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ABC Jazz Home > Just Played > Bill Evans
Bill Evans
Artist Note
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Biography
William John Evans, known as Bill Evans, was an American jazz pianist and composer who mostly worked in a trio setting. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, and is considered by some to have been the most influential post-World War II jazz pianist. Evans's 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. Unlike many other jazz musicians of his time, Evans never embraced new movements like jazz fusion or free jazz. Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, Evans was classically trained, and studied at Southeastern Louisiana University. In 1955, he moved to New York, where he worked with bandleader and theorist George Russell. In 1958, Evans joined Miles Davis's sextet, where he was to have a profound influence. In 1959, the band, then immersed in modal jazz, recorded Kind of Blue, the best-selling jazz album of all time. In late 1959, Evans left the Miles Davis band and began his career as a leader with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian, a group now regarded as a seminal modern jazz trio. In 1961, ten days after recording the highly acclaimed Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby, 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, an innovative solo album using the unconventional (in jazz solo recordings) technique of overdubbing over himself. In 1966, he met bassist Eddie Gomez, with whom he would work for eleven years. Several successful albums followed, such as Bill Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Alone and The Bill Evans Album, among others. In 1973, he married Nenette Zazzarra, with whom he had a son, Evan. The younger Evans would become a film composer. Despite his success as a jazz artist, Evans suffered personal loss and struggled with drug abuse. Both his girlfriend Elaine and his brother Harry committed suicide, and he was a long time heroin user, and later cocaine. As a result, his financial stability, personal relationships and musical creativity suffered until his death, in 1980. Many of his compositions, such as "Waltz for Debby", have become standards and have been played and recorded by many artists. Evans was honored with 31 Grammy nominations and seven awards, and was inducted in the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.
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Discography
- We Will Meet Again - The Bill Evans Anthology (disc 1), 2005
- The Paris Concert, Edition One, 1982
- A Day in New York, 1957
- Autumn Leaves, 1998
- Interplay, 1962
- The Complete Gus Wildi Recordings
- Everybody Digs Bill Evans, 2006
- Empathy / A Simple Matter of Conviction, 1989
- At the Montreux Jazz Festival, 1990
- The Ivory Hunters, 1994
- Conversations With Myself, 1997
- Easy to Love, 2006
- Montreux III, 1991
- Highlights From Turn Out The Stars
- Getting Sentimental, 2003
- Bill Evans for Lovers, 2004
- Quiet Now: Never Let Me Go, 1999
- Ultimate Bill Evans, 1998
- The Sesjun Radio Shows, 2011
- We Will Meet Again, 1979
- Bill Evans's Finest Hour, 2001
- Alone (Again), 2006
- The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album, 1992
- Waltz for Debby
- Serenity, 1999
- California Here I Come, 2004
- New Jazz Conceptions, 2006
- The Complete Tony Bennett & Bill Evans Recordings, 2009
- The Very Best of Bill Evans, 2002
- Unknown Session, 2006
- Jazz Showcase
- Alone, 2002
- His Last Concert in Germany, 1996
- Live at the Festival, 1994
- Together Again, 1977
- The Bill Evans Album, 1996
- The Complete Riverside Recordings, 1991
- Complete Fantasy Recordings
- Undercurrent, 1976
- The Complete Legendary Sessions, 2010
- The Best of Bill Evans, 1998
- Affinity, 1988
- Re: Person I Knew, 1993
- Further Conversations With Myself, 1967
- What's New, 2003
- The Best of Bill Evans on Verve, 1995
- You Must Believe in Spring, 2004
- The Solo Sessions, Volume 1, 1989
- Sharp Notes, 2011
