I was at a music quiz a couple of weeks ago and one of the questions was the year of release for Waltz For Debby. I'm just curious if the right answer is 61 or 62
It's July! Who can believe it? I just looked and it says "best composition" for a topic. My vote is also a question.... My favorite original is Nardis, but I've seen it attritubed to miles Davis. It's truly Bill Evans pen though, am I wrong??
(July - best composition) To my ears Bill Evans is the best. It's a cliché, but when I listen to him I'm not hearing just piano. It's truly a voice. His extreme sensibility is also present in his compositions. Beautiful, that's the word I have for his songs. "RE person I knew" - is one of my favorites. But if I have to pick just one, then it's the sublime "Time Remembered"
There have been countless thousands of pianists. But not one could touch a piano the way Bill Evans did. That is because those fingers were an extension of his voice, his soul.
Would you vote "Blue in Green" as one of Bill Evans best compositions ? Or one of Miles Davis's? "...In his autobiography, Davis maintains that he alone composed the songs on Kind of Blue. The version on Bill Evans trio album Portrait In Jazz (Riverside, 1959), credits the tune to 'Davis-Evans'. A comment by Evans: "One day at Miles's apartment, he wrote on some manuscript paper the symbols for G-minor and A-augmented. And Miles said, 'What would you do with that?' I didn't really know, but I went home and wrote 'Blue in Green.'" In a 1978 radio interview, Evans said that he himself had written the song. Evans said "The truth is I did (write the music)...... I don't want to make a federal case out of it, the music exists, and Miles is getting the royalties." Either way, for all of us, it's a beautiful tune and we're honored to present it. Bill Evans drummer Marty Morell: Bill told me personally, Miles gave him the first 2 chords. Bill came up with the rest of the changes and wrote the melody. Son Evan Evans: Bill Evans composed "Blue In Green" at 5am the night before the recording session, at Earl Zindar's apartment on his upright piano." Later confirmed by an interview with Bill's friend and composer Earl Zindar." (Taken from Bill Evans .nl site)
Though a shorter/early version, Waltz was on New Jazz Conceptions released in ‘57, so that might have been the answer - unless they only gave you the two choices.
Can anything beat this as a cheap instant Evans collection? 12 albums on 6 CDs, almost 8 hours, for $15 new on Amazon? Got mine yesterday, working my way through it, starting with the Scott LaFaro material. Bill Evans - 12 Classic Albums 1956-1962
“And while it is also clear – given the extreme suffering he experienced in his drug abuse – that through his sublime art he allowed us to experience this suffering as victory for beauty, for marvelous sensuality and the fundamental tragedy of life – without which life would be absurd.” – guitarist/composer John McLaughlin Bill Evans, 1980
Thanks for replies. The question was when the Waltz For Debby album was released. They used/presented the albumcover and asked when it was released.
So here we are - August 2018. In a way we're paying tribute to Bill just by talking about the man and his music. But I ask you - is there any tribute album, book, ... that you find relevant ? Here's a chronological list of Bill Evans tribute albums taken from wikipedia: 1980: Seven Steps to Evans by Gordon Beck, Tony Oxley, Kenny Wheeler, Stan Sulzmann, Ron Mathewson 1981: Elegy For Bill Evans by Richie Beirach 1982: Oracle's Destiny by Michel Petrucciani 1986: Music of Bill Evans by the Kronos Quartet with Eddie Gómez and Jim Hall. 1987: Dedicated to Bill Evans and Scott LaFaro by Larry Coryell and Miroslav Vitouš 1990: Bill Evans by Paul Motian 1990: Evanessence: Tribute to Bill Evans by Fred Hersch (reissued in 1998) 1991: Bill Evans: A Tribute by Jimmy Rowles, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, John Lewis, Dave McKenna, et al. (Palo Alto Records) 1992: Bill Evans...Person We Knew by Larry Schneider and Andy LaVerne(SteepleChase) 1992: Then Along Came Bill: A Tribute to Bill Evans by Sylvia Syms 1993: Time Remembered: John McLaughlin Plays Bill Evans by John McLaughlin 1994: Now & Then: A Tribute to Bill Evans by Mitchel Forman 1994: Your Story: The Music of Bill Evans by Howard Alden 1996: Turn Out The Stars – The Songs Of Bill Evans by Dominic Alldis 1997: Conversations with Bill Evans by Jean-Yves Thibaudet 1998: I Remember Bill: A Tribute to Bill Evans by Don Sebesky and Larry Coryell 2000: Conviction: Thoughts Of Bill Evans by Roseanna Vitro 2001: Blue in Green by Tierney Sutton 2001: Evans Remembered by Enrico Pieranunzi 2002: Homage To Bill Evans And Jim Hall by Luigi Tessarollo with Stefano Bollani 2002: Play Bill Evans by the Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra & Jim McNeely 2003: Bill Evans: Tribute to the Great Post-Bop Pianist by Paul Motian 2006: Paz – Niño Josele and the music of Bill Evans by Niño Josele 2008: Something for You: Eliane Elias Sings & Plays Bill Evans by Eliane Elias 2009: Bill Evans Compositions Vol. 1 & Vol. 2by Stefano Battaglia 2012: Further Explorations by Chick Corea 2013: To Bill Evans by Kerem Görsev 2015: A tribute to Bill Evans by Monika Lang
I'm not sure I've heard a tribute album, but I've always loved this cover of time remembered by Joey calderazo. I kinda like it better than any of bills versions I have! Amazing bass solo by John Pattatuci also...
Herbie Hancock: "Of all the pianists who have influenced my playing, Bill leads the pack as far as the quality and the amount of influence. I've always been influenced by harmony and touch. Bill was a master of both. The first time I heard him was on Kind of Blue with Miles - the whole concept of modal playing began with that piece. Aside from Miles, it was Bill who utilized the modal approach the most. I had been listening to Oscar Peterson, Horace Silver, and all, but I never heard anyone play like Bill before. He knocked me out - I loved it!"
The link to this essay was posted in the Listening to Jazz & Conversation thread but I didn't see it here. While I know there's some crossover in terms of posters in each of these threads, it's so good it should be posted here. The writer uses the backstory on the composition of Nardis as a springboard into delving deep into aspects of Evans' life: https://believermag.com/broken-time/
