Bill Evans' passing anniversary

[joelf]

On September 15, 1980, we lost this unique musician who brought a new sensitivity, a harmonic genius, group interaction/dialog---and so much more to the jazz piano trio.

Well done, Mr. Evans...

[mr. beaumont]

A lot of the time, when I hear a piano trio, I wish there was one other instrument...a horn, a guitar, something to break the sound up a bit.

Never with the Bill Evans trio. He was a special kind of special.

[Rob MacKillop]

My No.1 pianist. Tate, phrasing, colouration, it was all uniquely his own.

[joelf]

And he didn't come out of nowhere, but built on and added to what came before him. They call that innovation.

He also was honest enough in self-appraisal to know the blues wasn't native to his culture so he contributed things that were. He wasn't going to be a white musician merely imitative of black music (which he, of course, loved and studied). He was what he was, and stood by that to the end. That showed rare honesty and purity.

And it was jazz!

[AndyV]

Incomparable pianist. The richness of his playing and the romanticism is almost too much to bear at times - and I mean that in the best way. I especially love Bill's treatment of jazz waltz tunes. Gone too soon.

Just yesterday, by coincidence, I learned about Lorraine Geller, another stellar pianist gone way too soon whose story I didn't know. It's a sad one.

At the Piano: Remembering Lorraine Geller and Portland’s Jazz History – Michigan Quarterly Review

[mr. beaumont]

And he didn't come out of nowhere, but built on and added to what came before him. They call that innovation.

He also was honest enough in self-appraisal to know the blues wasn't native to his culture so he contributed things that were. He wasn't going to be a white musician merely imitative of black music (which he, of course, loved and studied). He was what he was, and stood by that to the end. That showed rare honesty and purity.

And it was jazz!

And I'd like to add, nobody could swing harder on a waltz.

[James W]

And he didn't come out of nowhere, but built on and added to what came before him. They call that innovation.

He also was honest enough in self-appraisal to know the blues wasn't native to his culture so he contributed things that were. He wasn't going to be a white musician merely imitative of black music (which he, of course, loved and studied). He was what he was, and stood by that to the end. That showed rare honesty and purity.

And it was jazz!

He could play a mean blues though, make no mistake about it -

[joelf]

He could play a mean blues though, make no mistake about it -

To clarify: I didn't mean he couldn't PLAY a blues (what real jazzman can't?). It just wasn't the primary piece in his toolkit b/c he took more things from other sources that resonated with who he was. And that was part of the beauty of what he did, and his huge contribution.

[AndyV]

There are so many to choose from, but I feel this whole LP is undeservedly under the radar. Terrific swing waltz . Bill's uptempo playing really seemed to soar when he played with Philly Joe.