Bill Evans was first projected into the consciousness of the jazz world through his extensive pioneering of block chords in the mid-1950's during his early solo years, but gained worldwide fame and accolade after becoming the only white man hip enough to play pianofor Miles Davis on the latter's landmark album, Kind of Blue. His run with Miles would be brief, however, lasting only eightmonths.
Soon after, Evans formed his own trio and began pushing the boundaries of jazz music even farther, with some describing his sound inhis more for ...read more
Bill Evans was first projected into the consciousness of the jazz world through his extensive pioneering of block chords in the mid-1950's during his early solo years, but gained worldwide fame and accolade after becoming the only white man hip enough to play pianofor Miles Davis on the latter's landmark album, Kind of Blue. His run with Miles would be brief, however, lasting only eightmonths.
Soon after, Evans formed his own trio and began pushing the boundaries of jazz music even farther, with some describing his sound inhis more formative years as more akin to collective improvisation, sometimes to the point of the listener not being able to discern whichinstrument was playing lead.
His style relied heavily on the aforementioned block chords, and he is sometimes credited with popularizing the use of syncopation withpolyrhythms in modern jazz. He is also praised for his utilization of impressionist harmonies.
Evans died on September 15, 1980, as a result of invariable hard drug abuse throughout his life, and a generally frail complexion. Hewas 51. « hide
