"I have always loved the playing of Bill Evans. The first recording I ever heard was the album What’s New with Jeremy Steig. I then tried to see Bill at every opportunity possible, and had heard his last performances in San Francisco, and the following week in New York hoped to hear more, but it was already too late. My recording Bill Evans Songbook Vol 1 with Jimmy Smith on drums and Ben Okada on bass, was a live performance on September 15, 1995 at Homat Orient in Tokyo, Japan commemorating the 15th anniversary of the passing of Bill Evans. What you are hearing is exactly the way we played without any studio edits which would have allow the recording engineer to fix any ‘errors’. There are generally two approaches to performing--one is having things worked out in advance, the other is playing ‘by the seat of your pants’. No one in the trio was playing it safe, but rather taking risks, allowing the opportunity for the unexpected, which we hope resulted in, perhaps a less polished performance, but one that only a live recording in an intimate setting allows.”