The Bill Evans Webpages  
Fall 2016  


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THE HONOR ROLL



We don't have an Advisory Board or any such thing, but we want to give a SPECIAL THANKS to the following friends of this website who have long been been very supportive with their emails, news items, suggestions and genuine love and concern for Bill Evans' musical legacy:


PATRICK McQUILLAN

BILL CHARLAP

WIN HINKLE

JACK REILLY

DOUG RAMSEY

MARTY MORELL

BILL ZAVATSKY

BRET PRIMACK

TERRY TEACHOUT

MARC MYERS

WILL FRIEDWALD

ANDY LAVERNE

LAURIE VERCHOMIN

MIKE HARRIS

MICHAEL RICCI AT AAJ

HAL GALPER

BRUCE SPIEGEL

JUDY BELL AT TRO

ALAN MEEKS

RON NETHERCUTT

DAVE STRYKER

SAM CHELL

DR. ROB RIJNEKE

ROB DUBOFF

BRUCE BRANIGAN

VICTOR VERNEY

PAUL UNDERSINGER

STEPHEN D. ANDERSON

JERRY KOVARSKY

GREGORY GAITHER

ERIC MIN-TUNG

KAZI GODA

BILL BYAM

JOE CAROSELLI

STEVE BLANCO

PAUL BENKIMOUN

DAVID MEAD

JOHN VARRALLO

DON BELL

JIM KILLET


 

 



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jazzreview.com

Welcome to billevanswebpages.com,,the Web's most visited site for jazz pianist-composer BILL EVANS
0916


For over FIFTEEN YEARS, this website has been 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.


-- Jan Stevens, pianist and website editor

This site is on hiatus for the time being...

Due to some personal projects and conflicts, and a total lack of time due to other professional endeavors, I am compelled to discontinue The Bill Evans Webpages for the time being. I was going to remove the site altogether for many reasons (none related to my ongoing love for Bill's music), but was advised by a well-known jazz writer friend to leave it up for for now for those who still may want to access the scores of articles, reviews and other information here. Apologies to all...

We may be back, time will tell...

In the meantime, you can keep up with all things BILL from our pal Rob Rijneke in the Netherlands who has some very extensive, great new material there on his website. It's a very informative resource done with love, and a beautifully laid out site!

Rob has a gorgeous site and all his new material just adds to our knowledge and excitement about Bill Evans. Don't miss out. Thanks.


Bill Evans -The Complete Catalog/Chronology of Recordings


Evans catalog

A rich collection of data, arranged chronologically, of Bill Evans' recording history. Dates, sidemen, tunes played and other personnel, etc.

 


Harmony of Bill Evans Vol. 1 re-released, now with CD!


Jack Reilly's The Harmony of Bill Evans Vol. 1 has been released in its second edition by Hal Leonard. Inc. The new version has a CD now included with the examples of the porrtions explained and notated in the text with a bonus: Jack has included, as track 26, an18- minute recording of himself playing Evans classics in a wonderful medley:

I Should Care, My Bells, Resurrection (by Jack Reilly) My Funny Valentine, Time Remembered and Peri's Scope.

The tunes were recorded in London at the Royal Academy of Music in 1990. You can order at your local music outlet or visit amazon.com's page.

See more about Jack Reilly and his other work at jackreillyjazz.com


Foreword by Jan Stevens to the "Harmony of Bill Evans Vol.2" book by Jack Reilly

Published on the web for the first time, here is the Foreward to Jack Reilly's book written by yours truly, Jan Stevens.
____________________________________________

“Though everything else may appear shallow and repulsive, even the smallest task in music is so absorbing, and carries us so far away from town, country, earth, and all worldly things, that it is truly a blessed gift of God.” -- Felix Mendelssohn

The incomparable pianistic innovations of Bill Evans (1929 – 1980) continue to be celebrated by jazz fans, and closely studied by serious musicians worldwide. During his over twenty-five year recording career, he changed the approach to the sound of the piano itself in jazz by his touch, and his attention to pedaling, phrasing and dynamics. His remarkable approach to the possibilities of interplay within the piano-bass-drums trio is well-documented from the late 1950s on.
More...
______________________________________________

Hal Leonard, Inc, (the world's largest music publisher) is doing very well with the recent book "THE HARMONY OF BILL EVANS VOL. 2" by master pianist -composer Jack Reilly (with a Foreward by yours truly, Jan Stevens). Bill Evans died in 1980 but the compositional legacy he left behind is forever expanding. This expansive study shows how and why.

