Artist Profile: Composer and Arranger Gil Evans

Born:

May 13, 1912 in Toronto, Canada

Died:

March 20, 1988 in Cuernavaca, Mexico

Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader known most widely for his collaborations with Miles Davis on such albums as Birth of the Cool (Capitol 1957) and Miles Ahead (Columbia 1957). His linear compositional approach, which focused on the shape of individual instruments' lines as opposed to vertical harmonies, continues to influence jazz composers today, including Bob Brookmeyer and Maria Schneider.

Growing up with a stepfather in the mining industry, Evans spent his childhood in various parts of North America before his family settled in California in 1922. There, a friend’s father took Evans to see Duke Ellington play at the Orpheum in San Francisco in 1927. By 1933, Evans had formed his first ensemble in Stockton, CA.

After his enlistment in the army during World War II, Evans moved to New York, his small apartment on 55th Street becoming a meeting place for such jazz luminaries as Gerry Mulligan, Miles Davis, and Charlie Parker. In New York, Evans worked as arranger for Claude Thornhill's orchestra until 1948. From 1948 until 1950, he produced the body of work that would later be known as The Birth of the Cool. Groundbreaking in its nonet instrumentation and style, The Birth of the Cool still serves as the benchmark for midsize jazz ensemble arranging.

When Miles Davis signed with Columbia Records in 1956, it was Evans he chose to arrange for his first recording with large ensemble. The result, Miles Ahead, was released in 1957, and was followed by Porgy and Bess (1958), Sketches of Spain (1960) and Quiet Nights (1962), all collaborations between Davis and Evans. Additionally, Evans spent time heading his own ensembles, releasing several albums during the early 60’s. Around 1969, Evans’ composition began incorporating more electric instruments and percussion, and the composer showed interest in working with Jimi Hendrix before the guitarist’s untimely death in 1970.

The Gil Evans Orchestra began touring extensively in the 1970s, and the band’s recorded output moved toward live albums such as The Priestess (1977). Evans’ last great ensemble was known as The Monday Night Orchestra, which played at Sweet Basil, a Greenwich Village jazz club, until Gil’s death from Peritonitis in 1988.