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.
You Go to My Head
Bill Evans Lyrics
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And you linger like a haunting refrain
And I find you spinning round in my brain
Like the bubbles in a glass of champagne
You go to my head
Like a sip of sparkling burgundy brew
And I find the very mention of you
The thrill of the thought
That you might give a thought to my plea, cast a spell over me
Still I say to myself get a hold of yourself
Can't you see that it never can be?
You go to my head
With a smile that makes my temperature rise
Like a summer with a thousand July's
You intoxicate my soul with your eyes
Though I'm certain that this heart of mine
Hasn't a ghost of a chance in this crazy romance
You go to my head
You go to my head
In this romantic ballad, Bill Evans expresses his longing for someone who "goes to his head." The person is like a haunting melody that lingers in his mind, just as the bubbles in a glass of champagne. He compares the feeling this person gives him to that of sipping on sparkling burgundy brew or the sweetness of a julep. The very thought that this person might have feelings for him thrills him and casts a spell over him, leaving him intoxicated. However, he tries to remain rational, telling himself to get a hold of himself, and sees that it can never work out. Nonetheless, the person's smile and eyes intoxicate his soul, and he can't help but feel overwhelmed with desire.
The lyrics paint a picture of a desperate romantic who is caught up in their own emotions. The metaphor of the bubbles in the glass of champagne and the comparison to a summer with a thousand July's both suggest a sense of intoxication and passion. The final verse acknowledges the futility of the situation, but the feelings remain overwhelming.
The song was popularized by many famous performers, including Frank Sinatra, Rod Stewart, Chet Baker, and Peggy Lee. It has been covered in various styles such as jazz, swing, and pop-rock. The song was written by composer J. Fred Coots and lyricist Haven Gillespie in 1938, and it had many popular recordings in the 1940s.
Line by Line Meaning
You go to my head
You occupy my thoughts and emotions to the point where you have become an obsession.
And you linger like a haunting refrain
Your presence is persistent and inescapable, like a melody that stays in one's mind long after the music has stopped playing.
And I find you spinning round in my brain
You are constantly on my mind, causing a mental turmoil and chaos that I cannot escape from.
Like the bubbles in a glass of champagne
Your effect on me is intoxicating and exhilarating, like the bubbles that rise to the top of a champagne glass.
Like a sip of sparkling burgundy brew
The experience of being with you is like taking a sip of a rich, effervescent wine.
And I find the very mention of you
Even just hearing your name or catching a glimpse of you is enough to stir my emotions.
Like the kicker in a julep or two
Your presence is like an added kick or punch to an already strong cocktail, making it even more potent.
The thrill of the thought
The excitement and rush of feeling something for you is overwhelming and consuming.
That you might give a thought to my plea, cast a spell over me
The possibility that you might reciprocate my feelings and attention is enough to have me under your spell.
Still I say to myself get a hold of yourself
Despite my infatuation and obsession with you, I try to remind myself to maintain control and not let my emotions get the best of me.
Can't you see that it never can be?
Despite my desire, I am aware that a relationship between us is unlikely and impossible.
With a smile that makes my temperature rise
Your smile holds an irresistible charm and appeal that affects me physically and emotionally.
Like a summer with a thousand July's
The feeling of being with you is like an endless and intense summer romance that lasts far beyond a single month.
You intoxicate my soul with your eyes
Your gaze and presence have a powerful, almost overwhelming effect on my inner being and emotions.
Though I'm certain that this heart of mine
Hasn't a ghost of a chance in this crazy romance
Despite my strong feelings for you, I am aware that pursuing a romantic relationship with you is unlikely and unrealistic.
You go to my head
You are within my thoughts and emotions so much that you have become an almost otherworldly presence in my life.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network
Written by: J Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind