SEPTEMBER 2008



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THE HONOR ROLL



SPECIAL THANKS to the following friends of this website who have been very supportive with their emails, news items, suggestions and genuine love and concern for Bill Evans' musical legacy:


BRIAN HENNESSEY

MARTY MORELL


WIN HINKLE

DOUG RAMSEY


JACK REILLY

TERRY TEACHOUT

MARC MYERS 


ALAN MEEKS


JUDY BELL AT TRO

JIM WILLIAMS

BRUCE SPIEGEL

MIKE HARRIS


SAMUEL CHELL

DR. ROB RIJNEKE 


ROB DUBOFF

BRUCE BRANNIGAN

RON NETHERCUTT

BRET PRIMACK

VICTOR VERNEY


BRUCE RICKER

ANDY LAVERNE

 
PAUL UNDERSINGER

STEPHEN D. ANDERSON


JERRY KOVARSKY


GREGORY GAITHER

ERIC MIN-TUNG

KAZI GODA


WILLIAM BYAM

JOE CAROSELLI

STEVE BLANCO

LAURIE VERCHOMIN


CAROL LIAN

DAVID MEAD

HAL GALPER


JOHN VARRALLO

DONALD BELL

 


 
























The Bill Evans Webpages site receives abolutely no compensation or ad revenues from sites represented or recommended here. These websites are mentioned only as recommendations based on the quality of their content, and their possible intetrest to our many site visitors.

 

Bill Evans sketch

sketch courtesy of
jerryjazzmusician.com

 


Welcome to billevanswebpages.com

Dedicated to the life and music of pianist and composer BILL EVANS (1929-1980), one of the most important and influential musicians in all of jazz history. News, CD and DVD reviews, essays and articles, recording catalog, interviews, sidemen info, sound samples, biography, etc. . We try to update at least once every few weeks, as circumstances warrant, so come by again soon. If you're new to Bill Evans, you can start your journey HERE.

We welcome you to send email with your comments or questions...or any reviews or articles you may want us to consider for inclusion on this website. All will be read and be answered as time permits. Thank you!



"BILL EVANS: ALONE" and "ALONE (AGAIN)" -Jazzwax.com
- Marc Myers discusses these two solo albums in this new post on his always intriguing jazz blog from Oct. 6. Check it out! Marc is a knowledgeable jazz critic and a fine writer whose (perhaps controversial) new piece on Miles' "KIND OF BLUE" album is published in JAZZIZ magazine.


Recent Evans videos on YOUTUBE :

"After You" from the 1978 "New Conversations" album
"Blue Serge (Bill Evans-Eddie Gomez) in STEREO [YouTube]

"Jade Visions" -Vanguard track from 1961, with photos of the trio
European vocalist Hilda Hefte sings a lovely version of Evans' "My Bells"

newD V D: "JAZZ ICONS: BILL EVANS" -- WITH RARE AND PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED VIDEO


jazz icons-bill evans-title

jazz icons-bill evans DVDSeptember 30th: Reelin' in the Years Productions is releasing this excellent DVD as part of its highly acclaimed "Jazz Icons" series. (the six other releases in the series include Oscar Peterson, Sonny Rollins, Cannonball Adderley, Nina Simone, Lionel Hampton and Rahsaan Roland Kirk -- all are sold separately, of course.)

There are five filmed Evans trio performances (including a tune with jazz legend Lee Konitz sitting in) from between 1964 and 1975. Two of these (the longer ones!) have rarely been seen, as far I know -- and we finally get to see drummer Eliot Zigmund with the trio. The whole package is beautifully done, and jazz fans will be quite pleased with the attention to detail and the obvious care that went into this effort. The set includes a 23-page booklet with rare photos and essays, including a new interview wirth Chuck Israels. (see the "Jazz Icons"dedicated site for the Bill Evans DVD here, for extensive details, and preview - it's quite a treat!)

Below is a list of the performances and the what, where and who. I've seen the DVD and the visual quality and sound are terrific. We will discuss the music in an upcomg review.

Order it now, you don't want to be without this one.

