Let's talk about Gil Evans

THANK YOU for the tip on these Live At The Public Theater albums! So funky!

Paris Blues with Steve Lacey is a hell of a lovely piano/sax duo album. I especially love the mellow Fender Rhodes flourishes and very open interpretation of standards.

Here's a brief Interview with Noah and Miles Evans about growing up with Gil and a little about the new album they've released as the Gil Evans Orchestra, which revisits Sweet Basil material -- it sounds good!

Playing this one in the office this AM,
https://www.discogs.com/The-Gil-Evans-Orchestra-Feat-George-Adams-Little-Wing-/release/6058355

Really fantastic and fun... I need to dig into Gil quite a bit more than I have thus far.

oh yeah, and that reminds me, always liked The British Orchestra, with Ray Russell soloing on "Little Wing," and a lot of other UK musos I hadn't heard---story of that British tour, also subsequent DVD of Gil w Russell's group at Montreux! https://stuartnicholson.uk/gil-evans-the-british-orchestra-classic-modern-albums/

this revive made me dig through my dusty iTunes library to find both these albums -- treasure I forgot I buried

it's a little disheartening to look at https://www.discogs.com/artist/255137-Gil-Evans and https://www.discogs.com/artist/59659-Gil-Evans-And-His-Orchestra and see a lot of titles that have never had a digital release ... I don't really do vinyl, but I bought the Little Wing LP and a few others just to rip them myself

The first Gil I bought was There Comes A Time, in 1975. Loved it, prob did some shrooms to it, then took it to a party where my friends were probably playing Neil Young, Miles, Mott The Hoople, P-Funk, Patti Smith, and Gil got a pretty good reception: one friend said it sounded like the Tonight Show Orchestra on acid, which seemed fair enough---we just really had no other referent (except shrooms).
It was also the first or second CD I bought, in 1988, before I even owned a player---got my sister, who worked for a theater, to get a sound engineer to dub a cassette (so esoteric a procedure did it seem). She said he loved the results, as did I. Not all the same track list on both, and some that did make the cut, or at least the titles did, are very different, revelations, even (was no longer on the shrooms, but none were necessary). Get both.
oh yeah, and in 1987, he did the fairly cosmic noirCollaboration with vocal stylist Helen Merrill, thirty years after their first, Dream of You, which I still need to get. Any other albums with vocalists? Tony Williams Tony-sang on the title track of There Comes A Time:
There comes a time, to wake up to what's happenin', I love you more than what's happenin', I love you more...

Oh well OK, finally thought to look at her Wiki, which claims that Gil's arrangements on Dream of You led to his work w Miles, also that Collaboration has the same tracks, with "fresh" arrangements---won't spoil what it says about her son's song (though I've read it before on ILM)---looks like she did some other albums worth checking out, incl this century: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Merril

Out of the Cool was my intro to Gil and still slays me.

Any other albums with vocalists?

Satin Doll, Kamiko Kasai with Gil Evans Orchestra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpnt4GCoGJw&list=PLmkPvOigXA2pyUuwfkMYdA2pBa_X89L6a

ehhhh

the album is on YouTube as a playlist

Thanks, hadn't heard of that one. The only Gil I haven't liked (also haven't listened in forever) is another from the late 80s, Golden Hair, with Laurent Cugny's Big Band Lumiere. "Glacial" and then some, putting me right to sleep as escape. Waking up long enough to know it's still playing. But 3 stars from Allmusic, so hey.

her Wiki, which claims that Gil's arrangements on Dream of You led to his work w Miles

miles and gil had been collaborating since the mid/late '40s. the cited allmusic review says this:

In the picturesque arrangements one also hears the seeds of Evans' own future collaborations with Miles Davis.

which is really saying something different, regardless of whether or not one agrees

Sorry! You're right. Anyway, if you like Gil with Miles, you'll like him with Helen Merrill.

if you haven't listened to any gil evans in a while, i think today is a fine day to remedy that.

out of the cool definitely one of the more significant albums of the 60s. i want to poll it. gil in those days was just about as godlike as it gets, i reckon.

scott unsurprisingly otm—

i play guitar forms - the album he made with kenny burrell - a bunch after all these years.

this is some deepness...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gerLli270Zg

kenny burrell "lotus land" (1965)

outside of this, miles, and that one astrud gilberto did he do any other full album collaborations?

also the essentials are on spotify (mostly verve material) but what a bunch of disappointment otherwise. 90% of his catalogue is in purgatory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDOIfdvHIh0

Yes, Loftus Land of that one is an exquisite piece of music. Also Gil Evans was a marvel and his 50's/60'a albums were out of this world.

kenny burrell "lotus land" (1965)

outside of this, miles, and that one astrud gilberto did he do any other full album collaborations?

Satin Doll, Kamiko Kasai with Gil Evans Orchestra

Hadn't heard this Burrell album! 'Lotus Land' could easily fit on *The Individualism Of* album, and there's no higher praise. That and *Out of the Cool* are both genius records.

xpost more collabs: Also, several favorable mentions on here of Paris Blues, his duet album w Steve Lacey, which is good, though Gil asks that we excuse his "arranger's piano," which does sound like rusty bedsprings for Steve's soprano sax acrobatics, but I enjoy that affect.
Otherwise,

The only Gil I haven't liked (also haven't listened in forever) is another from the late 80s, Golden Hair, with Laurent Cugny's Big Band Lumiere. "Glacial" and then some, putting me right to sleep as escape. Waking up long enough to know it's still playing. But 3 stars from Allmusic, so hey.
--dow

Yeah, grab a coffee and listen.

individualism been getting some extra love recently since wayne shorter passed. not that it wasn't always great, just surrounded by some heavier hitters.

thanks for stuff to look into. struggled w/steve lacy in the past, but perhaps reappraisal with a better attitude is needed.

this is a fucking bop icymi-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH7JdtXrWQM
astrud gilberto arr by gil evans - "maria quiet" (1965)

she's one of the best terrible singers ever, lol. love her voice.

Good point.