Bill Evans Quintet’s Interplay Review: Craft Recordings’ OJC Reissue Brings the 1962 Riverside Classic Back to Life

Interplay occupies a unique place in the Bill Evans catalog. According to the liner notes, it marked the first time the legendary pianist led a quintet—and his first studio date fronting a group that included a horn player. Craft Recordings’ recent Original Jazz Classics (OJC) reissue may be the best way to revisit this spirited, upbeat session on vinyl, continuing the OJC tradition of excellent sound quality and consistently high production values.

From the official press materials:

“Continuing OJC’s commitment to quality, these reissues feature lacquers cut directly from the original stereo master tapes (AAA) by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, 180-gram vinyl pressed at RTI, and tip-on jackets faithfully reproducing the original artwork.

Originally launched in 1982 under Fantasy Records, Original Jazz Classics was revived in 2023 with a renewed emphasis on audiophile-grade reissues of landmark jazz recordings. With more than 850 titles reissued to date—drawing from the catalogs of Prestige, Riverside, Galaxy, Contemporary, Jazzland, Milestone, and others—OJC remains a reliable source for both jazz discovery and rediscovery.”

The new Craft Original Jazz Classics editions feature period-accurate labels, faithfully reproduced original cover art, and high-quality sleeve construction. Each LP is housed in an audiophile-grade, plastic-lined inner sleeve, underscoring Craft’s attention to both presentation and long-term record care.

The pressing reviewed here is dead quiet and perfectly centered—a detail that matters enormously on piano-driven recordings like this, where even slight off-center pressing can cause the pitch to waver. Here, the vinyl disappears in the best possible way, letting you simply bask in the effortless musicality of these legendary musicians.

As hinted at the start of this review, Interplay brings a noticeably different vibe compared to many other Bill Evans recordings. The band sounds more aggressive and, at times, downright on fire, with Freddie Hubbard’s sizzling trumpet clearly pushing the session’s energy higher. That spark seems to coax guitarist Jim Hall into some surprisingly hot territory. While Hall has never been one of my go-to guitarists, hearing this level of urgency and edge from his playing is a genuine revelation.

Yet it’s not all push-push bravado. This is still a Bill Evans record, and the playing remains unfailingly tasteful. The calmer moments shine just as brightly, highlighted by a positively gorgeous reading of the classic “When You Wish Upon a Star.”

I really like how Percy Heath’s vibrant walking bass lines provide steady propulsion from track to track. Even with the fairly discrete stereo spread that places him slightly to one side, his presence anchors the band. Freddie Hubbard and Jim Hall emerge from the opposite side of the soundstage, while the drums have a pleasing sense of space with crisp cymbals and natural sounding snare “bombs” delivered by the legendary Philly Joe Jones.

All in all, I am very pleased with the music here and expect to spend a lot more time with it now that it is in my collection. The tunes are wonderful, the performances exemplary, and the recording as presented on this Craft Recordings Interplay Original Jazz Classics edition is rich and round.

Where to buy: $39.99 at Amazon

Mark Smotroff is a deep music enthusiast / collector who has also worked in entertainment oriented marketing communications for decades supporting the likes of DTS, Sega and many others. He reviews vinyl for Analog Planet and has written for Audiophile Review, Sound+Vision, Mix, EQ, etc.  You can learn more about him at LinkedIn.