Born and raised in New Jersey, Evans was recruited for Southeastern Louisiana University on a flute scholarship, where he received a thorough background in theory, played in the marching band, and also led his football team to a league championship as a quarterback. Graduating as a piano major in 1950, he started to tour with the Herbie Fields band, but the draft soon beckoned, and Evans was placed in the Fifth Army Band near Chicago. After three years in the service, he arrived in New York in 1954, playing in Tony Scott's quartet and undertaking postgraduate studies at Mannes College, where he encountered composer George Russell and his modal jazz theories. By 1956, he had already recorded his first album as a leader for Riverside, New Jazz Conceptions, still enthralled by the bop style of Bud Powell but also unveiling what was to become his best-known composition, "Waltz for Debby," which he wrote while still in the Army.
In spring 1958, Evans began an eight-month gig with the Miles Davis Sextet, where he exerted a powerful influence upon the willful yet ever-searching leader. Though Evans left the band that autumn, exhausted by pressured expectations and anxious to form his own group, he was deeply involved in the planning and execution of Davis' epochal Kind of Blue album in 1959, contributing ideas about mood, structure, and modal improvisation, and collaborating on several of the compositions. Although the original release gave composition credit of "Blue in Green" to Davis, Evans claimed he wrote it entirely, based on two chords suggested by Davis (nowadays, they receive co-credit).
Evans returned to the scene as a leader in December 1958 with the album Everybody Digs Bill Evans, which included the famous "Peace Piece," a haunting vamp for solo piano that sounds like a long-lost Satie Gymnopédie. Evans' first working trio turned out to be his most celebrated, combining forces with the astounding young bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian in three-way telepathic trialogues. With this group, Evans became a star -- and there was even talk about a recording with Davis involving the entire trio. Sadly, only ten days after a landmark live session at the Village Vanguard in June 1961, LaFaro was killed in an auto accident -- and the shattered Evans went into seclusion for almost a year. He re-emerged the following spring with Chuck Israels as his bassist, and he would go on to record duets with guitarist Jim Hall and a swinging quintet session, Interplay, with Hall and trumpeter Freddie Hubbard.
Upon signing with Verve in 1962, Evans was encouraged by producer Creed Taylor to continue to record in more varied formats: with Gary McFarland's big band, the full-orchestra arrangements of Claus Ogerman, co-star Stan Getz, and a reunion with Hall. The most remarkable of these experiments was Conversations with Myself, a session where Evans overdubbed second and third piano parts onto the first; this eventually led to two sequels in that fashion.
By 1966, Evans had paired with Puerto Rican bassist Eddie Gomez and formed a trio with drummer Jack DeJohnette. Though short-lived, the group garnered attention, picking up a Grammy Award for the 1968 concert album Bill Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival. That same year, DeJohnette left to be replaced by Marty Morell. This version of Evans' trio continued to work for a decade, releasing albums like 1969's What's New and 1971's Grammy-winning The Bill Evans Album. Evans also picked up a Grammy in 1970 for his solo piano date Alone.
In his only concession to the emerging jazz-rock scene, Evans dabbled with the Rhodes electric piano in the 1970s but eventually tired of it, even though inventor Harold Rhodes had tailored the instrument to Evans' specifications. He recorded further trio sessions with Gomez and drummer Eliot Zigmund before launching a final trio in the late '70s with bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joe La Barbera. Often considered one of the pianist's best configurations since the LaFaro-Motian team, their brief time together was documented on 1979's Grammy-winning We Will Meet Again, also featuring trumpeter Tom Harrell and saxophonist Larry Schneider.
By the late '70s, Evans' health was rapidly deteriorating, aggravated by long periods of heroin and cocaine addiction. He died on September 15, 1980, at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. He was 51 years old. Along with a 1994 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a flood of unreleased recordings from commercial and private sources helped to further elevate interest in Evans' work. Turn Out the Stars: The Final Village Vanguard Recordings arrived in 1996, followed by 2000's The Last Waltz, recorded at Keystone Korner in 1980. Resonance Records also released three archival albums featuring Evans' late-'60s trio: 2016's Some Other Time: The Lost Session from the Black Forest, 2018's Another Time: The Hilversum Concert, and 2020's Live at Ronnie Scott's.
Biography by Richard S. Ginell
There are other artists with the same name:
2.) Bill Evans (born 9th February 1958 in Clarendon Hills, Illinois, USA) is an American jazz saxophonist. His father was a classical piano prodigy and until junior high school Evans studied classical clarinet. Early in his studies he was able to hear such artists as Sonny Stitt and Stan Getz live at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago. He attended Hinsdale Central High School and studied with jazz tenor saxophonist Vince Micko.
He plays primarily tenor and soprano saxophones. Evans attended North Texas State University and William Paterson University, where he studied with Dave Liebman, who had played with Miles Davis. Moving to New York City in 1979 he spent countless hours in lofts playing jazz standards and perfecting his improvisational style. At the age of twenty-two he joined Miles Davis. In the early to mid-1980s, Evans played with Davis and was instrumental in his musical comeback. Notable albums recorded with Miles include The Man with the Horn, We Want Miles, and Decoy.
