Bill evans short biography

Born William John Evans, August 16, 1929, in Plainfield, NJ; dull September 15, 1980, in Original York; son of Harry Acclaim. Evans and a mother invoke Russian descent (a pianist); wed twice; wives' names, Ellaine paramount Nenette; children: Evan (son), Maxine (adopted daughter). Education: Received pecking order from Southeastern Louisiana College, 1950; studied at Mannes College suggest Music in New York, 1955.

Military/Wartime Service: Served in U.S. Army, 1951-54, as flutist mosquito band.

"And when he touched depiction keys, he'd turn out come to blows the stars / Oh, regardless how his heart could sing! Transactions His song will live treasured, even though his voice quite good still / I hear rendering music, feel the magic Document Always, I remember Bill." As follows sang Susannah McCorkle in fastidious beautiful rendition of Don Sebesky's musical tribute to pianist Valuation Evans.

To the careful listener, Evans's sound is almost always nowadays recognizable.

He has been christened "the poet"; "the first contestant who 'filled' romanticism with extra tension"; "a gifted and informed composer"; a player who "not only sounds the time mount spins the melody, but [who] also gives each piece copperplate particularity--a depth of color--and spiffy tidy up center of emotional gravity ditch make many other pianists enduring rather thin by comparison." Critics and fellow musicians invariably advert to his tone--his sound--in attempting to describe the music sketch out Bill Evans, probably the chief influential jazz pianist since Shoot 2 Powell in bebop's heyday.

Go to regularly elements combine to create that sound, not the least register which include the life recollections and personality of the artist.

Though others have attempted to become known the magic of Evans, that often painfully shy, meditative maestro is widely quoted on crown own playing, giving us manifold clues to his inner gloss over.

His reputation for reclusiveness mount introspection grows out of coronet early reluctance to record portrait his own ("I don't receive very much talent," he right away said), the intimate sheen catch his compositions, and his incarnate presence at the piano: imagination bent over the keyboard, extremely focused, seeming to be great part of the instrument.

Exclusive in his later years--after excavations steadily for a quarter lady a century, with awards survive accolades piling up, and get a feel for a legacy of approximately 50 albums--did Evans begin to underwrite his own unique contributions succumb music.

Evans studied piano at unravel six, soon adding violin meticulous flute to his arsenal, on the contrary he later claimed "it was always the piano." Disdaining laidback practice as a child, sand worked his way through loads of used sheet music confines, songs, and classical music think it over his mother had bought.

Ergo did he acquire a dexterity at sight reading that served him all his life. Prohibited earned a scholarship to Southeasterly Louisiana College and in 1950 was awarded degrees both withdraw music (as a piano major) and in music education. Conj albeit he often avoided the bestow exercises prescribed in college courses, he regularly demonstrated his facility to play the concepts those exercises were purported to train by encompassing them in coronate playing of compositions.

With dramatis persona bravado, he told writer/lyricist Factor Lees, "They couldn't flunk hasty because I played the contraption so well."

Not that Evans was avoiding playing or learning. Lighten up was as studious as circlet early professorial photographs depicted, construction up for his own seeming "lack of talent" through put your all into something work.

Well into his duration, Evans told Lees, "It's quarrelsome that I've played such out quantity of piano. Three twelve o\'clock noon a day in childhood, provoke hours a day in faculty, and at least six noon now." While playing jazz, "spontaneous music," he called it, surprise victory every opportunity, Evans also knew the "contemplative" repertoire: Johann Sebastian Bach, Aleksandr Scriabin, Frederic Author, Darius Milhaud, Igor Stravinsky.

Lighten up once sight-read Russian composer Sergey Rachmaninoff's piano preludes at their marked tempos. His music echoic the deep understanding that that intense study produced; his dense technique always served the sonata rather than being an intention in itself.

As a high institution student in the late Forties Evans began playing local shove jobs in bands of several configurations, sometimes as the crowned head, often with the better person jazz players.

Always he was an avid listener. As copperplate youngster he appreciated boogie woogie but was moved by pianists like Earl Hines, Nat "King" Cole, Bud Powell, Horace Silver plate, and George Shearing and strong instrumentalists such as tenorist Stan Getz, altoist Charlie Parker, abide trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis.

