Bill Evans Trio - Portrait in Jazz
Break out your scotch whiskey and cigars. If you do not indulge in either of these, break out a cooking pan, your spatula and some olive oil to get cooking. Bill Evans’ fifth studio album (as a band leader) titled, Portrait in Jazz is a far cry from today’s Jazz records. Less than a year after Evans’ successful collaboration with Miles Davis on Kind of Blue, he formed a group with Paul Motian on drums and Scott LaFaro on bass, calling it the Bill Evans Trio.
Evans, an accomplished pianist, plays with a style that in the mid to late 1950s had not caught on yet. Listen to it today, it screams late 50s Jazz to me. But what do I know? In 1959, music was “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” and Mack The Knife. Miles Davis was really pioneering a new kind of Jazz music in the 1950s, and he brought Evans along for the ride. But Evans only needed Miles for initial exposure, then he was off on his own.
Evans did not look like most musicians of today or even of his time. With a thin, unassuming figure, and brow line glasses, Evans could be mistaken for a reporter of the Washington Post in the late 1950s.
Recorded on December 28th, 1959 at Reeves Sound Studios in New York City and released early the next year in 1960, Portrait in Jazz exemplifies a new kind of piano playing that would change music forever. Several Jazz artists, including Miles and Cannonball Adderley stated that Evans was ahead of his time. It just took a few years for the Jazz world to catch up with him.
Bill’s piano playing is deeply lyrical. His songs range from fast swing style jazz with a steady beat, to a low, soft, quiet playing that reminds you of snowfall on an early December night. Each time I listen to “Portrait”, I picture leaving a club in New York City to snow filled streets after dark. As I hail a taxi, Evan’s notes are still writhing through my body.
The album starts with Come Rain or Come Shine. As I said, this is the perfect song and album to either relax in front of the fireplace with a glass of your finest wine or whiskey. I also listen to it frequently as I cook. Most times, I turn the record back over to Side One and listen again as I continue to cook. The opening track is a soft swing. Evans is all over his piano. He moves back and forth, guiding the song, eventually taking a solo at the end to close it out.
Autumn Leaves is a quicker swing. It is a bit more up tempo than the album’s opener. In this song, bassist Scott LaFaro arguably takes center stage. His stand-up bass cuts through the song into your stomach until it enters your blood. And it stays there. I can picture smoke filled night clubs after hours. All the men are wearing suits with loosened ties. The women are “dressed to kill”.
Witchcraft is the album’s third track. This is another gentle, grooving number similar to Come Rain or Come Shine where it takes you for a ride on a soft, velvety cloud. Peri’s Scope picks the beat up a little once again, showcasing LaFaro’s bass soloing. Drummer Paul Motian lays down a Jazz beat void of Jazz music’s traditional time-keeping duties. Motian’s drumming comes in and out of the song, pausing to allow Evans’ piano to solo or LaFaro’s bass to take over.
Side 2 of this record begins with What Is This Thing Called Love? Originally written by Cole Porter in 1929, this song became a popular Jazz standard. The Trio perform a nice four minute and thirty-three second cover, once again allowing each musician to grab the spotlight. Evans’ playing drives fast across the keyboard, pausing here and there so LaFaro’s bass can take the song into another direction, only to enable Bill to bring it back.
Spring is Here is another soft number. It is perfect with a glass of wine, perfect as quiet music in the background as you converse and catch up with loved ones, and also perfect for the serious music fan, wanting to listen to every note and every key. There are over 12,000 individual parts to a piano. The core pieces support the six functional features: the keyboard, the hammers, the bridge, the soundboard and the vibrating strings. Evans has a way of manipulating the keys and allowing the strings to sing their own song.
The album rounds out with Someday My Prince Will Come and Blue in Green. Blue in Green, listed on the album as written by Evans and Miles Davis, also appeared on Davis’ Kind of Blue record in 1959. For several years, there have been disagreements throughout the Jazz community as to who actually wrote Blue in Green. Miles Davis is quoted in his autobiography as being the sole writer on all songs featured on his Kind of Blue album. Evans was quoted in a radio interview in 1979 as saying he is the writer and creator of Blue in Green. Many additional Jazz artists close to both, are split in their opinion. Since both Davis and Evans are deceased, perhaps we will never know?
Bill was very self-critical and self-demanding. This is what usually makes most great musicians “great”. The obsession that drives one to continue working, continue practicing and to continue analyzing their music can lead him or her to success. It can also lead to burnout and self-abuse. Sadly, Evans battled serious heroin addiction for years during his career and died in 1980 at the age of 51 from complications of cirrhosis and untreated hepatitis. After complaining of severe pain during a ride in the car one day, Evans bled to death on his way to the hospital.
I suppose most geniuses have a tragic end to their story. Bill was certainly one of them. Portrait in Jazz certainly changed my outlook on Jazz and when I first listened, it took me to an entirely new level of appreciation for the genre and Evans himself. I was shocked that I had never heard of him before. Shame on me. I strongly recommend even if you are a casual Jazz fan to pick this album up.
If you already own “Portrait”, I recommend another album Bill recorded in 1975, called Eloquence. This album is also a go-to for me when I am in a Jazz mood.
And do not forget to get your record player while you are at it (if you do not already have one).