As if it was necessary to underline the individuality, but also the versatility, of the young Evans, here is a worthwhile starter pack. Interesting to compare with the similar premise of Frémeaux's 2CD The Quintessence compilation reviewed in Jazzwise 171. That devoted nearly half its space to tracks under Evans's own name, whereas this has an extra CD and another couple of years of out-of-copyright material to choose from (including Explorations and the Vanguard session, the 1962 trio with Chuck Israels, and both duo and quintet tracks with Jim Hall). Yet the earlier years are examined more cursorily regarding his own albums, while the coverage of Evans's sideman work goes more in depth. This brings not only highlights such as Russell's ‘Concerto For Billy The Kid’ but also Mingus's ‘Conversation’ (from East Coasting), as well as Chet Baker's ‘Alone Together’ – Evans intro on the latter may well be the genesis of ‘Blue In Green’ (the Kind Of Blue version is also here, of course). If you don't already know the relevant albums of the leaders listed above in chronological order, don't let the fuzzy reproduction of historic pictures in the booklet put you off.