Gil Evans & Ten

Gil Evans | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 1, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ojc
• ASIN: B000000YJA
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,460 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gil Evans' First Is One Of His Best, September 27, 2000

By 

Michael B. Richman (Portland, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gil Evans & Ten (Audio CD)

Those coming to Gil Evans' music via his association with Miles Davis, will be both pleased and pleasantly surprised by "Gil Evans And Ten." This is Evans' first session as a leader, recorded for the Prestige label during three dates in the Fall of 1957. It features John Carisi, Jack Loven and Louis Mucci on trumpet, Jimmy Cleveland and Bart Varsalona on trombone, Willie Ruff on french horn, Lee Konitz on alto sax, Steve Lacy on soprano sax, Dave Kurtzer on bassoon, Paul Chambers on bass, Jo Jones and Nick Stabulas alternating on drums, and of course, Gil Evans as pianist, arranger and conductor.

"Gil Evans And Ten" is a fantastic album, but very different from his most famous recordings with Miles Davis. While it does not feature the flamenco meets classical style of "Sketches Of Spain" or the tight, lyrical orchestrations of "Miles Ahead," comparisons can be drawn with the "Birth Of The Cool" sessions. Both recordings feature terrific textured horn arrangements, but "Gil & Ten" most often feels like a quartet session with lots of brass and reeds added. The individual solos with backing rhythm trio are as compelling as the larger arrangements for the whole ensemble. The material is also very mixed, from the traditional jazz of "Remember" to the bluesy "Ella Speed" to the boogie-woogie piano line on "Jambangle." "Gil Evans And Ten" is a great buy for old and new fans alike.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Music I Still Can Hear, April 25, 2003

By 

David Keymer "David Keymer" (Modesto CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gil Evans & Ten (Audio CD)

I've been collecting jazz records for fifty-five years now and this is still one of my favorites. When it first appeared at the tail end of the fifties, Downbeat gave it a mixed review (3-1/2 stars, I believe) because it seemed too close to dance music (echoes of Evans's work for the Claude Thornhill band) and because of Evans's "composer" piano. There's no question that "Jambangle" is hokey, both the piano and the composition. But the best of this album is very, very good, and there is a great deal that is best. Take "Ella Speed" for instance, which features a driving solo by Steve Lacy, a premiere soloist even at this early stage of his career, and --for those who know him mostly for his austere peformances of today (which I enjoy, by the way)-- surprisingly melodic. Or "If You Could See Me Now," a lovely Tadd Dameron ballad, featuring underrated trombonist Jimmy Cleveland. The absolute best on the album, though, is "Big Stuff," Evans's transfiguration of a Billie Holiday song, with a floating clouds arrangement, exquisite solos by Cleveland and Evans, and riding out on bass trombone. This album may not be the best Gil Evans album --Miles Ahead or Great Jazz Standards (Johnny Coles! Budd Johnson! Steve Lacy! Jimmy Cleveland!) or Out of the Cool qualify as that. Evans's piano playing is on the verge of saccharine at times moments. But you will be hearing these songs -- the arrangements and soloists from this superior album-- inside your head for years to come. Dave Keymer, Dubai, UAE

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recalling Downbeat on Two Essential Gil Evans Discs, March 30, 2005

By 

Peter Jones (Ruston, LA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gil Evans & Ten (Audio CD)

David Keymer's otherwise excellent review contains a misplaced recollection of the original Downbeat review. Don Gold gave it 4 1/2 stars, calling Evans' work "exhilarating" and "'must' listening for musicians," while hailing the importance of his contribution to the development of jazz. Gold does in fact give 3 1/2 stars to "New Bottle Old Wine" because of Cannonball Adderly's performance, which he feels is not up to the level of Evans' writing. In my opinion both are essential recordings.