Gil Evans was a
jazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist, arranger,
composerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and bandleader, active in the United States. He played an important role in the development of
cool jazzCool is a style of modern jazz music that arose following the Second World War. It is characterized by its relaxed tempos and lighter tone, in contrast to the bebop style that preceded it...
,
modal jazzModal jazz is jazz that uses musical modes rather than chord progressions as a harmonic framework. Originating in the late 1950s and 1960s, modal jazz is characterized by Miles Davis's "Milestones" Kind of Blue and John Coltrane's classic quartet from 1960–64. Other important performers include...
,
free jazzFree jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
and
jazz fusionJazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
, and collaborated extensively with
Miles DavisMiles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
.
Biography
Born
Ian Ernest Gilmore Green, his name was changed early on to Evans, the name of his stepfather. His family moved to
Stockton, CaliforniaStockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...
where he spent most of his youth. After 1946, he lived and worked primarily in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, living for many years at
Westbeth Artists CommunityWestbeth Artists Housing, located at 463 West Street in the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan, is the largest such community in the world. This low- to middle-income rental housing project was developed with the assistance of the J.M...
.
Between 1941 and 1948, he worked as an arranger for the
Claude ThornhillClaude Thornhill was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader...
Orchestra. Evans' modest basement apartment behind a New York City Chinese
laundryLaundry is a noun that refers to the act of washing clothing and linens, the place where that washing is done, and/or that which needs to be, is being, or has been laundered...
soon became a meeting place for musicians looking to develop new musical styles outside of the dominant
bebopBebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
style of the day. Those present included the leading bebop performer
Charlie ParkerCharles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
himself. In 1948, Evans, with
Miles DavisMiles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
,
Gerry MulliganGerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though Mulligan is primarily known as one of the leading baritone saxophonists in jazz history – playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz – he was also...
, and others, collaborated on a band book for a nonet. The group was booked for a week at the "Royal Roost" as an intermission group on the bill with the
Count BasieWilliam "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
Orchestra.
Capitol RecordsCapitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
recorded 12 numbers by the nonet at three sessions in 1949 and 1950. These recordings were reissued on a 1957 Miles Davis LP titled
Birth of the CoolBirth of the Cool is a compilation album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1957 on Capitol Records. It compiles twelve songs recorded by Davis's nonet for the label over the course of three sessions during 1949 and 1950...
.
Later, while Davis was under contract to
Columbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, producer
George AvakianGeorge Avakian is an American record producer and executive known particularly for his work with Columbia Records, and his production of albums by Miles Davis and other notable jazz musicians....
suggested that Davis work with any of several arrangers. Davis immediately chose Evans. The three albums that resulted from the resulting collaboration are
Miles AheadMiles Ahead is a jazz album by Miles Davis that was released in 1957 on Columbia CL 1041. This was the first album following Birth of the Cool that Davis recorded with Gil Evans, with whom he would go on to release albums such as Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain...
(1957),
Porgy and BessPorgy and Bess is a studio album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1958 on Columbia Records. The album features arrangements by Davis and collaborator Gil Evans from George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess. The album was recorded in four sessions on July 22, July 29, August 4, and August 18,...
(1958), and
Sketches of SpainSketches of Spain is an album by Miles Davis, recorded between November 1959 and March 1960 at the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City....
(1960). Another collaboration from this period,
Quiet Nights-Personnel:* Miles Davis — trumpet* Gil Evans — arranger, conductor* Shorty Baker, Bernie Glow, Louis Mucci, Ernie Royal — trumpets* J.J. Johnson, Frank Rehak — trombones* Ray Alonge, Don Corrado, Julius Watkins — french horns* Bill Barber — tuba...
(1962) was issued later, against the wishes of Davis, who broke with his then-producer
Teo MaceroTeo Macero , born Attilio Joseph Macero, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer...
for a time as a result. Although these four records were marketed primarily under Davis's name (and credited to
Miles Davis with Orchestra Under the Direction of Gil Evans), Evans's contribution was as important as Davis's. Their work coupled Evans's classic
big bandA big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
jazz stylings and arrangements with Davis's solo playing. Evans also contributed behind the scenes to Davis' classic quintet albums of the 1960s.
From 1957 onwards Evans recorded albums under his own name. Among the featured soloists on these records were
Lee KonitzLee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...
,
Steve LacySteve Lacy , born Steven Norman Lackritz in New York City, was a jazz saxophonist and composer recognized as one of the important players of soprano saxophone....
,
Johnny ColesJohnny Coles was an American jazz trumpeter.Coles spent his early career playing with R&B groups, including those of Eddie Vinson , Bull Moose Jackson , and Earl Bostic...
and Cannonball Adderley. In 1965 he arranged the big band tracks on
Kenny BurrellKenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell is an American jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians.-Biography:...
's
Guitar Forms album. Evans was very influenced by Latin and Brazilian music. 1966 he recorded an album with Brazilian singer
Astrud GilbertoAstrud Gilberto is a Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer. She is well known for the Grammy Award-winning song "The Girl from Ipanema".-Biography:...
,
Look To The Rainbow.
