) as the 44 year old original master tape would be too fragile for repeated playback.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)