1. Gil Evans is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role in the development of cool jazz, modal jazz, free jazz, and jazz fusion.
25 Facts About Gil Evans
1. 2.
Gil Evans is best known for his acclaimed collaborations with Miles Davis.
3.
Gil Evans was born in Toronto, Canada, on May 13,1912, to Margaret Julia McConnachy.
4.
Originally named Gilmore Ian Ernest Green, Evans took the last name of his step-father, John Evans, a miner.
5.
Gil Evans became interested in music at an early age, listening to Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Fletcher Henderson on the radio and on records.
6.
Gil Evans studied the piano and began learning how to arrange music, and started picking up jobs with local musicians.
7.
Gil Evans remained a Canadian citizen until he entered the US Army during the second World War.
8.
Between 1941 and 1948, Gil Evans worked as an arranger for the Claude Thornhill Orchestra.
9.
Gil Evans contributed behind the scenes to Davis's classic quintet albums of the 1960s.
10.
Gil Evans was a great influence on Davis's interest in "non-jazz" music, especially orchestral music.
11.
From 1957 onwards, Gil Evans recorded albums under his own name.
12.
Gil Evans was influenced by Spanish composers Manuel de Falla and Joaquin Rodrigo, and by other Latin and Brazilian music, as well as by German expatriate Kurt Weill.
13.
Gil Evans frequently wrote a part for the tenor violin of Harry Lookofsky.
14.
Gil Evans was discouraged by the commercial direction Verve Records was taking with the Gilberto sessions, and he went into a period of hiatus.
15.
Gil Evans developed a particular interest in the work of the rock guitarist.
16.
Gil Evans gradually built another orchestra in the 1970s, with none of the coloration instruments from his past arrangements.
17.
Hendrix's 1970 death precluded a scheduled meeting with Gil Evans to discuss having Hendrix collaborate with a big band led by Gil Evans.
18.
Live recordings demonstrate that some entire pieces were collaborative efforts, and Gil Evans can be heard giving cues from the keyboard to guide the band.
19.
Gil Evans's ensemble featured many of the top-call musicians in New York, many of whom were in the NBC Saturday Night Live Band and there were many conflicts, so their "deputies" for the night might be other world-class musicians.
20.
Yet Gil Evans was known to let newcomers "sit in" occasionally.
21.
In 1986, Gil Evans produced and arranged the soundtrack to the film of the Colin MacInnes book Absolute Beginners, thereby working with such contemporary artists as Sade Adu, Patsy Kensit's Eighth Wonder, the Style Council, Jerry Dammers, Smiley Culture, Edward Tudor-Pole, and David Bowie.
22.
Gil Evans arranged the music for the 1986 Martin Scorsese film The Color of Money.
23.
Gil Evans first married Lillian Grace following the 1949 Birth of the Cool recording sessions.
24.
Gil Evans was survived by his second wife, Anita, and two children, Noah and Miles.
25.
Gil Evans died of peritonitis in Cuernavaca, Mexico, contracting it shortly after a surgery for his prostate and subsequent travel to Mexico to recover.