In addition to playing with Miles Davis he has played, toured and recorded with artists such as Herbie Hancock, John Mclaughlin (and his Mahavishnu Orchestra), Michael Franks, Willie Nelson, Mick Jagger, Les McCann, Mark Egan, Danny Gottlieb, Ian Anderson, and Randy Brecker, among others. He is featured on the Petite Blonde album with Victor Bailey, Dennis Chambers, Mitch Forman, and Chuck Loeb.
Two of his most recent albums Soul Insider and Soulgrass were nominated for Grammy awards. Soulgrass was a groundbreaking bluegrass-jazz fusion concept involving such musicians as Béla Fleck, Sam Bush, Bruce Hornsby, and Vinnie Colaiuta. Although his latest projects are musically eclectic, his stylistic roots remain in the history of jazz saxophone, influenced by such players as Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, Sonny Stitt, John Coltrane, Hank Mobley, Stan Getz, and Steve Grossman.
3.) San Francisco Bay Area musician and Virginia native Bill Evans has been involved with bluegrass music and the banjo for over twenty-five years as a player, teacher, writer, and historian. He occupies a unique niche in the banjo world: celebrated worldwide for his traditional and progressive bluegrass banjo styles as well as his innovative original compositions, he also enjoys a reputation as an outstanding instructor as well as being an expert player of nineteenth-century minstrel and classic/parlour banjo styles.
'Deed I Do
Bill Evans Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The sky was yellow
And the grass was gray
We signed the papers
And we drove away
I do it for your love
The rooms were musty
All that winter we shared a cold
Drank all the orange juice
That we could hold
I do it for your love
Found a rug
In an old junk shop
And I brought it home to you
Along the way the colors ran
The orange bled the blue
The sting of reason
The splash of tears
The northern and the southern
Hemispheres
Love emerges
And it disappears
I do it for your love
I do it for your love
The song I Do It For Your Love by Bill Evans portrays the journey of a relationship, with all its ups and downs. The opening lines set the scene of their wedding day, with the imagery of a yellow sky and gray grass, perhaps indicating a sense of foreboding. Despite this, they sign the papers and drive away together, committing to their love. The chorus, "I do it for your love," repeats throughout the song, emphasizing the central motivation behind their relationship.
As the song continues, we hear about the challenges they face as a couple. The rooms they share are musty and the pipes are old, symbolizing the difficulties they must overcome. They endure a long winter, sharing a cold and drinking all the orange juice they can. This could represent their willingness to make sacrifices and do what it takes to keep their relationship going.
Finally, the song touches on the impermanence of love. Love emerges and it disappears, but they continue to do it for each other. The line about the northern and southern hemispheres suggests that love can be felt and experienced all over the world, and that even if it fades, it remains an important and powerful force. Overall, the lyrics of I Do It For Your Love convey a sense of commitment, perseverance, and ultimately, a deep love and connection between two people.
Line by Line Meaning
We were married on a rainy day
Our love didn't have a bright, picturesque beginning; it began on a gloomy day with a lot of rainfall.
The sky was yellow
The clouds were so heavy that the sky appeared yellow instead of blue.
And the grass was gray
Due to the rain, the grass looked gray and lifeless instead of green.
We signed the papers
We made a legal commitment to each other through the formal process of signing a marriage contract.
And we drove away
We started our journey together as a newly married couple by driving away from the wedding venue.
I do it for your love
Everything that we do for each other, all the ups and downs in our relationship, come back to our love for each other.
The rooms were musty
The place we shifted to wasn't very inviting - the rooms were stale and had a damp smell to them.
And the pipes were old
The water pipes were antiquated and prone to malfunction, causing us to face hardships in the cold season.
All that winter we shared a cold
During the harsh winter months, we couldn't afford to splurge on heating and were forced to endure the cold together.
Drank all the orange juice
When we were sick, we drank all the orange juice we had to nurse ourselves back to health.
That we could hold
We didn't have much but we made the most of what we had, holding onto our love for each other through it all.
Found a rug
I stumbled upon a rug in a second-hand store, that I thought would look nice in our home together.
In an old junk shop
The rug wasn't brand new, but I didn't let the state of the store deter me, as I knew our love for each other could make even old things look new.
And I brought it home to you
I knew you would appreciate the rug even if it was old and slightly used.
Along the way the colors ran
The rug wasn't in perfect condition, so when I took it home, the colors started to bleed and mix together.
The orange bled the blue
The orange dye from the rug started to spread and bleed over the blue, giving it a new, imperfect look.
The sting of reason
Love isn't always easy, with our disagreements and differences, however, that doesn't make us weaker, as it adds depth to our relationship.
The splash of tears
It is okay to cry in love, as it's an essential way of expressing ourselves.
The northern and the southern
Our relationship has the sublime balance of differences and it's those differences that make our love unique and long-lasting.
Hemispheres
We are far from perfect, but together we complete each other, covering one another's shortcomings with our strengths.
Love emerges
Our love for each other is ever-growing and continues to emerge, evolve, and gain depth.
And it disappears
Sometimes, love fades or disappears, but it doesn't mean that it wasn't real or wasn't worth fighting for.
I do it for your love
No matter what happens, I will always do everything for your love because your love is the purpose of my existence.
I do it for your love
This final line reiterates that everything we do, every decision we make, springs from our love for each other and is a tribute to it.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PAUL SIMON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind