Bill Evans

[requested by Jeff from BZT]

Link: (Bill Evans Webpages)
http://www.billevanswebpages.com/

Name: Bill Evans
Born: August 16, 1929
Died: September 15, 1980
Instrument: Piano

The Russian son of a Welshman:
Bill's father was the Welsh owner of a golf course in Plainfield, New Jersey, and his mother was Russian Orthodox. Both parents were highly musical, and Bill's musical training began in his mother's church. Bill worshipped his older brother, Harry, who was the first one in his family to take piano lessons. As Harry was playing, Bill would sit next to him and mimick, and this kind of relationship continued until Harry died in 1979. Bill even had his first gig subbing for Harry, playing with Buddy Valentino's band at age 12. During a stock rendition of Tuxedo Junction, Bill discovered a new blues riff (a Db-D-F phrase in the key of Bb) which gave him a real thrill.

"It sounded right and good, and it wasn't written, and I had done it."

This feeling would inspire him throughout the rest of his career. Bill continued to blossom into a talented player, practicing 3 hours a day in his chilhood, increasing to six hours a day during college. Although he was clearly a highly talented individual, he never felt that he had any talent, and worked hard all of his life to develop his skills. Unfortunately, this lack of confidence would become the source of a smack habit, and later a problem with cocaine.

No Cover, No Minimum:
In 1956, after much coaxing (as Bill didn't believe he was ready to record), the album "New Jazz Conceptions" was recorded, all 11 songs in a single day in the studio. It received high critic acclaim, but only sold 800 copies in a year. The album included four Evan's originals: Five, Conception, No Cover, No Minimum, and Waltz for Debbie, which was a solo that Bill recorded after everyone else had left, and later became a classic.

Bill also had learned to play flute and violin as a child, his parents believing it was essential to learn more than one instrument. Because these instruments are largely concerned with tonal expressiveness, Bill learned the subtle gradation of nuance, which can be heard quite clearly in his work. His style has continued to influence Jazz pianists, such as Keith Jarrett, and piano students "reciting the Evans bible" can be heard in every Jazz college across North America.

Miles:
When Miles Davis' piano player, Red Garland, walked out on him, Bill got his big break in the business. Miles had been recently struck with a fascination with modal music, and Bill could follow Miles easily through different modal phrasings. Also, Bill introduced Miles to the works of Rachmaninoff, Ravel, and Khachaturian, which presented Miles with totally different scales to play with. Miles enjoyed Bill's playing and in his own words:

" Bill had this quiet fire that I loved on piano. The way he approached it, the sound he got was like crystal notes or sparkling water cascading down from some clear waterfall. I had to change the way the band sounded again for Bill's style by playing different tunes, softer ones at first. Bill played underneath the rhythm and I liked that, the way he played scales with the band. Red's [Garland] playing had carried the rhythm but Bill underplayed it and for what I was doing now with the modal thing, I liked what Bill was doing better. "

Bill continued to play, and record, with Miles until 1960, when he formed the Bill Evans trio with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian, which would become one of the most acclaimed piano trios of all time.

Trio Era:
Bill began to move away from the block chord style he had been using with Miles Davis, and started to experiment with a more open, impressionistic feeling music, influence by Satie and Debussy. During this time Bill revolutionized Jazz piano in a way that is still prevailant today. Instead of the traditional manner of spelling out the chord, Bill developed a system that abandoned roots altogether and instead, interpreted each chord as a particular colour. The root was left to the bass player, or to the left hand on another beat in the bar, or just implied. His ideas on the trio were also revolutionary. Instead of using the bass player and drummer as side-men/rhythm section, Bill gave equal focus to each player in the group. This allowed for lyrical development in the areas of bass and drums, and created a very unique, egalitarian sound for the Bill Evans Trio.

Bill continued to rewrite the book on Jazz theory and technique throughout his later years, right up until his tragic death in 1980. Bill had been experimenting with cocaine, a drug that was considered "safe" by many heroine users of the time. Unfortunately, unlike smack, cocaine requires that the blood system be replenished once per day. Bill complained of stomach pains to his drummer Joe LaBarbera, who drove him to the hospital where he later died. His contribution to Jazz continues today, as many aspiring Jazz piano player spend hours of study, trying to learn and perfect the "Evans technique".

Piano Jazz