 

THE PERFORMANCES:Bill Evans- DVD insert

1. My Foolish Heart
2. Israel


Sweden September 29, 1964 - with Chuck Israels (bass) , Larry Bunker (drums)

3. Detour Ahead
4. My Melancholy Baby
(featuring Lee Konitz -alto sax)

France 1965
- with Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen (bass), Alan Dawson (drums)


5. Emily
6. Alfie
7. Someday My Prince Will Come

Denmark 1970 - with Eddie Gomez (bass), Marty Morrell (drums)

8. If You Could See Me Now
9. 'Round Midnight
10. Someday My Prince Will Come
11. Sleepin' Bee
12. You're Gonna Hear From Me
13. Re: Person I Knew


Sweden, February 20, 1970 -with Eddie Gomez (bass) , Marty Morrell (drums)

 

14. Sareen Jurer
15. Blue Serge
16. Up With The Lark
17. But Beautiful
18. Twelve Tone Tune Two


Denmark 1975 (in studio) -with Eddie Gomez (bass) , Eliot Zigmund (drums)

 

(Images courtesy of Reelin in the Years Productions, LLC and Naxos. All rights reserved.


new ALBUM OF THE MONTH - "SYMBIOSIS" (1974)
Review by Jan Stevens

symbiosis CD album of the month

Last month's CD review: "Moonbeams" by John Varrallo
July edition:"Bill Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival by Jan Stevens

Have an "Album of the Month"review YOU'D like to write for this site? Email us!
IE

newJAZZ.COM FEATURE: THE ESSENTIAL BILL EVANS - "THE DOZENS"


jazz.com logoJazz writer Ted Gioia runs a feature at his jazz.com site called "The Dozens", in which he (or a guest writer) picks essential tracks from albums by major jazz figures
. This time it's dedicated to Bill Evans, and his picks and their commentaries are really quite good. (I agree with 9 out of 12, which of course, is entirely subjective) He makes some pretty cool observations, but I don't want to give anything away, so be sure and check it out for yourself.


"SUNDAY AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD" - NEW KEEPNEWS VIDEO INTERVIEW


Sunday at the Village VanguardOur friend Bret Primack, web video producer and broadcaster, has completed the latest ORRIN KEEPNEWS interview feature for Concord Records - a look back by the producer at the Bill Evans Trio's landmark 1961 Sunday at the Village Vanguard album with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian. IIf you saw the last video interview on Evans' "Portrait in Jazz", you know this is great stuff. We thank Bret for not only his consistently fine work, but also for his acknowlegement in the credits on the video to this website and its author (for some very minimal assistance provided).

While you're at it, check out Bret's YouTube page and his own website for other jazz "treats" -- he's done nice projects for Joe Lovano, Sonny Rollins, Billy Taylor and others that definitely merit your attention.


COLUMBIA RECORDS AD FOR "LIVING TIME" ALBUM (1972)


A little piece of history:
This is something you don't see too often. This Columbia Records advertisement for the "Bill Evans -George Russell Orchestra: Living Time" album originally appeared in Downbeat and other magazines in 1972. Read this curious ad carefully and notice how the world's most powerful recording company tried to sell Bill as part of the the then emerging jazz-rock phenomenon. "Few performances have ever captured the fusion of Rock and New Music..." Indeed. Once George Russell showed up with the score (commissioned by Evans) it was all they could do to record the ambitious and difficult project. Listeners have to decide for themselves -- but the fact is that Evans received a load of mail from fans threatening to never buy his albums again. He was taken aback, yet seemed to remain proud of the work, doing it mlive once or twice in Europe, but acquiesced to its challenging effect on listeners...

Living Time album- Columbia advertisement

When I asked Bill about it in 1979, I recall him saying "that was 'George's album, really". The record did rather poorly, Columbia decided not to exercise their option, and Evans was dropped from the label -- apparently along with a few other jazz notables who did not agree with label prez Clive Davis' persuasions to persue the fusion route. (See the book "The Label" by Gary Marmorstein.) Evans biographer Keith Shadwick loved the album, and his often problematic book makes several interesting, though arguable points. The CD is currently out-of-print, (LP copies are floating around here and there on the Web) but it deserves to be reissued, at least for jazz history's sake -- and perhaps for a look back in hindsight at what worked, what didn't work, and why.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH


"Those two guys brought tears to my eyes."

