The Gil Evans
Orchestra
‘Hidden Treasures, Volume One: Monday Nights’
Bopper Spock
Suns Music
pledgemusic.com/projects/gil-evans-orchestra
The late, great
arranger Gil Evans may be best known for “Sketches of Spain” and other albums
he arranged for Miles Davis, but The Gil Evans Orchestra, broke new ground
every Monday night at the Greenwich Village club Sweet Basil. Four decades
after the orchestra’s last studio recording, Evans’ sons – Miles Evans
(trumpet) and Noah Evans – have assembled many of the original players for a
wildly kinetic session. The core band of 10 is supported by 15 additional
musicians who are featured on different tracks.
The repertoire
includes “Moonstruck” and “Eleven,” two Gil Evans compositions in their
original arrangements. The former is a striking example of Evans’ unusual
voicings, the latter a showcase for his bold ensemble
writing. But perhaps most striking is his arrangement of Masabumi
Kikuchi’s “Lunar Eclipse,” in which Evans transforms the orchestra into a
gorgeous runaway train. No band stands still, so don’t be
surprised when you hear Darryl Jones’s slap bass on Miles Evans’s catchy
composition “LL Funk.”
This article appears in Jan 30 – Feb 5, 2019.
