You listen to Bill play and you hear all those notes, all those changes, and it's overwhelming. If you know a little about music, it's like drinking from a fire hose. For a casual listener, I imagine that much of it can sound like noise, especially his later, live recordings. Those late recordings are misleading, by the way. Bill died in 1980, but publishers have been pumping out Bill Evans records ever since, mixing tracks from outtakes and live performances. If you have an interest in his music, start with his trio work from 1960 onward -- Moonbeams, Everybody Digs Bill Evans, Sunday at the Village Vanguard, Waltz for Debby, and the solo creation, Conversations With Myself. I enjoyed his work with tenor man, Stan Getz, and I should mention the essential Miles Davis, Kind of Blue.
I had a piano lesson this morning about how bill Evan’s would invert 9 chords leaving out the root and letting the bass take care of that, hours later tonight, now RU-vid is suggesting me 16 year old bill evans videos, that’s suspicious right??
This is so good that I as non musician almost totally grasps it. Frighteningly I feel like I can do some of it very slowly myself. Sure not the same feel or tone but a rudimentary sound and time of some of it.
As somebody who fell hard for felt improvisation and drifted away from theoretical frames, this is a wake up call. I might be able to freely explore countless possibilities with my instruments, but then it's really hard to bring all of that home into a composition.
I think that by keeping it simple and real he means that one should play what he/she hears in their mind instead of running through scales or playing random licks that we don’t really understand. Playing what you hear or sing in your mind is the realest expression of one’s musicality. It’s difficult to get to that level of course. This is what I absorbed from what he is saying.
He struggles to simulate the vague approximation ha. But what a wonderful lesson for us in all things. Fascinating how the host misses the point, saying he doesn't have time for fundamentals, so he must overplay.
"Simple is the key." Its the best design model when free-styling. It gives other musicians ideas. Just do it weird and unorthodox to the ear (here and there (every 8 measures or so)). Great vid. How the heck am I 16 years late!
Is it too much to expect the dopey cameraman to keep both of Allan's hands in shot, especially the left one, all the time he's playing 🙄 But oh look someone's being creative, a shot of the bass players left arm as seen looking through the drummers hands & sticks. Moronic 🙄 His tone is incredible on this amazing solo. Searing I've got an ibanez ah10 holdsworth & a Carvin holdsworth fatboy. Plus a kemper.. Still can't sound quite like him 4:28 8:01
I remember first hearing this interview back in 2007 or so and thinking I already knew he was musically brilliant but brah, he’s a genius. And I believe that the interviewer is his brother who committed suicide eventually. Very unfortunate case of severe depression, both brothers had issues. Bill struggled with various addictions.
Love his ability to verbalize, with clarity, what the learning process was for him, and what he thinks it should be for people in general. He communicates so well… as if he has thought about it all before. Most people have never thought so deeply about such issues.
I’ve got a couple kids and they aren't into jazz. But I played Bill Evans for them, and they say, 'Jesus, that's pretty good.' So I think it's great that people are just rediscovering Bill Evans, and I want people to rediscover Bill Evans. I think he's a great artist, and I think more people should listen to him and respect the beauty that he was able to create.
Bill Evans: “Professional discipline: people learn to throw that switch. As a matter of fact, there’s plenty of times when you just feel like 'I can’t possibly get up there and play.' But as soon as you get up there, when the moment comes - snap - you have that discipline. There’s a professional level of creativity that I can depend on, and which is satisfactory for public performance. And that I can depend on, when I throw the switch. But those other high levels, which happen just occasionally, are really thrilling. You don’t know when they’re gonna come.”
Priceless - that pastiche of a pastiche 🤣🤣🤣🤣 - and at the end the restraint of Bill Evans not to strangle him. Advanced fundamentals not BS. BS is always BS 😁
A small detail worth noting regarding portnoys playing of the 3/4, 9/8 change of seasons pattern is his inclusion of an open hi hat on count 9 at certain junctures of the groove sequence. It's actually rather difficult considering the placement within the groove added with the limb indepence it asks for to execute it confidently and musically. Portnoys work is still full of surprises years later
