Customer Reviews

The Artistry of Bill Evans Vol.2

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This is actually Volume 2 (1995), and contains EIGHT (not eighty) transcriptions of Bill Evans piano parts off the recordings. This collection is better than Vol. 1. First, vol. 1 did not transcribe the comping behind the bass solos. Second, vol. 1 focused on the late Fantasy & early Warner Bros. recordings (1970s), while this collection ranges from the first trio on Riverside, some Verve solo and trio sides, and solo sides from Fantasy. Gripe: when transcribing trio recordings, is it too much to ask that the bass part also be transcribed? Songs: "Autumn Leaves" (mono version), "Spring is Here," and "What is This Thing Called Love" from PORTRAIT IN JAZZ; "Here's That Rainy Day" from ALONE; "I Should Care" and "Make Someone Happy" from TOWN HALL; "The Touch of Your Lips" and "What Kind of Fool am I" from ALONE (AGAIN). No extras (vol. 1 had a short essay and photos).

FOR THOSE WHO STRUGGLE TRYING TO TRANSCRIBE BILL EVANS PIANO SESSIONS, THIS IS A GODSENT. EXCELLENT SELECTIONS OF SOME OF HIS GREATEST RECORDINGS. JUST TO HAVE "I SHOULD CARE" IS PRICELESS. THIS WILL BE AT THE TOP OF ANY PIANO MUSICAN'S LIBRARY OF STANDARDS. A TERRIFIC BARGAIN KNOWING THE EFFORT THAT WENT INTO ACCURATE TRANSCRIBING.

I have spent many hours with the transcriptions included in this book and I plan to spend many more. For those serious enough to invest the time and energy, this compilation allows one to dissect the beautiful complexities of Evans' playing. I found myself working on playing only a few bars at a time after which I would challenge myself to use the chord voicings or melodic figures on other tunes and in different contexts.

Bill Evans is a musician's musician. And that is the reason this set of transcriptions contains such a wealth of information about jazz. Anyone serious about jazz deserves to spend time with this compilation.

I know how difficult it is to transcribe the equivocal voicings of Bill Evans' chords, particularly the left hand. Mostly the book is a painstaking and an accurate transcription ,but not always. There are some mistakes (accidentals missing), and an impenetrable Cm11 voicing in one piece, while the LH chord in part of "I should Care" is one inversion too low (I should Care - "Funny how sheep can send you to sleep"). This last is an example of how fond Bill was of the semitone buzz. I think he preferred voicings for G7 like (going up from just below middle C) B E F A (which is of course G9,13 really) to F A B E (a tritone lower)

These transcriptions of Bill Evans are superbly done, both accurate and of course very difficult. Evans was the most important modern Jazz Pianist whose influence can still be heard in large numbers of contemporary players.

To play these pieces you will need to have good sight reading skills and technique or a lot of patience. Its one thing to play them off the page (if you are a brilliant reader) but to get that Jazz feel is another matter. The book contains the following transcriptions:

Emily
Alfie
I Will Say Goodbye
Dolphin Dance
Never Let Me Go
But Beautiful
Seascape
You must believe in Spring
The Summer Knows
A Time for Love

Sadly the book does not tell you where the transcriptions are sourced from; other than that most of them are from the 1970's. If you are an Evans fan you might well have some of these transcriptions on CD. The trouble is Evans recorded some of these tunes many times.

Since most of the transcriptions are from Trio performances after the theme statement most of the solos are of the comping left hand with right hand improvisation. This can sound a little empty without a bass player, but if you can get the solos up to a reasonable speed they will sound OK, but you will have to work hard to make them sound good. It would certainly help to have a like-minded bass player handy!

Always fun to play Bill Evans sheet music, including this one,,this exact note to note from,, records : You must believe in spring, I will say goodbye, Since we meet (& others).
Try 'But Beautiful' from stunning 'Since we meet' album,, Seascape. One of best Jazz sheet music.