The harmony of bill evans by bill evans jack reilly. Ive been looking forward to sharing this informative interview with bill evans for a long time. Apr 30, 2016 like a diminished chord, it can be shifted in threefret increments for related, yet unique harmonic effects that yield a different set of altered notes over the dominant harmony. Why is bill evans praised and viewed as the most important.
Any answer to this question coming from anyone other than bill evans himself will be at best informed speculation, so thats what this is. Shop and buy the harmony of bill evans volume 2 sheet music. The harmony of bill evans volume 2 hal leonard online. If you are looking for a specific title, or want us to publish an bill evans sheet music, you can tell us in the request sheet music section. It includes two important theory chapters, plus ten of bills most passionate and melodically gorgeous works.
Feb 27, 2017 bill evans was so creative in the way he chose voicings for chords. Rootless chord voicings were developed in the 1950s by pianists like bill evans, wynton kelly and ahmad jamal. And in this portion of the miles davis festival, were fortunate to have with us pianistcomposer bill evans, and bill was with miles in the late fifties, and, well, he was on that classic recording kind of blue, which is still probably one of the bestselling jazz records. Shop and buy the harmony of bill evans sheet music.
Obviously, evans extensive studies in college and beyond went far beyond what one thin book can cover, but it does what it does efficiently and well. William john evans august 16, 1929 september 15, 1980 was an american jazz pianist and composer who mostly played in trios. Jack reilly bill evans, the pianist, is a towering figure acknowledged by the jazz world, fans, musicians and critics. The file extension pdf and ranks to the documents category. Keyboard instruction sheet music book by bill evans jack reilly. Like john coltrane and other jazz greats, bill evans practiced his craft with intensity. In addition the melody is basically still one note here as well so its minimal notes but that m9 thrown in on the m7 chords is what i would definitely call a bill evans voicing. In addition, bill participates in workshops all over north america, hosts several popular instructional dvds for. The harmony of bill evans by jack reilly, bill evans books. What aspects of music theory did bill evans understand.
It includes two important theory chapters, plus ten of bill s most passionate and melodically gorgeous works. Being a pianist grants us the advantage of being able to hear harmony and melody while playing alone. Lets take a close look at some of my favorite chord voicings from his playing and learn how we can improve our playing. During this period evans was struggling with drug abuse, so his playing is quite different from his usual style. Bill was satisfied and proud of the extremely fast progress his two partners were making, and of how in tune they were with his musical world. The harmony of bill evans sheet music by jack reilly and bill evans for free with a 30 day free trial. Bill evans was so creative in the way he chose voicings for chords. Born in plainfield, new jersey in 1929, bill evans began to study the piano at age six. Its an excellent example of his approach to vertical chordal playing on the piano. A guitarists approach to the harmony of bill evans mikes. Bill evans portrait in jazz and keith jarrett tokyo 96 a twochorus pdf of the transcribed solo is available for download. Bills opening to this standard taken from the classic waltz for debby albumread more. A thorough knowledge of these voicings is essential.
If not, youll find out this class includes sids arrangements of waltz for debbie, very early, turn out the stars and my bells. In mid1958, bill evans replaced garland on piano and jimmy cobb replaced jones on drums, but evans too left after eight months, replaced by wynton kelly in late 1958. Bill evans on miles davis and kind of blue allan chase. Youll hear the west african roots of the banjo, 19th and early 20th century minstrel and classic styles, 20th century folk and bluegrass pieces and generous helpings of bills original pieces.
Blue in green tutorial bill evans chords, voicings, pdf. I transcribed quite a bit of bill evans in college, and i have a few observations about his playing that mig. Click on the link below to download the corrections. First, i think its important to note that bud powell and art tatum are both extremely highly regarded and considered critical influences on the development of jazz piano by pretty much everyone. In transcriptions of bill evans you can find impressionist harmony, inventive interpretations, block chords. The harmony of bill evans by jack reilly and bill evans sheet. Ive made no attempt to notate the note durations rigorously. Use the download button below or simple online reader. Evans never wrote a tune, a melody, or a riff over someone elses chord progression. We walk through a good portion of the song chord by chord, discussing some new and different voicings, as well as classic ways of looking at the chord changes. The 10bar form is much shorter than most jazz standards, and is even shorter than a 12 bar blues.
Read unlimited books and audiobooks, and sheet music. An analysis of the compositions of bill evans, billy strayhorn, and. Rh transcribed by thomas mueller 20170109 9 17 a2 25 33 b etc. Corrections to musical teaching book en harmonie vol. Nardis is a composition by american jazz musician miles davis. Free shipping get free shipping free 58 day shipping within the u. Discover the connection between jazz pianist bill evans and the playing of guitar greats like lenny breau, jimmy wyble, john stowell and sid jacobs. Youll hear the west african roots of the banjo, 19th and early 20th century minstrel and classic styles, 20th century folk and bluegrass pieces and generous helpings of bill s original pieces. Bill evans was born in plainfield, new jersey in 1929 to a fairly standard middle class family. Bill evans a stepbystep breakdown of the piano styles and techniques of a jazz legend by brent edstrom ro. In reillys second volume, he provides a deeper appreciation and. Bill is a longtime contributor to banjo newsletter magazine and cohosts an annual banjo camp, the sonny osborne nashcamp banjo retreat, held each fall outside of nashville, tennessee. On the whole the transcriptions of bill evans is intermediate difficulty.
