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.
come rain or shine
Bill Evans Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come rain or come shine high as the mountain
Deep as the river come rain or come shine
I guess, when you met me
It was just one of those things
But don't ever bet me
'Cause I'm gonna be true if you let me
Come rain or come shine
Happy together, unhappy together
Oh, won't that be fine?
Days may be cloudy or sunny
We're in or we're out of the money
But I'm with you always
I'm with you rain or shine
You're gonna love me like no one's loved me
Come rain or come shine
Happy together, unhappy together
Oh, won't that be fine?
Days may be cloudy or sunny
We're in or we're out of the money
But I'm with you always
I'm with you rain or shine shine
Gonna love you rain or shine
The lyrics to Bill Evans, Scott Lafaro, and Paul Motian's Come Rain or Come Shine express a deeply devoted love that endures the ups and downs of life. The song presents a level of commitment that goes beyond the notion of loving only when circumstances are favorable. The opening lines "I'm gonna love you like no one's loved you" set the tone for the song, as a pledge of unwavering affection, irrespective of whether life circumstances are full of happiness or difficulties. The lyrics "happy together, unhappy together, oh won't that be fine" suggest that companionship outweighs the challenges in life. The last line "Gonna love you rain or shine" reiterates the idea of enduring love through all the challenges that life may bring.
Overall, the song captures the idea of love as a lasting commitment to another person, despite the uncertain and rocky moves that life can bring. The lyrics' juxtaposition of sunny and cloudy days and being "in or out of money" highlight how love transcends the challenges and hardships of life, a love that is constant and unwavering.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm gonna love you like no one's loved you
I am going to love you in a unique and special way that you have never experienced before.
Come rain or come shine high as the mountain
My love for you will be steadfast and unwavering, in good times and in bad.
Deep as the river come rain or come shine
The depth of my love for you will be immense, no matter the circumstances we face together.
I guess, when you met me
I believe that when we crossed paths, it was purely coincidental.
It was just one of those things
Our meeting was nothing more than a chance encounter.
But don't ever bet me
However, do not place any doubts in my commitment to our relationship.
'Cause I'm gonna be true if you let me
I promise to be loyal and faithful to you, if you allow me the opportunity to do so.
You're gonna love me like no one's loved me
I anticipate experiencing from you, a distinctive and extraordinary love that I have never had before.
Happy together, unhappy together
Through the good times and the bad, we will remain a team and support one another.
Oh, won't that be fine?
Wouldn't that be lovely?
Days may be cloudy or sunny
Our days ahead may be characterized by joy or hardship.
We're in or we're out of the money
Regardless of our financial standing, we will remain united.
But I'm with you always
With undying devotion and steadfast commitment, I will forever stand by your side.
I'm with you rain or shine
No matter what life throws our way, I will be a constant support and source of love for you.
Gonna love you rain or shine
Without fail, I will love you at all times and in all circumstances.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MATEO ULISES ZABALA, ALEJANDRO SCHUSTER, SANTIAGO ANDRES PACEK, JUAN MANUEL GARCIA DEL VAL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sitizenkanemusic
As a pianist- i cannot get over how his voicings, harmonies, and dissonance play out at the perfect time. Bill was a genius. But this track also shows his genius in rhythms.
@Enzoh685
Came here from Tom Misch's song Dilla Love.
@Markymarkvinylnut
Glorious in every human way!
@etanheller7183
This song has always been very evocative of rain to me. I noticed just now that Motian's brushwork and use of "sizzlers" on the ride cymbal mimic the sound of a soft and steady rain heard through a window...
@guilhermebgirardi
hey this is for sure the best thing he ever recorded but perhaps also the best release from mankind
@cerval41
Bill Evans in a class by himself!Incredible musican!
@cosmictraveler1029
YUP! And I once read a paragraph in a "jazz history" book written by a misinformed soul who called Bill a "minor figure" in music. LOL!
@normsaunders4980
Absolutely!!
@normsaunders4980
@@cosmictraveler1029and as to that person you mentioned: they are truly an embarrassment!
@jimshipp7776
Just... brilliant...