Top jazz trios piano, bass, drums on vinyl?

You can get sick of any music, no matter how great, if you overplay it. It's not like they play the record on the radio all the time. The OP asked for suggestions and it appears he's not overly familiar with Bill Evans Trio, in which case "Waltz for Debby" is a no-brainer. It blew me away the first time I heard it. And it sounds absolutely glorious, even the cheap Riverside reissue. I personally can never get tired of hearing the clinking and clanking of the glasses and utensils at the tables, and the faint sound of people's conversations between the tunes; it's like being transported back in time. An absolutely timeless record.

I didn't mean to belittle you for your enthusiasm. It is a great recording, indeed. I was just making a very personal and therefore irrelevant statement about that specific piece. However, it definitely should be in anyone's collection who is interested in small group piano jazz. Sorry to sound snotty. I am a big Bill Evans fan.

Bill Evans with Marian McPartland, on her old radio show, is a gem, even on CD.

Cecil Taylor's "Love For Sale" consists of trio and quintet. Four out of the six tracks are trio recordings. This is Cecil in 1959 when he was still playing standard tunes before he went to the stratosphere, so even if you're adverse to avant-garde jazz this is still quite accessible and adventurous at the same time. Early Cecil was never fortunate enough to record with a good piano nor a good engineer so his early works cannot be qualified as "audiophile" recordings. But with such amazing music by one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, it hardly matters to me.

The great Herbie Nichols had a 1957 trio recording on the Bethlehem label called "The Bethlehem Years." Nichols was an unheralded figure with a unique sound. In this record, he teams up with George Duvivier on bass and Danny Richmond on drums. Majority of the tunes are composed by Nichols. Worth checking out.

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Just yesterday night, I was listening for another time to "Waltz for Debby" from Bill Evans. This album is really excellent and like Actusreus said, even with the cheap Riverside reissue which I have. It is so airy, live, well recorded, etc... A must have!

Last years, at the Montreal Jazz Festival, we had the chance to hear a jazz group with pianist François Bourassa, that played a tribute to Bill Evans. A superb show.

Sébastien

Anyone have the Analogue Productions' 45 re-issue of Waltz for Debby? I have never heard it. Just wonder how it compares to the 33's out there.