Gil Evans -

The Individualism of Gil Evans

Posted: October 4th, 2008

Date: Sept 1963 – Oct 29, 1964 (recording)
Release: Verve #9210
Cover Art: view / download
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“Of all the people I knew, Gil Evans was one of the only ones who could pick up on what I was thinking musically…a person is lucky if he’s got one Gil Evans in his life, someone close enough to you to pull your coattail when something’s going wrong. Because who knows what I would have done or become if I hadn’t had someone like Gil to remind me?”

-Miles Davis with Quincy Troupe, Miles: The Autobiography

Those who only know Gil Evans though his collaborations with Miles Davis will be astounded when they discover The Individualism of Gil Evans. The five recording sessions that went into the making of this album yielded music as compelling as anything Evans created with Miles. And that’s no minor feat, considering just how instrumental the trumpet playing genius was in helping Evans push the limits of jazz orchestration on such classics as Sketches Of Spain and Porgy & Bess. Forever known by his partnership with Miles, The Individualism of Gil Evans was the only album that the composer/pianist recorded as a leader during the period of 1961-1968, years when jazz clubs were closing, but, as evidenced here, the music was far from dying.

For the various sessions that comprise the album, Evans put together an impressive and diverse collection of musicians, including such purveyors of individualism as Eric Dolphy, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Steve Lacy, and Elvin Jones. From the album’s lush opening to its bluesy conclusion, Evans consistently conjures a vast musical canvas, leaving plenty of wide-open spaces in his compositions for the soloists to soar. His subtle use of large ensembles and his mastery of space approach that of Miles, with whom he co-wrote the CD’s opening track, “Time Of The Barracudas,” for a Peter Barnes play of the same name. My whole understanding of the album begins with this mood-establishing gem, and my heart goes out to a whole generation of listeners that had to experience the original vinyl without it. They were denied the majesty of Wayne Shorter solo, which was so beautifully lyrical that it seduced Miles, who immediately invited the saxophonist to join his band.

Shorter’s playing takes on a brooding, almost hallucinatory quality on “The Barbara Song,” a Kurt Weill melody from Three-Penny Opera. An underrated pianist, Evans’ own exquisitely textured playing on “The Barbara Song” is sublime. “Las Vegas Tango” (later covered by Robert Wyatt) is a cinematic, Ellington-flavored epic, filled with the call and response of trumpets and woodwinds, and driven by bassist Ron Carter’s dark tango rhythms. “Flute Song / Hotel Me” has the low down and dirty feel of a strip-tease vamp which, like the album closer, “Spoonful,” showcases Evans’ bluesy piano playing. It is not only noteworthy as the original album’s sole Gil Evans/Miles Davis collaboration, but also because it features Eric Dolphy on bass clarinet. Dolphy’s adds his unmistakable touch to the song with intense but restrained playing. “El Toreador” encapsulates the feeling of Sketches of Spain in a mere 3 1/2 minutes. It is perfectly followed by the minimalist “Proclamation,” a previously unreleased track.

“Nothing Like You” and “Concorde” are two upbeat little ditties that jarringly break up the dream-like mood of the album, making them dubious “bonus” tracks. Program your CD player to skip them. Thankfully the dream-like mood is picked up again and given satisfying climax on the 14-minute long blues, “Spoonful.” Evans knocks out some mean licks, pounding the piano with startling passion. The man could really play. Kenny Burrell’s guitar hints at T-Bone Walker, with a fluid bending of the notes. It’s hard to believe that Evans originally hated this performance of “Spoonful,” but learned to love it upon hearing it again decades later, approving its inclusion on the CD reissue. Perhaps ears grow wiser with age.