Bill Evans Trio "Everybody Digs Bill Evans" 1958

It took me some time to realize how amazing Bill Evans was.  Sometimes music hits you over the head, but sometimes it just gets slipped under your pillow.  Bill Evans always seemed like a fragile character to me and I pick up a lot of that from the music.  He can also really swing though.

 Bill was the king of impressionist harmony, which will only mean something to you if you are a musician.  You may have heard of impressionist painters. Well, whenever I look at their paintings, I always enjoy their hazy quality.  The clarity is gone therefore I am forced to focus on other aspects.  Well, what they do with painting, Bill does with harmony.  To do this, he stays away from the obviously pleasant (and familiar) sounding notes in a chord.  These would be the ones that make up about 98% of all written music.  Instead he plays notes that are close to the “good” notes, creating an impression of the chord.

 Think about it like this.  If you go outside on a sunny day and look up in the sky, the sun can hurt your eyes.  So what do you do?  You put you hand up to cover the sun, and try to decipher what you can.   You aren’t seeing an accurate representation of what the sky really looks like; you just get an impression.  You have lost the key element, so now you are forced to focus on the rest.  This is why Bill Evans’ music sounds the way it does.  I hope that makes sense.  Please do not translate that into, “Bill Evans was an impressionist painter who couldn’t see the sun, so he played wrong notes on the piano.”    

“Minority” starts off sounding pretty menacing for a jazz record.  They make me think of someone slipping through prison bars.  These jagged sounds are coming from the same guy who played the beautiful opening chords on Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue” album.  The main melody is quite memorable and swings elegantly.  I really dig how Bill’s solo builds momentum.  It starts off slow and gets fancier as it progresses.  The more I listen to this, the more impressed I am by how planned out it seems.  Bill starts to trade solo breaks with drummer Philly Joe Jones and they taunt each other back and forth.  Some of Bill’s runs sound like mice running across the floor.  Very hip jazz mice. 

On the emotional flip side, you get “Young and Foolish” which is melancholy at its best.  If I had to be sad, this is the kind of sad I would want to be.  Not the real thing, but an oozing, gray version of it.  Bill’s piano rolls like constant thunder clouds dimly pushing their way out of an old movie projector.  Just when I think that being gloomy is great, Bill hits some harsh dissonant notes that feel like pangs of guilt or loneliness.  It’s really quite emotional. 

          One thing I like about this record is the interesting sequencing of its songs.  The slightly eastern sounding “Epilogue” after “Night and Day” closes side one beautifully.  Bill has a way of letting strange chords ring out with an uncomfortable beauty.  They are like looking at a beautiful woman who scares the hell out of you.  The same little “Epilogue” pops up again at the end of the record. 

                Side two also contains what I consider to be the centerpiece of the record: “Peace Piece”.  Bill’s left hand plays a creamy repeated figure, and his right hand improvises.  The first half of the song is wonderfully calm and relaxing, like warm sheets on a cold day.  Conversely, the second half is much more challenging to relax to.  The notes feel like sharp little pebbles or drops of black ink on canvas.  The left hand keeps going though.  You may still be lying in those warm sheets, but you just got your heart handed to you by your lover.  My wife loves the first half of this song, but gets frustrated by the second half.  I think most people who are not into modern jazz would be too. 

               

Tones:  This is a three piece jazz combo, so there is not a lot of tone variety.  You do, however, get some changes in texture that are quite charming.  “Oleo” starts with mostly bass and piano.  Halfway through, the drums crash in as Bill pays some chromatic bumblebee runs.  These guys must have been aware that three instruments can only create so much variety.  As a result, you get some fascinating interplay that generates patches of sound that very much hold my interest.

Cover Note:  This was an innovative cover back in the day.  Miles Davis, George Shearing, Ahmad Jamal, and Cannonball Adderley all sing Bill’s praises.  In 2014, it’s hard to be shocked by a cover like this, but I am sure it stood out back in 1958.  Seriously, if Miles Davis thinks you’re cool, there’s a pretty good chance you are.  I’d probably buy a sandwich if I thought Miles dug it. 

Price paid:  I have a vinyl reprint that I bought online for about $16.00.  I feel like finding old jazz is pretty hard to do.  Every time I look for old jazz stuff, it’s either scratched, or way out of my price range.  I don’t think this stuff was ever majorly popular to begin with, so copies are rare.  I have no problem buying a new reprint of an old album.  Besides, jazz on vinyl is a special thing. 

Bottom line:  You have to be sensitive to appreciate an album like this.  Sure, if you are a musician, you can dissect the complex harmonies and technical intricacies, but where does that leave you?  Musicians don’t push the boundaries of harmony just to push them.  They do it so they can convey new, deep, and hopefully insightful emotions.  The greatest part about this album is its ephemeral nature.  The Bill Evans Trio was certainly in the moment when they created this record, and what a great moment it must have been to be in.