Times Remembered

The Final Years of the Bill Evans Trio

By: Joe La Barbera, Charles Levin, Hal Miller - foreword

Narrated by: Chaz Allen

In the late 1970s legendary pianist Bill Evans, one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time, was at the peak of his career. He revolutionized the jazz trio (bass, piano, drums) by giving each part equal emphasis in what jazz historian Ted Gioia called a “telepathic level” of interplay. It was an ideal opportunity for a sideman, and after auditioning in 1978, Joe La Barbera was ecstatic when he was offered the drum chair, completing the trio with Evans and bassist Marc Johnson.

In Times Remembered, La Barbera and coauthor Charles Levin provide an intimate fly-on-the-wall peek into Evans’ life, critical recording sessions, and behind-the-scenes anecdotes of life on the road. Joe regales the trio’s magical connection, a group that quickly gelled to play music on the deepest and purest level imaginable. He also watches his dream gig disappear, a casualty of Evans’ historical drug abuse when the pianist dies in a New York hospital emergency room in 1980. But La Barbera tells this story with love and respect, free of judgment, showing Evans’ humanity and uncanny ability—even in his final days—to transcend physical weakness and deliver first-rate performances at nearly every show.

The book is published by University of North Texas Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

"An informative first-hand read about a beautiful and tragic subject." (Jazzwax)

"Offers readers exceptional insights into the world of Bill Evans and his fellow performers." (All About Jazz)

“The perfect book on jazz to be published at the perfect time.” (Bruce Klauber, author of World of Gene Krupa)

©2021 Joe La Barbera and Charles Levin (P)2023 Redwood Audiobooks

Great story but poorly narrated

Joe’s book is jam-packed with great info and stories that I enjoyed. Has a jazz musician myself, as well as a Bill Evans fan, it was wonderful to hear them. However, the producer of this audio narration should be ashamed— the narration is full of mispronunciations of names, venues and other reading errors. Someone really familiar with jazz should have been chosen. It was obvious that Chaz Allen did not have a deep understanding of the musicians and locales. But whoever directed him bears responsibility for not correcting his narration.

The book isn’t about bill Evans but more about Joe Labarbera

It wasn’t as advertised. It had anecdotes that are pointless on the music or life of bill Evans