About

Recorded live on May 12 & 19, 1966 at the Penthouse jazz club in Seattle, WA.

RSD limited edition release on 180g black vinyl
First pressing of 5,000, hand-numbered
Packaged in a sealed fold-over poly sleeve without shrink wrap

Includes 16-page booklet
Deluxe Package Includes Notes by Award-Winning Writer Marc Myers, Testimonials by Trio Members Eddie Gomez and Joe Hunt, an Appreciation from Piano Legend Bob James, and More

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Portraits at the Penthouse: Live in Seattle, a pair of May 1966 live performance broadcasts from piano genius Bill Evans, will be released as an LP by Resonance Records for RSD Black Friday (November 28, 2025).
Originally recorded by radio personality Jim Wilke from live broadcasts on KING-FM, the collection has been transferred from the original tapes, restored and mastered by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab, and pressed onto 180-gram vinyl at 33-1/3 rpm at Le Vinylist in Québec City, Canada.

Wilke originally hosted the May 12 and 19 performances, part of his regular Thursday night KING broadcasts from Charlie Puzzo’s titular Seattle club. Despite its name, the Penthouse was actually located on the ground floor of the Kenneth Hotel at First Avenue and Cherry Street just off Pioneer Square from 1962 to 1968.

Portraits at the Penthouse is, as Myers observes in his notes, the earliest known recording of Evans with bassist Eddie Gomez, who would go on to collaborate with the pianist for the next 11 years. By contrast, drummer Joe Hunt would only work with Evans for a few months, making this album not only the first but indeed one of the only documents of a sadly under-recorded version of the Evans trio. The May 12 performance leads off with the Earl Zindars standard and Evans concert staple “How My Heart Sings”—which also appears in the May 19 performance, marking two of the pianist’s most energetic renditions of the tune (which he traditionally played up tempo). The repertoire also includes other Evans favorites, such as “Nardis,” Thelonious Monk’s “’Round Midnight,” and the standards “Autumn Leaves” and “I Should Care.”

Myers’ notes describe the trio’s trial-by-fire process of learning to play together on this tour. The trio had formed only a month before for a two-week stand at a Chicago steakhouse, which served as a de facto tryout for Gomez and Hunt. The acculturation “was gradual, with Evans wondering from his piano bench if the two musicians were going to work out,” Myers says.

Evans’ outsize stature in the jazz piano lineage surely needs no explication. However, in his appreciation, Bob James passionately describes the pianist’s towering presence in his own development. “He's a major, major influence,” James says. “I'm grateful that I powered my way through the imitation stage and was inspired by Bill to carve out my own path. My goal was to do what Bill did — he created a unique approach to the piano, developing a completely his personal style that comes out of the music…. When you can hear two seconds' worth of music and can say, ‘That's Bill Evans,’ it's great and powerful. That's what I was going for myself.”

“Bill made me realize that piano is a percussion instrument,” James adds. “That in order to play melodically on it, you can't just blow into it. It's not a breathing thing. You have to pretend that you're singing.”
Portraits at the Penthouse represents Resonance Records' eighth official release in cooperation with the Bill Evans Estate—and award-winning producer and Resonance co-president Zev Feldman’s 14th such production. “It’s never not lost on me how fortunate I am,” Feldman says. “I take great pride in these releases and couldn't be happier with how it turned out. I hope you feel the same.” — (via Label)

Vinyl Tracklist
A1 Intro
A2 How My Heart Sings
A3 'Round Midnight
A4 Come Rain or Come Shine
A5 Nardis
A6 Elsa
B1 Time Remembered
B2 Who Can I Turn To?
B3 Detour Ahead
B4 Autumn Leaves
B5 How My Heart Sings
B6 I Should Care

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Label: Resonance Records
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Record Store Day, Deluxe Edition, Limited Edition, Numbered, 180-gram, Gatefold
Released: 2025
Genre: Jazz
Style: Bop, Modal

File under: Jazz - Bill Evans
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