In the 1970s, following Davis and many other jazz musicians, Evans worked in the
free jazzFree jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
and jazz-rock idioms, gaining a new generation of admirers. Evans had a particular interest in the work of rock guitarist
Jimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
. Hendrix's 1970 death made impossible a scheduled meeting with Evans to discuss having Hendrix front a big band led by Evans. In 1974, he released an album of his arrangements of music by Hendrix. In 1986, Evans produced and arranged the soundtrack to the film of the
Colin MacInnesColin MacInnes was an English novelist and journalist.-Early life:MacInnes was born in London, the son of singer James Campbell McInnes and novelist Angela Thirkell, who was also related to Rudyard Kipling and Stanley Baldwin. His family moved to Australia in 1920, MacInness returning in 1930...
book
Absolute BeginnersAbsolute Beginners is a 1986 British rock musical film adapted from the Colin MacInnes book of the same name about life in late 1950s London. The film was directed by Julien Temple, featured David Bowie and Sade, and a breakout role by Patsy Kensit...
, thereby working with such contemporary artists as
Sade AduHelen Folasade Adu OBE , is a British singer-songwriter, composer, and record producer. She first achieved success in the 1980s as the frontwoman and lead vocalist of the Brit and Grammy Award winning English group Sade.-Biography:Sade was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria...
,
Patsy KensitPatricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit is an English actress, singer, model and former child star, known for her television and film appearances. Her films include Lethal Weapon 2 and she has been married to rock stars Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher, as well as herself fronting the band Eighth Wonder...
's Eight Wonder,
The Style CouncilThe Style Council were an English band, formed in 1983 by the ex-The Jam singer and guitarist Paul Weller, with keyboardist Mick Talbot. The permanent line-up grew to include drummer Steve White and Weller's then-wife, vocalist Dee C. Lee. Other artists such as Tracie Young and Tracey Thorn also...
,
Jerry DammersJeremy David Hounsell "Jerry" Dammers is a British musician who is a founder and keyboard player of the Coventry, England based ska revival band The Specials, The Special A.K.A...
,
Smiley CultureDavid Victor Emmanuel , better known as Smiley Culture, was a British reggae singer and deejay known for his 'fast chat' style. During a relatively brief period of fame and success, he produced two of the most critically acclaimed reggae singles of the 1980s...
,
Edward Tudor-PoleEdward Tudor-Pole is an English musician, singer , TV presenter and actor.- Musical career :Tudor-Pole formed the band Tenpole Tudor in 1974, and eventually came to prominence after appearing in the film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle as a possible replacement for Johnny Rotten in the Sex Pistols...
, and, notably,
David BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
. In 1987, Evans recorded a live CD with Sting, featuring big band arrangements of songs by and with
The PoliceThe Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
.
In April 1983, the Gil Evans Orchestra was booked into the Sweet Basil jazz club (
Greenwich VillageGreenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
) by jazz producer and Sweet Basil owner
Horst LiepoltHorst Liepolt is a jazz producer and artist.In Australia, and later in the United States, he organized numerous successful jazz concerts and festivals and also produced a large number of jazz recordings....
. This turned out to be a regular Monday night engagement for Evans for nearly five years and also resulted in the release of a number of successful albums by
Gil Evans and the Monday Night Orchestra (produced by Horst Liepolt). One of these albums,
Bud and Bird, won the Grammy award for
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big BandThe Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album has been presented since 1961. From 1962 to 1971 and 1979 to 1991 the award title specified instrumental performances...
in 1989.
In 1986, Evans was inducted into the
Down Beat Jazz Hall of FameDown Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
.
Evans died in the same Mexican city as
Charles MingusCharles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
,
CuernavacaCuernavaca is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. It was established at the archeological site of Gualupita I by the Olmec, "the mother culture" of Mesoamerica, approximately 3200 years ago...
.
As leader
- 1957: Gil Evans & Ten
Gil Evans & Ten is the first album by pianist, conductor, arranger and composer Gil Evans as a leader, released on the Prestige label in 1957...
- 1958: New Bottle Old Wine
-Track listing:# "St. Louis Blues" - 5:26# "King Porter Stomp" - 3:19# "Willow Tree" - 4:40# "Struttin' With Some Barbeque" - 4:34# "Lester Leaps In" - 4:17...
- 1959: Great Jazz Standards
-Track listing:# "Davenport Blues" - 4:26# "Straight, No Chaser" - 6:19# "Ballad of the Sad Young Men" - 4:00# "Joy Spring" - 2:48# "Django" - 8:06...
- 1960: Out of the Cool
-Reception:The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected this album as part of its suggested "Core Collection" calling it "Evans' masterpiece under his own name and one of the best examples of jazz orchestration since the early Ellington bands".-Track listing:...
- 1961: Into the Hot
- 1964: The Individualism of Gil Evans
The Individualism of Gil Evans is an album by pianist, conductor, arranger and composer Gil Evans originally released on the Verve label in 1964. It features Evans' big band arrangements of five original compositions and compositions by Kurt Weill, Bob Dorough, John Lewis and Willie Dixon...
