Though these extraordinary 1980 recordings were made only months before pianist Bill Evans" untimely death on September 15, 1980, at the age of 51, they capture a beginning for more than an end. The performances on these six CDs - which feature newly written originals as well as brilliant interpretations of the standards that Evans loved -were recorded on the evenings of June 4, 5, 6 and 8, 1980. Evans intended to release a double LP culled from these sessions, and he supervised the initial mixing and editing of the tapes. It would take more than fifteen years before this material would become available, in an exhaustive, chronologically sequenced six-CD form. This Nonesuch reissue contains the original packaging and liner notes, as well as the complete 1996 set.