1912 
Gil Evans is born in Toronto. He takes an interest in jazz in
his mid-teens, and he teaches himself
music theory.
1948-50
Evans meets Miles Davis in 1947, and
for the next three years he is involved with Davis, Gerry
Mulligan and John Lewis searching for new methods of ensemble
writing. From this collaboration the celebrated Birth of the
Cool sessions are recorded, which launches the cool school
of jazz, which was to have great effect on the West
Coast. His compositions Boplicity and Moon Dreams,
written for Davis's nonet, are classics of their type.
1960s
His new found acceptance in the commercial jazz world opens doors
for Evans: albums are recorded under his own name and invitations
from jazz festivals are received. A long-standing orchestra is
not possible however, and Evans concentrates on composition and
teaching.
1970s-80s
Performance is more central to Evans's musical life, and he
is intrigued by rock rhythms and forms, frequently using
extensive percussion; he mingles synthesized
sound and acoustic instruments successfully. He records
The Music of Jimi Hendrix in 1974, a project shelved since
the guitarist's death in 1970. Commissions and touring abound; he
arranges music for the film Absolute Beginners in 1985. His
appetite for work continues until illness and death.
"Every
form, even though it becomes traditional and finally becomes academic,
originally came from someone's spirit who created the form."
Gil Evans
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1933-48
Gil Evans forms his first band, and starts to arrange. Evans is taken
on by Claude Thornhill as arranger for his orchestra until 1948. His
work is noticed by musicians, if not the critics, for its originality,
scoring for an unusual combination of instruments, and using new tonal
sounds.
early-1950s
The quality of his work is still unnoticed, and Evans works in radio
and television, learning along the way.
1957-60
Recognition comes at last, when Evans arranges
and writes for Miles Davis
a series of records pitching the trumpeter
against a jazz orchestra, which includes french horns,
tuba and woodwind (all used by Evans when with Thornhill). Miles
Ahead, Porgy & Bess and Sketches of Spain become
popular classics. Further collaboration with Davis
on record and in concert follows intermittently through the 1960s.
STYLE
Gil Evans's standing in the jazz world is a rare one: like Fletcher
Henderson, perhaps even Duke Ellington
or Don Redman, he is known for his composing
and arranging before his performing. Through his work for
Miles Davis he found a musical fame that
extended beyond the confines of jazz. His compositions (which became
less formal in later years) were skeletal structures dressed for improvisation;
as his work with Davis emphasized, the role of the improvisor within
a compositional structure was a key issue for Evans.
He was a great original jazz thinker, experimenting with orchestration,
tonality and form at all times; and like his great friend
Miles Davis, his jazz odyssey was constantly moving forward. His music
is some of the most exciting and rewarding in the whole of jazz. |