About the author banjo player bill evans is not to be confused with the deceased jazz piano legend or the very much living jazz saxophone player or the austin, texas, real estate agent. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block chords, and trademark rhythmically independent, singing melodic lines continue to influence jazz pianists today. Mel bay bill evans 19291980 is one of the highest regarded jazz pianists in the history of jazz. It was written in 1958, during daviss modal period, to be played by cannonball adderley for the album portrait of cannonball.
Harmony of bill evans ebook nov 9, 2008 by admin 0 comments posted in. Evans harmony, actually, seems to be based on the fourpart harmony of the traditional protestant liturgy, onto which he grafts the specific dissonant flavor of jazz. Join bill evans as he performs music from the 1780s to the present day on eight historic banjos in a performance recorded on april 26, 2020. Waltz for debby bill evans transcription based on the versions from waltz for debby 1961 and new jazz conceptions 1956, including some elements of on jazz 625 1965 a1 ad lib. Print instantly, or sync to our free pc, web and mobile apps. This is likely my last bill evans post but i think i will be moving on to some other pianists perhaps in a solo setting as opposed. Choose from bill evans sheet music for such popular songs as peace piece, everything happens to me, and autumn leaves. Then, of course, when the trio comes in everything thickens up not forgetting how important eddie gomez was to the chord structure. It is a compilation of articles on how bill evans used harmony. Analyzing harmony techniques used from one phrase to another e. Download theory supplements, midi files, chord changes and full notefornote transcriptions of every lesson.
Like many kids, he studied classical piano, but soon his world was opened when he learned about the. A guitarists approach to the harmony of bill evans mike. Lets take a close look at some of my favorite chord voicings from his playing. Take advantage of this by singing slowly to hear the tension and release of each note against the harmony. In reillys second volume, he provides a deeper appreciation and understanding of evans compositions. Bill evans, the pianist, is a towering figure acknowledged by the jazz world, fans. In this lesson we explore and apply altered harmony and chord alterations. It seems to me that it contains some valuable and possibly unique insights and details about the compositions and recording of kind of blue and evanss views on and relationship with miles davis the interview was broadcast on july 4, 1979, shortly after it was recorded at bill evanss.
Browse hal leonard from hal leonard at sheet music plus. Compositions are influenced by a persons background and everything with which an individual comes into contact. Like a diminished chord, it can be shifted in threefret increments for related, yet unique harmonic effects that yield a different set of altered notes over the dominant harmony. In this enhanced version of the 2006 masterclass from sid jacobs, you will get to see how understanding guide tones, voice leading, counterpoint, melody and using open strings can create a unique. These fournote rootless voicings, pioneered by bill evans, are the staple repertoire of jazz pianists and should be memorised and played in until they become part of the subconscious. Prior to this, jazz pianists tended to use shell chords like the bud powell voicing we will learn in a future lesson or stride piano.
This bill evans is a banjo player, performer, teacher, work shop leader, recording artist, composer, producer, record label owner, and. Transcriptions bill evans minority piano head and solo. Bill evans and the singers afterglow indiana public media. If youv ever heard sid play bill evans arrangements for guitar, or read any of his books, you know what a treat youre in for. The harmony of bill evans volume 2 by bill evans jack. The harmony of bill evans ebook written by jack reilly, bill evans. In addition to the composerarranger usasge, quartal harmonic language in a jazz context was ushered in largely by the comping, improvising, and compositions of pianists bill evans, mccoy tyner, herbie hancock. Bill evans iivi transcription in 12 keys i really enjoyed working on this transcription more like adaption of bill evans. Playing the piano like the great bill evans is no easy feat, which is why part 1 focuses on.
The analytical approach here differs but complements. If you are unfamiliar with them, it would be advisable to look no further in this guide until you. Drop 2 voicings tutorial block chords tutorial jazz piano. However bill evans, the composer, has yet to take his place alongside the great masters of. His harmonic and rhythmic language in combination with superb taste and technical perfection places him in a category by himself. A common practice in jazz composition is to write a new melody over someone elses chord changes. At this moment we have few titles of bill evans, soon we will add more. Bill evans died in 1980 but the compositional legacy he left behind is forever expanding. Download vol 45 bill evans pdf from 2 mb, bill evans. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the harmony of bill evans. The harmony of bill evans has been added to your cart add to cart. This piano lesson will provide you with beautiful new voicings and ideas for the song my funny valentine. Includes bill evans sheet music, in pdf format and free download.
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