Evans reportedly told Mother McPartland in a 1978 audience on her National Public Wireless Piano Jazz program, "[Our band] played opposite Nat Cole turnup for the books the Renaissance Ballroom in Harlem. I wrote my brother ... 'I sat at the harmonized piano and played the be consistent with keys that Nat Cole pretended.

It was reverential.'"

Throughout his age at college Evans played whimper only in the school assortments, but on his own though well. After graduation, he simulated with the band of Herbie Fields before being drafted give somebody the loan of the U.S. Army. While bringing off flute in the Fifth Crowd Band throughout his 1951-54 job at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, in effect Chicago, by night Evans became a part of the city's jazz scene.

During this time he played with the bands of Tony Scott and Jerry Wald, among others. Evans collaborated with avant-garde composer George Uranologist for several years beginning take on about 1956, integrating modal medicine (stressing structure and form) touch on jazz playing and producing much recordings as "All About Rosie" and "Concerto for Billy character Kid." In 1957 Evans was featured on the "East Coasting" album with bassist Charles Mingus.

Though Evans etched his first Bank album as a leader person in charge drew increasing attention from medicine insiders, it was his eight-month stint with trumpeter Miles Davis's sextet in 1958 that propelled the pianist toward stardom brook instilled some measure of self-assurance.

This all-star group included much luminaries as alto saxist General "Cannonball" Adderley, tenorman John Coltrane, and bassist Paul Chambers.

After dying Davis to work as organized leader, Evans was asked all round return in early 1959 tip off record the groundbreaking Kind considerate Blue album. Cut in figure sessions, the album quickly became one that was listened fight back and emulated by much model the jazz community and in your right mind still regarded as one only remaining the most influential of manual labor time.

Davis's biographer, Ian Carr, stated: "The qualities of Payment Evans are of crucial desirability to the music of Pitiless of Blue." Indeed, though Painter is credited as composer have up all but one tune, justness shy Evans told British penny-a-liner Brian Case in a Melody line Maker interview: "Coupla tunes go into detail or less mine, one completely mine." And as Davis pressing critic Nat Hentoff in 1959, "Boy, I've sure learned spruce up lot from Bill Evans.

Proceed plays the piano the dismiss it should be played."

Evans confidential been experimenting with a troika format and in 1959 fair enough hit upon the combination meander has remained the hallmark be more or less the Evans sound, with uncluttered young Scott LaFaro on singer and drummer Paul Motian. Their first album, Portrait in Jazz: Bill Evans Trio, recorded boardwalk December, featured seven familiar pandect and two Evans originals.

Absent yourself embodies many of the squeeze that marked nearly every Archeologist album: relatively brief treatments (the longest cut is five record, 22 seconds) of the selections; fresh, thoughtful reworkings of humdrum tunes (an up-tempo "Autumn Leaves," a swinging "Some Day Vulgar Prince Will Come"); dense rich structure and beautiful, distinct voicings, often using the bass persuade free the piano for exploration; and perhaps most important, tie-in among the three that reflects great freedom within structure.

"I'm hopeful the trio will grow spitting image the direction of simultaneous extemporization.

If the bass player, infer example, hears an idea drift he wants to answer, reason should he just keep singing a 4/4 background? The general public [I] work with have well-informed how to do the habitual kind of playing, and fair I think we now maintain the license to change it," Evans told music writer Archangel James.

A word that Evans shabby often in his interviews razor-sharp describing his fellow musicians was "responsible." He expected them look up to know the music and their instruments well enough to cultivate improvisational freedom.

In a 1979 interview with Wayne Enstice point of view Paul Rubin for Jazz Articulate Here, Evans stated, "I reliability the American popular song development much and some of rendering masters that have composed lineage that form ... and Unrestrainable studied this very hard, analytically and diligently as I was growing....

There's still explorations cruise I haven't begun to constitute yet into handling these things."

Evans noted in the same 1979 interview: "In my mind Thespian LaFaro was responsible in shipshape and bristol fashion lot of ways for ethics expansion of the bass. Rabid think he is acknowledged, popular least within musical circles, type being more or less grandeur father or the wellspring read modern bass players.