In Jack Reilly's second volume, he provides a deeper appreciation and understanding of Evans' compositions. This book and CD package (only $29.99 USD) includes two important theory chapters (which stand out on their own merits, brilliantly) , plus ten of Evans’ most passionate and melodically gorgeous works. The voicing charts for all ten songs are more complex than in volume one and pianistically more demanding, yet always worth the effort. The subjects of modulation and key relationships that are discussed in each chapter will help the player memorize faster and improvise with more facility; not an easy task when performing Evans' music.

The "Lament for Bill" in chapter 13 is the author's tribute to the genius of this great artist.

The accompanying CD will add to the enjoyment, understanding, and appreciation of the written examples. This a powerhouse book that will a prove to be a deep and indispensible experience for pianists of all stylistic persuasions as well as serious Evans fans. There is much to learn and enjoy here!

Songs include: Your Story • Laurie • For Nenette • My Bells • Maxine • Song for Helen • Turn Out the Stars • Very Early • Waltz for Debby • and moreHal Leonard, Inc, (the world's largest music publisher) is doing very well with the recent book "THE HARMONY OF BILL EVANS VOL. 2" by master pianist -composer Jack Reilly (with a Foreward by yours truly, Jan Stevens). Bill Evans died in 1980 but the compositional legacy he left behind is forever expanding. This expansive study shows how and why.

Buy it at amazon.com

Go to www.jackreillyjazz.com
Order through Hal Leonard online

Bill Evans Trio - New CD: "Momentum" -- worth every penny!

Bill Evans: Momentum (Limetree Records, Germany).
We need to thank our friend Rob Rijneke, who lovingly helped put this release together. He co-produced the tapes, got the clearances, communicated with the Estate and the musicans, and compiled a beautiful 2-CD package with great liner notes as well. Win Hinkle, Bill's friends Brian Hennesey and Bill Zavatsky as well as Dr. Rijneke all weigh in with comments.

Recorded in February 1972, the recording was taped back then by pianist Jan Warnjes in The Netherlands who later digitized them as well. The sound is amazingly warm and authentic with great balance.. You feel like your in the 2nd row middle section in the audience. We get a very intellectually curious, glowing Bill Evans --searching, and finding. We get an enormously lyrical and sensitive Eddie Gomez, smartly ingratiating himself inside the music like he was Bill's "third hand". We hear a magnificent Marty Morell, young and inventive and fresh. Everything just gels beautifully. The trio had a great audience and obviously an inspired night.

It's a warm and a giving offering, whether swinging or at lush balladry. Standard early seventies repertoire is played, with tasty versions of Bill's own "Sugar Plum", "Turn Out the Stars" and Re:Person I Knew" as well as Elsa, Quiet Now, My Romance and other winners. But there is magic in these grooves that is either absent sometimes, or not as prominent in the many other recordings of this particular trio. This is an exception to all that.Here's what Downbeat magazine said:

At a concert in the Netherlands on Feb. 4, 1972, the trio drew heavily on an established repertoire of tunes, such as “Emily,” which they extend further than they had four years earlier. Their Dutch set list also included four of Evans’ compositions, including his lovely “Sugar Plum” and glorious “The Two Lonely People.” It’s thrilling to hear this trio get aggressive: Evans continues in his quiet determination to challenge ideas of where the pulse should be, Gomez sounds authoritatively forceful on “Emily” and Morell is equally dynamic on “My Romance.” Pianist Jan Warntjes recorded this concert, which sounds as vivid as if it were taped last week.

This album was nominated for the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik (German Record Critics Award) November 2012:

After lots of listening and very careful consideration, I'll take the risk and announce that I believe this performance of the Evans-Gomez-Morrell trio to be probably its finest recording .I believe it's that good. Spend the money. It's all you hoped for.


An archival rarity: 1959 'Metronome' magazine article on Bill

 

Click the image and read this great article.
...then just think about it: all this was written before "Kind of Blue", before the Vanguard albums with LaFaro, etc. Writer and jazz historian Jack McKinney was certainly ahead of his time.


NOTES, DISCLAIMERS AND LEGALESE:

This website is a noy-for-profit site. 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.

This tribute websiteis not associated directly with the Estate and is strictluy 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, which is represented by Steven Lowy, Esq. 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 or at the usual online retail outlets.. 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


WE PROUDLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING JAZZ SITES FOR THEIR EXCELLENCE!

: Doug Ramsey's RIfftides jazz blog


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