- Intermodulation, 1988
- Blue in Green: The Concert in Canada, 1974
- Symbiosis, 1974
- From Left to Right
- The Complete Live at the Village Vanguard 1961, 2006
- You're Gonna Hear From Me, 1991
- Soul Bop Band Live, 2005
- Bill Evans Plays for Lovers, 2006
- Riverside Profiles (disc 1), 2006
- Play the Arrangements of Jimmy Giuffre
- A Simple Matter of Conviction, 2008
- The Complete Bill Evans on Verve, 1997
- Loose Blues
- Ballads and More, 1999
- Intuition, 2006
- The Paris Concert, Edition Two, 2001
- Verve Jazz Masters 5, 1994
- Quiet Now, 1981
- The Interplay Sessions, 2007
- The Secret Sessions, 1996
- Original Jazz Classics Collection, 1997
- On Green Dolphin Street, 1999
- The Solo Sessions, Volume 2, 2006
- Jazz 'Round Midnight
- Quintessence, 2006
- Half Moon Bay, 1998
- Portraiture, 2003
- Piano Player, 1998
- Kind of Evans, 2011
- The Complete Riverside Recordings (disc 1), 1987
- Jazzhouse, 1991
- Bill Evans With Symphony Orchestra, 1985
- Everybody Digs Bill Evans: Complete 1958/59 Winter Trio Sessions, 2010
- Compact Jazz: Bill Evans, 1987
- My Foolish Heart, 1973
- Live at Art D'Lugoff's: Top of the Gate, 2012
- New Conversations, 1997
- Trio 64, 1997
- Tenderly: An Informal Session, 2001
- Conversations with Bill Evans, 1997
- Night and Day, 2003
- The Brilliant
- Bill Evans at Town Hall, Volume 1
- Eloquence, 1994
- Empathy, 1962
- Live in Europe II
- The Tokyo Concert
- Stan Getz & Bill Evans, 1973
- Montreux II, 1970
- A Jazz Hour With Bill Evans: Autumn Leaves
- The Best of Bill Evans Live
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Recently Played on ABC Jazz.
| Song | Very Early |
| Artist | Bill Evans |
| Album | Moonbeams |
| Label | Riverside |
| Year | 1962 |
| Song | When I Fall In Love |
| Artist | Bill Evans |
| Album | Portrait In Jazz |
| Label | Riverside/UMA |
| Year | 1959 |
| Song | The Man With The Golden Arm |
| Artist | Bill Evans |
| Album | Theme From The V.I.P.s And Other Songs |
| Label | Verve |
| Year | 1963 |
| Song | Jazz Samba |
| Artist | Bill Evans |
| Album | Intermodulation |
| Label | Verve |
| Year | 1987 |
| Song | Nardis |
| Artist | Bill Evans |
| Album | At The Montreux Jazz Festival |
| Label | Verve Music Group |
| Year | 1968 |
Media
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- YouTube Bill Evans Portrait in Jazz Full Album 42:26
- YouTube Bill Evans Waltz For Debby 4:29
- YouTube Bill Evans Trio Time Remembered Full Album 70:53
- YouTube Bill Evans Trio on Jazz 625 FULL 70:43
- YouTube Bill Evans On Green Dolphin Street Full Album 49:40
Non-ABC videos are automatically sourced from YouTube , the user-contributed video sharing site. The ABC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Non-ABC images are automatically sourced from Discogs , a community-built database of music information. The ABC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Links
Artist Website
On the ABC
- Olympic medals won by Bill Evans - Stats - 2008 Beijing ...
- Lateline Business - 03/05/2007: Andrew Robertson speaks with ...
- Lateline Business - ABC
- Science Show - 11 May 2002 - Acoustic Monitoring
- The Planet - 23 April 2002 - Dimitrios Vassiliakis
- The Weekend Planet - 22 April 2007 - Paul Motian
- The Weekend Planet - 10 April 2011 - Iiro Rantala: Lost ...
- The Planet - 14 March 2005 - Paul Motian, Bill Frisell, Joe ...
- The Planet - 11 April 2000 - Tuesday,11th April 2000 {Bill ...
- Radio National - The Planet - Playlist - 24 March 1998
Elsewhere on the Web
Links suggested here are generated automatically. The ABC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Page created on Jun 25, 2009. 11:14pm and updated on Apr 28, 2013. 11:24pm.
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Related Stories
This landmark performance is known as one of the most iconic recordings in jazz history.
An interview with Bill Evans, who joined Marian McPartland on her Piano Jazz show in 1978.
Comments
just wonderful - Bill Evans will always be my favourite
What a classic version!
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