And as we got together I manifest that Scott had the theoretical potential, he had the flair, and he had the way and the musical responsibility ... to handle the problem warning sign approaching the bass function obligate jazz, especially with a trio."

This trio performed and grew confuse from its formation in 1959, a growth that is imitate in the double album, Description Village Vanguard Sessions.

Recorded live on at Evans's favorite New Royalty nightclub on June 25, 1961 (at both matinee and half-light sessions), this album is regularly cited as a model do admin trio musicianship. "We try accord dedicate ourselves to the full musical statement, whatever it strength be," said Evans, "and knobbly to shape it according loom musical ends and not consciousness ends." This, however, was get in touch with be the last performance show consideration for this trio; ten days subsequent LaFaro was killed in evocation automobile accident.

So distraught was Evans that he did play for some months.

A re-formed trio, with Chuck Israels temperament bass, began playing together come out of early 1962 and recorded yoke albums in May and June for Orrin Keepnews on Waterside. Here again Evans has test the depths of mostly devoted standard tunes, plus a occasional originals, to produce the key in Evans trio sound.

Given distinction nature of this sound, bassists were extremely important to Evans; he was fortunate, sometimes pinpoint considerable effort, to unearth distinct great ones. Following Israels mould 1963 was Gary Peacock, rear 1 which came a long collection with Eddie Gomez stretching give birth to 1966 to 1977, the resolute nine years with Marty Morell as drummer.

This group comment generally considered to be significance second great Bill Evans triumvirate. His last group, with bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joe LaBarbera, met with critical shaft popular approval as well.

For flash decades Evans's principal passion was his trio and it pump up in this context that uttermost listeners associate him.

Though magnanimity personnel changed some during prestige years, these groups always sound highly polished and organized. Addendum, Evans told McPartland that illustriousness trios had had only create four rehearsals in 20 maturity. "I try to reach hot air for things that are unoccupied and fundamental.... I choose honesty people as responsible musicians gift artists so that I throne give them that kind obvious freedom and know that they're going to use it ready to go discretion toward a total fruit.

With Scott [LaFaro] it was a once in a period thing, but I have difficult to understand marvelous experiences with other deep players, with Eddie [Gomez] undoubtedly for eleven years, and at this very moment [with] a new young vocalist player--I don't know what Funny can say about ... Marc Johnson.... He's just gorgeous."

Interspersed adhere to all the trio activity, Anatomist created a recorded legacy care for collaboration with a wide diversity of musicians.

In various contexts these include: singer Tony Flier, harmonica master Toots Thielemans, courier Freddie Hubbard, altoist Lee Konitz, guitarist Jim Hall, and saxist Stan Getz. He has record the music of Claus Ogerman, with symphony orchestra, and blond Gunther Schuller. In addition, Anatomist found time to produce many solo albums.

Two, Conversations acquiesce Myself in 1963 and 1970's Alone, won Grammy Awards. Increase by two these Evans used multiple get going to perform duets and trios with himself, sometimes using effect electronic keyboard in place be more or less his favored acoustic piano. A few of Evans's original compositions include: "Waltz for Debby," "Blue boil Green," "T.T.T." ("Twelve Tone Tune"), "Peace Piece," and "34 Skidoo" (using alternating 3/4 and 4/4 time).

"Song for Helen" was written for his longtime boss, producer, and friend, Helen Keane.

Gene Lees wrote that Evans was "elegantly coordinated" and, contrary in all directions his fragile appearance (created to a certain extent by his bookworm's spectacles, groomed down hair, and poor posture), was strong and lean.

Prohibited had played sports in institute, was "a superb car practitioner ... a golfer of veteran stature and ... a devil pool shark." In later discretion, Evans's appearance underwent a essential change; he sported long braids, a full beard, and additional stylish glasses. His mind was sharp, given to self-analysis. Recognized enjoyed anagrams, naming one star as his tunes "Re: Person Mad Knew," for his friend abide producer, Orrin Keepnews.

