My Foolish Heart - Jeff Arnold Jazz Ballads Book, Song #6

[Mick-7]

My favorite guitar version of this tune, from John McLaughlin (...although, listening to this now, I wonder if my old turntable was running fast all those years ago when I first heard this? I don't remember it being so slow, almost lethargic!)

I have a transcription of that, I'll share it if you like. I didn't like it much. As I recall, he plays it very slowly like that because he uses many difficult to play chords, as I did with my version, which can make it sound stilted or grave.

His Bill Evans tribute album was, to be frank, dreadful, he killed Bill all over again:
Time Remembered: John McLaughlin Plays Bill Evans | AllMusic

[Bob_Ross]

he uses many difficult to play chords

...and a strange tuning as well iirc, no? I recall seeing a transcription years ago, and there were some low As going on and maybe some other strings detuned.
Yeah, if you wouldn't mind sharing your transcription, I'd be grateful. Thanks.

[Mick-7]

...and a strange tuning as well iirc, no? I recall seeing a transcription years ago, and there were some low As going on and maybe some other strings detuned. Yeah, if you wouldn't mind sharing your transcription, I'd be grateful. Thanks.

Unfortunately it appears I no longer have this written transcription however, I found two transcriptions of it on YouTube. It says that he tuned his guitar down a half step, but it sounds more like someone slowed down the recording and made the pitch drop.

[Bob_Ross]

His Bill Evans tribute album was, to be frank, dreadful, he killed Bill all over again:

Your assesment got me curious, as I had never even heard of this album before, so last night I listened to McLaughlin's Time Remembered in its entirety.

If I didn't know those were tunes associated with Bill Evans and didn't know McLaughlin meant this as a tribute to Evans, I would unequivocally love this album! It's a sweet, tender, and precious side of McLaughlin that we rarely get to hear. It's almost New Age (!) but they're also like tiny gems, in the same way that Ravel's or Satie's piano etudes are gems. It's almost entirely consonant, with just a dash of piquant surprise creeping in on occasion.

But yes, it evokes absolutely none of the qualities of Evans' music that he is reknown for, so if conveying that was the goal then McLaughlin failed miserably.

I prefer to think of it as a reinterpretation rather than an homage.

[Mick-7]

Your assesment got me curious, as I had never even heard of this album before, so last night I listened to McLaughlin's Time Remembered in its entirety.

If I didn't know those were tunes associated with Bill Evans and didn't know McLaughlin meant this as a tribute to Evans, I would unequivocally love this album! It's a sweet, tender, and precious side of McLaughlin that we rarely get to hear. It's almost New Age (!) but they're also like tiny gems, in the same way that Ravel's or Satie's piano etudes are gems. It's almost entirely consonant, with just a dash of piquant surprise creeping in on occasion.

But yes, it evokes absolutely none of the qualities of Evans' music that he is known for, so if conveying that was the goal then McLaughlin failed miserably.

I prefer to think of it as a reinterpretation rather than an homage.

I'll give the album another listen, haven't listened to it in many years. Scott Yanow of allmusic.com gave it 2 stars, which is what I would have rated it, I remember thinking it sounded like light classical music rather than jazz.

It may even be the sort of music that would make Julian Bream nauseous. (I read an interview with him in which he said he once had to get off of an elevator because the muzak piped into it was making him nauseous).

To quote from Yanow's review:
"John McLaughlin arranged ten of Bill Evan's compositions and his own "Homage" for a largely introverted set of music that has a strong classical feel. McLaughlin lets loose a few times but more mood and tempo variations would have kept this from being such a sleepy session."