-- PAUL MOTIAN, on Bill Evans and Scott LaFaro

NEW LINK -- DOWNLOAD BILL EVANS NEWSLETTER - "LETTER FROM EVANS"


Letter From Evans newsletter

[Aug.'08 -NEW LINK - You can now download the "Letter From Evans" series hereAn incrdible resource: : between autumn 1989 -1994, a (hard copy) newsletter dedicated solely to the music and the life of Bill Evans was published by well-known Evans historian and bassist Win Hinkle. (Those who have appreciated Bill's work since that time may have seen references about Win and his published materials included in both the Peter Pettinger and Keith Shadwick books) "Letter From Evans" was available by subscription only back then, but now Win has made all twenty-six issues available online in .pdf files-- and it's all free! During it's five-year run, LFE featured Evans news, album reviews, commentary, analysis, transcriptions and many exclusive interviews done mostly by Win with some folks you just might have heard of: Keith Jarrett, Marc Johnson, Steve Allen, Earl Zindars, Joe LaBarbera, Henry Mancini, Chuck Israels, Mundell Lowe, Jimmy Rowles, Denny Zeitlin and many others!

Some rare interviews with Bill himself from various sources appeared in LFE too, as did a number of nifty transcrptions of Evans solos -- many that were not available elsewhere. Just a few of those who contributed articles or reviews included musicians like Jack Reilly, Hal Galper, Kenny Werner, Richie Bierach, Evans archivist Ron Nethercutt and, in fact, yours truly (Jan Stevens).
For those Bill Evans fans and jazz listeners who haven't seen any issues of "Letter From Evans", you're in for quite a treat. They are all filled with loads of unique material-- and some related jazz reviews and comentaries from that time - that you just won't find anywhere else. Once again, the files of all issues are now free (though Win has mentioned at his blog that those who may wish to can contribute, just to help defray all the expense).

Obviously, if you're an Evans aficianado, or even a casual fan, this is big news. Since I was a subscriber myself then, of course, I have all these issues -- but honestly, I couldn't be more thrilled, just thinking about all the good stuff some of you will soon be reading.


COMING SOON

OUR NEW DVD and VIDEO PAGE - and BILL "AT THE MOVIES"

MIKE HARRIS
- ("Secret Sessions" CD boxset) profile article

"BILL EVANS" - our DVD review of the rare Italian documentary from 1996


NOTES AND DISCLAIMERS:

This tribute website is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It is a not-for-profit endeavor and we do not solicit nor accept any contributions, nor do we sell any products, music transcriptions, ad space, or other Bill Evans- related or jazz-related services whatsoever. This website is not affiliated with any record company or publisher, nor with the Estate of Bill Evans. Any ads or logos to featured jazz sites are purely promotional as a recommended site, and are unsolicited and done for free.

Also: many musicians and fans have contacted us and asked about obtaining Bill Evans piano transcriptions. Sorry, but we do not provide these for various copyright reasons. The webmaster (a pianist) has studied many Evans solo transcriptions, and various transcriptions by both amateurs and professionals are available on the Web. Though we do not endorse or specifically recommend these, you can see a few links to transcriptions on our LINKS page and for info on where to purchase music books of various Evans collections. Many are able to be obtained from TRO Music, Inc., distributed by Hal Leonard, Inc., and other authorized companies which pay licensing fees and have permissions to reproduce original musical compositions and transcriptions.

We kindly ask that you please do not email to ask "What album is "[whatever song] on?". Our discography of Bill Evans' recording history (1956 through 1980) --though in need of some updating for recent reissues -- gives as much detailed and complete information as possible. Thank you

NOTE: The textual information and HTML within is proprietary content and cannot be copied digitally, electronically or otherwise for use on the Web or other media without permission. If you wish to use any content here, (Other than brief quotes or paragrapgh use under the Fair Use Doctrine) or have a BLOG, simply email us for permission before copying reviews and or other materials. Thank you.


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UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2008