Customer Reviews

Gil Evans & Ten

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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

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.

Let me begin by saying that the Editorial Review that you quote is inaccurate: Lee Konitz and John Carisi do not solo on this record.
However, Steve Lacy, Jimmy Cleveland and Paul Chambers do, and they have rarely, if ever, been better. Evan's orchestrations are brilliant: two ensemble choruses on "Ella Speed" are about as good as Jazz small group writing gets. "Remember" and "Big Stuff" are gorgeous. The 5 star rating system displays its weakness here; how can this recording merit five stars when Gil Evans'"New Bottle Old Wine" or "Great Jazz Standards" are even better? Because it desrves it. If five stars were to be limited only to the very best of the very best, "Jazz at Massey Hall" and "Kind of Blue" would be the only records to get five stars, and countless other great works would be left with lower ratings than they deserve. Think of Rollins'"Saxophone Colossus", George Russell's Smalltet "Jazz Workshop" on RCA Victor, most of Bill Evans' records, etc. Just buy this, open your ears, and enjoy.

This is one of the best Evans tittles, of course..., but at least this edition, (the first in cd, 1989), needs a deep mastering.

I love Gil Evans, but found this album to be dreadfully boring.

I must be in the minority, because this is a very highly rated album.

After playing it once, I'm looking for someone to give the CD to.