Gil Evans Orchestra for this Daylight Savings Sunday – recorded during their European Tour of 1978 (no exact date and no exact venue, sorry).
Gil Evans with his orchestra consisting of the usual suspects; Lew Soloff, trumpet-flugel horn, Earl McIntyre, trombone-tuba, Steve Lacy, soprano sax, Arthur Blythe, alto sax, Pete Levin, synthysizer ,GilEvans, piano,conductor-arranger., Don Pate, bass and Sue Evans, percussion.
In 1974, the Evans gave a concert tribute to guitarist Jimi Hendrix, followed by an album, The Gil Evans Orchestra Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix. Evans considered Hendrix another “sound innovator”, and had hoped to work with the guitarist before his tragic death in 1970. Some of these arrangements were written by Evans’s band members, and became a staple in the band’s repertoire for years to come, with the kind of “ haunting cry” that Evans sought to express. The Hendrix album, along with Svengali and There Come A Time, also recorded in the mid-1970s, were the last studio recordings Evans made for several years.
Though Evans’s performances through much of the 1970s were infrequent, he still worked non-stop on his music and continued to receive awards and recognition in surprising ways. Evans was honored at the White House by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, who held a Tribute to Jazz Musicians, naming them “National Treasures.” That same year Evans’s orchestra went on three successful trips to Europe.
Fortunately for everyone, Gil Evans’ Orchestra concerts have been recorded and preserved over the years. They keep showing up and they continue being fresh and part of an enduring legacy.
Dive in and fill your head.