When we last left our story, a young pianist named Bill Evans had just been spotted by Miles Davis and he released an album that didn’t sell too well. That took his story through 1957. In April 1958, Miles invited Evans to join his group and musically they clicked well. One of their shows was recorded at the Plaza Hotel in September but it wasn’t released as a record until 1973. They gigged a lot together until November of that year, when Evans stepped away. He felt burned out.
But Miles wanted to explore musically in the direction of what was called a “modal” style, and he knew that Evans understood it and could keep up with him on it. Miles brought him back into the fold and in spring 1959, the group recorded what became one of the most groundbreaking and fundamental albums in jazz history: Kind of Blue. Miles said “Bill had this quiet fire that I loved on piano. The way he approached it, the sound he got, was like crystal notes or sparkling water cascading down from some clear waterfall.”
Evans’ second album as a band leader came out while he was recording with Miles and it’s a big step up from his first one. It also has what I think is the best title of any jazz album. It’s called Everybody Digs Bill Evans. And that sure seemed to be the case at the time. Over the course of 1959 he released three albums and the best one of those is probably the one called Portrait in Jazz, the first one with what came to be regarded as his classic trio lineup.
He recorded about 50 original tunes in his life, but he became known for many more by other composers. Sax player Cannonball Adderley with whom he played in Miles’ group, said that one of the things that made Bill Evans most distinctive was his ability to make his conception of any piece he played, no matter who wrote it, seem like the definitive way to play it.
In 1969 Southeastern Louisiana University named him its outstanding alumnus of the year. In 2002 it started the Bill Evans Jazz Festival which continues to this day. Each year it features Southeastern students, alumni, faculty, and guest artists.
Back in the 1950s like so many other players including Miles and Coltrane, Evans got hooked on heroin, which he wouldn’t fully kick until the 1970s. By then he also suffered from chronic hepatitis and a broad range of other health problems. He died on September 15, 1980. He was 51. If you like jazz piano, make listening to him a New Years resolution.