Twin Cities Jazz Festival Presents Larry McDonough And Joel Shapira Performing Intermodulating Undercurrents Live At The Kos: The Music Of Bill Evans And Jim Hall at Twin Cities Jazz Festival at Station 81

Twin Cities Jazz Festival Presents Larry McDonough and Joel Shapira Performing Intermodulating Undercurrents Live at the Kos: The Music of Bill Evans and Jim Hall

Families and students are welcome.

Pianist Larry McDonough and guitarist Joel Shapira will perform music from their new live recording celebrating the music of pianist Bill Evans and guitarist Jim Hall. “Intermodulating Undercurrents Live at the Kos: The Music of Bill Evans and Jim Hall” was recorded at a show during the pandemic to an outside social distance audience on October 3, 2021, on the patio of the Kos in Minneapolis, hosted by owners Kathy Kosnoff and Lyonel Norris....

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Twin Cities Jazz Festival Presents Larry McDonough and Joel Shapira Performing Intermodulating Undercurrents Live at the Kos: The Music of Bill Evans and Jim Hall

Families and students are welcome.

Pianist Larry McDonough and guitarist Joel Shapira will perform music from their new live recording celebrating the music of pianist Bill Evans and guitarist Jim Hall. “Intermodulating Undercurrents Live at the Kos: The Music of Bill Evans and Jim Hall” was recorded at a show during the pandemic to an outside social distance audience on October 3, 2021, on the patio of the Kos in Minneapolis, hosted by owners Kathy Kosnoff and Lyonel Norris.

In 1962, pianist Bill Evans and guitarist Jim Hall met to record the first of two of the most influential jazz recordings. Piano and guitar duos are rare, as their similarities can make it difficult for the musicians to stay out of each other’s way, but Evans and Hall made their similarities their strength. Both had used space as a key element in their music, moving away from the unrelenting intensity of bebop.

“Undercurrent” from 1962 contained a mix of jazz standards, including a rare up tempo version of “My Funny Valentine,” along with the Hall original “Romain.” In his November 26, 1962 review for Down Beat magazine jazz critic Pete Welding stated: "This collaboration between Evans and Hall has resulted in some of the most beautiful, thoroughly ingratiating music it has been my pleasure to hear.”

Four years later Evans and Halls recorded the second and last of their duo albums. “Intermodulation” continued the mix of standards with originals “Turn Out the Stars” from Evans and “All Across the City” from Hall. Writing for Allmusic, music critic Michael G. Nastos wrote of the album: "A duet recording between pianist Bill Evans and guitarist Jim Hall is one that should retain high expectations to match melodic and harmonic intimacies with brilliant spontaneous musicianship. Where this recording delivers that supposition is in the details and intricacy with which Evans and Hall work, guided by simple framings of standard songs made into personal statements that include no small amounts of innovation.”

Evans died in 1980 at age 50, and they never had the opportunity to record again. Hall died in 2013 at age 83.

Larry McDonough saw Evans perform in the 1970s, and Joel Shapira met Hall when he lived in New York City. Larry and Joel will perform pieces from both recordings, along with pieces that Evans and Hall performed separately that they might have included in another recording had Bill Evans lived longer, and pieces written by Larry and Joel in the spirit of Evans and Hall.

Intermodulating Undercurrents has filled venues throughout the Twin Cities. Come and see why. Hear the magic Bill Evans and Jim Hall made and what might have been.

Larry McDonough is a St. Paul jazz pianist and singer, performing around the world and recording with his group the Larry McDonough Quartet. He has performed with legendary saxophonist and composer Benny Golson, trombonist Fred Wesley, and trumpeter Duane Eubanks, as well as a who's who of Minnesota jazz artists, and was inducted into the Minnesota Rock Country Hall of Fame for his work in the group Danny's Reasons.

Guitarist Joel Shapira is a nationally acclaimed musician also residing in St. Paul. He's a leader and member of multiple top Twin Cities' jazz ensembles, as well as a master of the demanding discipline of solo guitar. He performs regularly with world-class musicians, has numerous recordings to his credit, and is an artist featured on the New York City record label Unseen Rain Records.

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