Evans Above, Happy St. Patrick’s Day

In honour of St. Patrick’s Day, embedded below is my favourite version of “Danny Boy” ever, a 1962 solo piano reading by Bill Evans. Evans was from Welsh stock on his father’s side and Russian on his mother’s, an interesting combination reflected in his playing, which was both romantic and intellectual.

I thought I knew how great a pianist Evans was until I heard this track about fifteen or twenty years after first encountering him. It made me realize …