William John Evans (August 16, 1929 - September 15, 1980) Was An American
William John Evans (August 16, 1929 - September 15, 1980) Was An American
William John Evans (August 16, 1929 - September 15, 1980) Was An American
and composer who mostly played in trios.[2] His use of impressionist harmony, inventive
interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block chords, and trademark rhythmically
independent, "singing" melodic lines continue to influence jazz pianists today.
Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, in 1929, he was classically trained at Southeastern Louisiana
University and the Mannes School of Music, where he majored in composition and received the
Artist Diploma. In 1955, he moved to New York City, where he worked with bandleader and
theorist George Russell. In 1958, Evans joined Miles Davis's sextet, which in 1959, then
immersed in modal jazz, recorded Kind of Blue, the best-selling jazz album of all time.[3]
During that time, Evans was also playing with Chet Baker for the album Chet.
In late 1959, Evans left the Miles Davis band and began his career as a leader, with bassist
Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian, a group now regarded as a seminal modern jazz trio. In
1961, ten days after finishing an engagement at the New York Village Vanguard jazz club,
LaFaro died in a car accident. After months of seclusion, Evans re-emerged with a new trio,
featuring bassist Chuck Israels.
In 1963, Evans recorded Conversations with Myself, a solo album using the unconventional
technique of overdubbing over himself. In 1966, he met bassist Eddie Gómez, with whom he
would work for eleven years.
vans grew up in North Plainfield, New Jersey, the son of Harry and Mary Evans (née Soroka). His
father was of Welsh descent and ran a golf course; his mother was of Carpatho-Rusyn[5] ancestry
and descended from a family of coal miners.[6][7] The marriage was stormy owing to his father's
heavy drinking, gambling, and abuse.[8][9] He had a brother, Harry (Harold), two years his senior,
with whom he shared a very close relationship.[9]
Given Harry Evans Sr.'s destructive character, Mary Evans would often leave home with her sons to
nearby Somerville, to stay with her sister Justine and the Epps family. There, Harry began piano
lessons somewhere between age 5 and 7 with local teacher Helen Leland. Even though Bill was
thought to be too young to receive lessons, he soon began to play what he had heard during his
brother's class.[10] [11] Soon both brothers were taking piano lessons. [12]
Evans remembered Leland with affection for not insisting on a heavy technical approach, with scales
and arpeggios. He would soon develop a fluent sight-reading ability, though his teacher rated his
brother as a better pianist.[12] At age 7, Bill began violin lessons, and soon also flute and piccolo.
Even though he soon dropped those instruments, it is believed they later influenced his keyboard
style. He later cited Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert as frequently played composers.[13] During
high school, Evans came in contact with 20th-century music like Stravinsky's Petrushka, which he
deemed a "tremendous experience"; and Milhaud's Suite provençale, whose bitonal language he
believed "opened him to new things." Around the same time also came his first exposure to jazz,
when at age 12 he heard Tommy Dorsey and Harry James's bands on the radio. At the age of 13, Bill
stood in for a sick pianist in Buddy Valentino's rehearsal band,[14] where Harry was already playing
the trumpet.[14][15] Soon, Bill began to perform for dances and weddings throughout New Jersey,
playing music like boogie woogie and polkas for $1 per hour.[16] Around this time he met multi-
instrumentalist Don Elliott, with whom he would later record. Another important influence was
bassist George Platt, who introduced Evans to the harmonic principles of music.[17]
Evans attended North Plainfield High School, graduating in 1946.[18]
Evans also used to listen to Earl Hines, Coleman Hawkins, Bud Powell, George Shearing, Stan Getz,
and Nat King Cole among others. He particularly admired Cole.[19]
One night I got really adventurous on "Tuxedo Junction" and I put in a little "ping!" you know, that
wasn't written, and this was such an experience! To make music that wasn't indicated. That really got
me into starting to want to think about how to make the music.
Interview with Harry Evans. c. 1965.[13]
1College, army, sabbatical year[edit]
I have always admired your [Magee's] teaching as that rare and amazing combination – exceptional
knowledge combined with the ability to bring that same knowledge, that lies deep within the student,
to life. You were certainly my biggest inspiration in college, and the seeds of the insights that you
have sown, have in practice borne fruit many times over.
Bill Evans talking about Gretchen Magee[6]
After high school, in September 1946, Evans attended Southeastern Louisiana University on a flute
scholarship.[20][21] He studied classical piano interpretation with Louis P. Kohnop, John Venettozzi,
and Ronald Stetzel.[22] A key part in Evans's development was Gretchen Magee, whose methods of
teaching left an important print in his composition style. Soon, Bill would compose his first tune.[6]
Around his third year in college, Evans composed his first known tune, "Very Early".[16] Around
that time he also composed a piece called "Peace Piece".[23] Years later, when asked to play it - he
said it was a spontaneous improvisation, thus he doesn't know it. He was a founding member of
SLU's Delta Omega chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, played quarterback for the fraternity's
football team, and was part of the college band. In 1950, he performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto
No.3 for his senior recital, graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree, majoring in piano, and
Bachelor's in Music Education. Evans regarded the last three years in college as the happiest in his
life.[24]
4Work with Miles Davis, Everybody Digs Bill Evans, and Kind of Blue[edit]
Main article: Kind of Blue
Evans built "Peace Piece" on a simple one-bar ostinato left hand figure in C major. Over this static
harmonic frame, he freely improvised melodies.
One of the pieces to appear on the album was Leonard Bernstein's "Some Other Time". Evans
started to play an introduction using an ostinato figure. However, according to Keepnews, who was
present, the pianist spontaneously started to improvise over that harmonic frame, creating the
recording that would be named "Peace Piece". According to Evans: "What happened was that I
started to play the introduction, and it started to get so much of its own feeling and identity that I
just figured, well, I'll keep going." However, Gretchen Magee claims that the piece had been penned
as an exercise during his college years, while Peri Cousins says that he would often play the piece at
home.[43]
Evans returned to the Davis sextet in early 1959, at the trumpeter's request, to record Kind of Blue,
often considered the best-selling jazz album of all time.[3][44]
As usual, during the sessions of Kind of Blue, Miles Davis called for almost no rehearsal and the
musicians had little idea what they were to record. Davis had given the band only sketches of scales
and melody lines on which to improvise. Once the musicians were assembled, Davis gave brief
instructions for each piece and then set about taping the sextet in studio.[45]
During the creative process of Kind of Blue, Davis handed Evans a piece of paper with two chords
—G minor and A augmented—and asked "What would you do with that?" Evans spent the next
night writing what would become "Blue in Green". However, when the album came out, the song
was attributed exclusively to Davis. When Evans suggested he might deserve a share of the royalties,
Davis offered him a check for $25.[10][46] Evans also penned the liner notes for Kind of Blue,
comparing jazz improvisation to Japanese visual art.[45] By the fall of 1959, Evans had started his
own trio with Jimmy Garrison and Kenny Dennis, but it was short-lived.[33]
Sometime during the late 1950s, most probably before joining Miles Davis, Evans began using
heroin. Philly Joe Jones has been cited as an especially bad influence in this aspect.[10][47] Although
Davis seems to have tried to help Evans kick his addiction, he did not succeed.
Evans's first long-term romance was with a black woman named Peri Cousins (for whom "Peri's
Scope" was named), during the second half of the 1950s. The couple had problems booking in hotels
during Evans's gigs, since most of them did not allow inter-racial couples. By the turn of the decade,
Evans had met a waitress named Ellaine Schultz, who would become his partner for twelve years.
[47]