Bill Evans Playing Style

William John Evans better known as Bill Evans (August 16, 1929- September 15, 1980) was one of the most influential American jazz pianists ever, was known as harmony genius, a highly nuanced touch player and his lyrical playing style. His introspective lyricisms, endless flow of clear ideas and subtle Western classical flourished have influenced a legion of jazz pianists including Jack Reilly, Herbie Hancock, Andy Laverne, Enrico Pieranunzi, Keith Jarrett, Fred Hersch, Joanne Brackeen and countless others.( ipad npr.org) Described by noted jazz writer James Lincoln Collier says that Evans had the widest influence of any piano player since 1960. (James Lincoln Collier, The Making of Jazz: A Comprehensive History (New York: Dell Publishing,

Evans crafted his improvisation with exacting deliberation. Often he would take a phrase, or just a kernel of its character, then develop and extend its rhythms, melodic idea, and accompanying harmonies. Then within the same solo he would often return to that kernel, transforming it each time. And while all this was happening, he would be considering rhythmic ways, melodic ways, and harmonies all at the same time, long before the optimal moment for resolving the idea. ( In the book Jazz Styles: History and Analysis, music writer Mark C. Gridley describes his playing). An interview of Bill Evans called the The Universal Mind of Bill Evans discussed his creative process. He said that he sees as a process rather than a style and he gave some of the example of builds up a jazz improvisation that he will do such as starting with a simple line and adding come layers of rhythmic, harmonic and melodic variation. (Need citation) Analyze by Jazz pianist, educator, arranger and composer Andy Laverne: Bill Evans right-hand lines often ended up in the higher reaches of the keyboard as a result of the position of his left-hand voicing. Evans’ introspective style gave rise to frequent inner voice movement, which infused a contrapuntal component into his playing. Evans was also one of the first jazz pianists to