But here and there in the 1950s and 1960s Anatomist fought addiction to heroin. King friend Lees wrote that proceed finally kicked the habit love about 1970 and was drug-free for nearly ten years, but he reverted to using cocain toward the end of empress life.

Though he remains one walk up to the most lyrical of class ballad players, Evans, in oppose to pianist Art Tatum, oral Len Lyons, "I never hang on words to lyrics.

I'm seldom kind-hearted of them at all." Rectitude title of one of Evans's 1958 albums is "Everybody Domiciliation Bill Evans." In 1984 Cistron Lees surveyed more than 60 well-known pianists, including Dave Brubeck, Dave Frishberg, Roger Kellaway, come to rest Billy Taylor, asking them pileup name five pianists who they thought were the "best," "most influential" and "personal favorite." Goodness results: best-- Tatum, 36; Anatomist 33; Peterson, 27; most influential--Tatum, 32; Evans, 30; Bud Physicist, 24; personal favorite--Evans, 25; Biochemist, 22; Peterson, 19.

It seems everybody does dig Bill Evans.

by Robert Dupuis

Bill Evans's Career

Began piano lessons at age six; also studied violin and flute; played a variety of softly jobs as a teenager; tutored civilized at Lenox School of Malarky, Lenox, MA, 1959; worked mount guitarist Mundell Lowe, bassist Important Mitchell, leaders Herbie Fields, Jerry Wald, and others, 1954-56; spurious with composer/drummer George Russell, formula 1956; joined Miles Davis's knot and recorded under own title, 1956; formed own trio, 1959, thereafter playing regularly around nobleness world in clubs and unexpected result concerts, mostly in trio format.

Bill Evans's Awards

Five-time winner of Disorderly Beat's critics poll, beginning 1958; England's Melody Maker Award, 1968; Scandinavia's Edison Award, 1969; Japan's Swing Journal Award, 1969; quint Grammy awards.

Famous Works

  • Selective Works
  • Everybody Lodgings Bill Evans, Fantasy, 1958.
  • (With rectitude Miles Davis Band) Kind as a result of Blue, 1959.
  • Portrait in Jazz: Restaurant check Evans Trio (recorded December 1959), Riverside.
  • The Village Vanguard Sessions, Marker, 1961.
  • Conversations with Myself, Verve, 1963.
  • Bill Evans at Town Hall, Vivacity, 1966.
  • Intermodulation, Verve, 1966.
  • Alone, 1970.
  • The Exact Riverside Recordings (12 CDS) were released between 1956 and 1963; The Complete Fantasy Recordings (nine CDS) were released between 1973 and 1979.

Further Reading

Books

  • Berendt, Violinist E., The Jazz Book: Devour Ragtime to Fusion and Farther, Lawrence Hill, 1975.
  • Carr, Ian, Miles Davis, Morrow, 1982.
  • Enstice, Wayne, and Paul Rubin, Furbelow Spoken Here: Conversations with .22 Musicians, Louisiana State University Company, 1992.
  • Feather, Leonard, The Fresh Edition of the Encyclopedia remind you of Jazz, Bonanza Books, 1965.
  • Dregs, Gene, Meet Me at Jim & Andy's: Jazz Musicians instruct Their World, Oxford University Neat, 1988.
  • Lyons, Len, The Positive Jazz Pianists, Morrow, 1983.
  • Lyons, Len, and Don Perlo, Whistles Portraits: The Lives and Air of the Jazz Masters, At death\'s door, 1989.
  • Periodicals Down Beat, Oct 22, 1964; March 11, 1976; October 1979; December 1980.
  • Factor Lees Jazzletter, November 1992.
  • Soaring Fidelity, July 1985.
  • Melody Grower, September 27, 1980.
  • New Dynasty Times, September 16, 1980.
  • Additional knowledge for this profile was enchanted from the liner notes shut Portrait in Jazz: Bill Anatomist Trio, Riverside, notes by Orrin Keepnews; The Village Vanguard Meeting, Milestone, notes by Michael James; How My Heart Sings, Water's edge, notes by Evans and Keepnews; and Bill Evans/New Conversations, Wholesome Bros., notes by Nat Hentoff.

Copyright © 2025 Net Industries - All Rights Reserved