- 1971: Blues in Orbit
- 1971: Where Flamingos Fly
Where Flamingos Fly is an album by jazz composer, arranger, conductor and pianist Gil Evans, recorded in 1971, but not released until 1981, and performed by Evans with a orchestra featuring Billy Harper, Howard Johnson, Johnny Coles, and Don Preston....
(Artists House-Discography:...
)
- 1973: Svengali
Svengali is a live album by jazz composer, arranger, conductor and pianist Gil Evans, recorded in 1973 by Evans with a orchestra featuring Ted Dunbar, Howard Johnson, Herb Bushler, David Sanborn, Billy Harper, Richard Williams, Trevor Koehler, and Hannibal Marvin Peterson...
- 1975: Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
- 1975: There Comes a Time
- 1976: Tokyo Concert
- 1977: Priestess (Antilles Records
Antilles Records was an American record label that was a subsidiary of Island Records.Its jazz catalog is now managed by Verve Records.-Discography:*1001 Joanne Brackeen - Special Identity 1981*1002 Biréli Lagrène- Routes To Django 1980...
)
- 1978: Little Wing (Circle Records (Germany)
Circle Records was an Germany based record label specializing in jazz, established in 1976. -Discography:Circle Records was an Germany based record label specializing in jazz, established in 1976. -Discography:...
)
- 1980: Live at the Public Theater Volume 1 & 2
- 1986: Live at Sweet Basil
- 1986: Farewell
- 1986: Bud and Bird (Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band
The Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album has been presented since 1961. From 1962 to 1971 and 1979 to 1991 the award title specified instrumental performances...
)
- 1986: Absolute Beginners Soundtrack
Absolute Beginners is a 1986 British rock musical film adapted from the Colin MacInnes book of the same name about life in late 1950s London. The film was directed by Julien Temple, featured David Bowie and Sade, and a breakout role by Patsy Kensit...
- 1987: Live at Umbria Jazz
The Umbria Jazz Festival is one of the most important jazz festivals in the world and has been held annually since 1973, usually in the month of July, in Perugia, Italy...
: Volume 1 & 2
- 1987: Collaboration
The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album four and a half stars and said "This inspired outing, one of the most rewarding sets of Helen Merrill's later years, was also one of Evans' last great dates and one of his few post-1972 classics...
(with Helen Merrill)
- 1987: 75th Birthday Concert
- 1987: Paris Blues (duo with Steve Lacy
Steve Lacy , born Steven Norman Lackritz in New York City, was a jazz saxophonist and composer recognized as one of the important players of soprano saxophone....
)
- 1987: Last Session (with Sting)
- 1988: A Tribute to Gil
- 1990: Gil Evans with RMS - Take Me To The Sun
Arranger
- 1947-1949: The Real Birth of the Cool: Studio Recordings (Claude Thornhill
Claude Thornhill was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader...
)
- 1957: Miles Ahead
Miles Ahead is a jazz album by Miles Davis that was released in 1957 on Columbia CL 1041. This was the first album following Birth of the Cool that Davis recorded with Gil Evans, with whom he would go on to release albums such as Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain...
(Miles Davis)
- 1958: Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess is a studio album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1958 on Columbia Records. The album features arrangements by Davis and collaborator Gil Evans from George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess. The album was recorded in four sessions on July 22, July 29, August 4, and August 18,...
(Miles Davis)
- 1958: Dream of You
Dream of You is the second studio album by Helen Merrill, arranged by Gil Evans.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Stephen Cook awarded the album four stars and said that "On 1955's Dream of You...Merrill found reconciliation, sounding both melodramatic and swinging within Gil Evans' darkly...
(with Helen MerrillHelen Merrill is an internationally known jazz vocalist.Merrill's recording career has spanned six decades and she is popular with fans of jazz in Japan and Italy as well as in her native United States...
)
- 1960: Sketches of Spain
Sketches of Spain is an album by Miles Davis, recorded between November 1959 and March 1960 at the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City....
(Miles Davis)
- 1963: Quiet Nights
-Personnel:* Miles Davis — trumpet* Gil Evans — arranger, conductor* Shorty Baker, Bernie Glow, Louis Mucci, Ernie Royal — trumpets* J.J. Johnson, Frank Rehak — trombones* Ray Alonge, Don Corrado, Julius Watkins — french horns* Bill Barber — tuba...
(Miles Davis)
- 1965: Look To The Rainbow (Astrud Gilberto
Astrud Gilberto is a Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer. She is well known for the Grammy Award-winning song "The Girl from Ipanema".-Biography:...
)
- 1965: Guitar Forms
Guitar Forms is a 1964 album by Kenny Burrell, featuring arrangements by Gil Evans. However, the presence of the Evans' orchestra is somewhat misleading, as it appears on only five of the album's nine tracks; the most ambitious of these is the nearly 10-minute "Lotus Land." Three tracks are blues...
(with Kenny BurrellKenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell is an American jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians.-Biography:...
)
Filmography
- 2005: RMS Live With Gil Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1983
- 2007: Gil Evans and His Orchestra
- 2007: Strange Fruit with Sting
- 2009: Miles Davis The Cool Jazz Sound
External links