Solo Transcription - Larry Bunker, "Israel"

As promised awhile back, here is a transcription from the great (and often overlooked) Larry Bunker trading with Chuck Israels and Bill Evans on the British television show Jazz 625.

I'd have to say that Larry Bunker is my favorite drummer with Bill Evans, which I realize is a bold statement, given that he's keeping the company of Paul Motian, Philly Joe, Jack DeJohnette, Marty Morrell and Joe LaBarbera, amongst others.  To my ears Bunker contributes to the most cohesive ensemble sound of any Bill Evans trio.  Don't get me wrong, Philly Joe, Paul Motian and Jack D are some of my favorite drummers, but I can't help but hear Philly Joe, Paul Motian and Jack D more as their individual selves with Bill Evans.  They have such strong musical personalities that they really stand out, intentionally or not.  To be fair, the fact that I don't get that vibe from Larry Bunker could be due, in part, to the fact that he is not as widely known as the other drummers I mentioned.  Either way, Bunker tucks himself right into the ensemble, not standing out too far, but certainly not disappearing to the background to be overshadowed by Evans.  

Apparently Humphrey Lyttelton, the host of Jazz 625, agrees with me:

"Larry Bunker also studies piano and vibes which is, perhaps, why he contributes such subtle musicianship to a trio in which every instrument is of equal importance"

Check out the full show here.

Dig This - The Bill Evans Trio on Jazz 625

As predicted, I haven’t had much chance to get any writing done while I’ve been here in Asia.  I have, however, got a few projects started that you should hopefully see in the coming weeks, one of which being a series of Larry Bunker transcriptions from this video.

I’ve been watching it a lot on my iPod while I’ve been away, and have found it really inspiring.  Among the many drummers that worked with Bill Evans (check out the cool timeline put together by a Dutch fellow named Rob Rijneke), I feel as though Larry Bunker is widely under-appreciated, probably due to all the attention and emphasis placed on Paul Motian and Joe LaBarbera.

I’ll be back home in a little over a week and will be getting back into posting on a regular basis, but until then dig on this video and wait patiently for the transcriptions and more information about Larry Bunker.