Village Vanguard session with Bill Evans

I can't improve upon what has already been offered here, but I have to wonder if the audience knew what they had experienced after attending this gig, say, discussing the music on their drive home? Generally speaking, was this identified at that time as the classic it has become? I'd like to think it was. Thoughts?

This is an article from "The New Yorker" about the gig.

Miles Davis' take on Evan's playing -- "like crystal notes or sparkling water".

I love both Village and Waltz. You can just feel the cohesiveness and natural flow of the music from these gifted musicians. Plus the music has a very intimate feel and the ambient sounds from the crowd almost makes it feel as if you're there. I have both of these on vinyl and they are essential weekend listening for me.

i purchased the 2 lps in a dept.store bargain bin as a teenager. on my tinny webcor phono i struggled with them never having heard anything like it before. i was too young to even recognize the popular melodies improvised on. eventually i became so devoted to them that in my naivety i thought they were typical jazz. nothing else in jazz really intrigued me at that age having a very limited exposure to it. well, of course my tastes in jazz would later blossom. but i still love the vanguard sessions above all. there is a nice 3 cd set with booklet available now and very affordable. indeed the ambient sounds from the audience and bar, the peel of a woman's laugh only add to the intimate magic of these recordings.

1. If the recording took place in a studio with a typical studio atmosphere (a bit sterile), would you still hold it in high regard?
2. Would you classify this recording as "great" because of it's highly "organized" character with implementation of notes in an "economic", almost Zenlike way, like Kind of Blue, Out to Lunch and A Love Supreme?

Chris