"BILL
EVANS PLAYS STANDARDS"
A
music book review by Win Hinkle
This is the first Hal Leonard
issue of Bill Evans transcriptions and it is a great beginning.
Hal Leonard purchased the Bill Evans catalog from The Richmond Organization
(formerly The Acorn Group) and the Bill Evans catalogs from Teneten
Music, the company owned by Nenette Evans.
Hal
Leonard controls all the Bill Evans songbooks except for the two
Warner Brother's releases, "The Artistry of …" volumes
one and two. The readability of the notation as well as the accuracy
of Richard Tutubene's transcription is excellent. There are two
errors that become immediately apparent when trying to match the
recordings to the written notes. The version of "My Romance"
is from the Keystone Korner recordings in August/September, 1980,
just a few days before Bill's death on September 15, 1980, rather
than the Warner Brothers recording in June 1980. This is Bill's
last known recording of this tune. Also the version of "My
Foolish Heart" is from February 22, 1968, a Verve Release,
not Warner Brothers.
I highly recommend that the listener assemble his own CD of the
original recordings, in the order presented in the transcription
book. Listening to the recordings while watching the transcription
go by can provide real insight to the way Bill approached the music.
The introduction to the aforementioned "My Romance," aside
from being very difficult to play with two hands is a beautiful
composition in it's own right. Bill played "My Romance"
seven times at the Keystone Korner gig and the last one is the one
transcribed here. It is fun to compare this transcribed final version
to the previous six recorded earlier on the same gig. You can follow
the development of ideas from the first to the last. Bill was quite
ill on this gig and sometimes there is a noticeable anxiousness
to get to the end. But musically, it stands as a fantastic example
of his artistry.
Another highlight is the version of "On a Clear Day" from
the 1968 Verve release, "Alone." This is the only time
Bill recorded the tune and he takes his time to create a logical,
but beautiful arrangement. I used this transcription in a lecture
I gave recently at the fourth annual Bill Evans Festival held at
Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, LA. I slowed down
the recording (keeping the same pitch) and pointed out several important
points in the recording. You can see
and hear the results at:
http://www.selu.edu/34skid/BEJF4/Clear_Day/
http://www.selu.edu/34skid/BEJF4/Clear_Day/excerpt/
http://www.selu.edu/34skid/BEJF4/Clear_Day/Search
To summarize, this songbook is an absolute "must have"
for the serious Bill Evans musician.
Win Hinkle
bighinx@gmail.com
Win
Hinkle is a professional bassist, a noted Bill Evans scholar, (see
Pettinhger's book) and was the editor of the now defucnt hard-copy
LETTER FROM EVANS subscription newsletter. This webmaster was proud
to have the opportunity back thern to have written several pieces
for that amazing publication. We thank Mr. Hinkle for his contribution
here, and his continuing efforts on behalf of Bill's musical legacy.
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