Bill Evans is one of the most influential jazz piano players of all time. His career expanded over 4 decades, from bebop and hard bop through the modal and modern jazz.
His piano trio with Scott LaFaro (b) & Paul Motian (dr) was a turning point in a concept of jazz piano trio, where bass and drums had more freedom to collectively take part in the improvisation, not only during their solos.
He also was an important and influential sideman, most notably with Miles Davis, Canonball Adderley, George Russell and Tony Bennet.
Stan Getz & Bill Evans - Quartet w/ Stan Getz (ts), Richard Davis/Ron Carter (b) & Elvin Jones (dr) 1964 Spotify Album Link Here
What Do These Exercises Cover?
Exercises on this thread are built to give the students a deeper view on Bill Evans’ style, soloing, comping as well as an overall look into the tradition of jazz through his artistry.
Exercises are transcription-based, following with a closer look into certain details of his playing. This way we can combine ear-training with learning the language of jazz, as well as analyzing closely what is happening.
Here’s some extra guidance for students new to transcription:
To begin with transcription is very difficult, particularly if we haven’t done any ear training in the past.
The most important thing is consistent daily practice. If I’m finding something difficult to transcribe, I’ll come back to it the next day and try again, then the next day etc… and eventually my ears will figure out what’s happening.
These exercises are for all levels of students. Whether you have been playing for years or if you are just learning the major scales; there is no better time to get started with transcription than now!
Set smaller milestones if you need, for example if you are new to transcription, just take the first 4 bars of the solo, transcribe the notes and play along with the record to perfectly imitate and emulate the phrasing:
The next milestone could be the 1st chorus. Again transcribe the notes and then play along with the recording.
The next milestone could be the whole solo.
It’s very important to play along with the record and emulate all nuances of the performance such as the feel, the articulation, the accents, and other dynamics.
Remember that transcription is a process than we improve at gradually.
Dedicate a part of your daily practice routine to transcription and in the space of a year you will see huge improvements in your musicianship.
Enjoy these exercises and we are on hand to give additional guidance and insight if needed.
Thanks Hayden for excellent points, just wanted to add:
Don’t get frustrated is you don’t get all the missing parts, believe me, we all have been there!
Try to get as much as you can, even guessing is fine in the beginning. Remember, the transcription is going to be posted in it’s entirety soon, so you can check how much you got right!
When learning to play the solo, start with a very slow tempo by using metronome, and gradually work towards the record tempo. Like Hayden mentioned earlier, you can take only small parts/phrases at first to work on.
This thread is really challenging yet really fun! I have learned the firsthand how important it is to transcript in order to enrich our vocabulary. I will try to actively participate in this thread! Thank you for this!
I started late and just finished 16 bars of transcription. will make sure to finish all of it and give some feedback here before the next thread comes out. Thanks Tuomo!
