Classical Music's influence on Jazz Musician Bill Evans

Below is a transcript of a Classic Arts Showcase documentary. I included short editorial comments between square brackets [].  I enclosed longer discursive comments, such as other artists' renditions of cited music,  between scissor snips ✂️---------------------------------------

From Classic Arts Showcase

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, pianist
'The influence of classical music in the compositions of the late Bill Evans'
Directed by Paul Goldin
"Conversations with Bill Evans"
London Records

Thibaudet: We are all fascinated by the way that Revel music [and] Debussy music sounded so much like Bill Evans' compositions that is the reason that we did this project that Bill was a big fan of Debussy. And I would also say Satie is also present, a lot. In some pieces are very Satie, the atmosphere, the rhythms, and the way it's written. And those chords that he's using are just so French impressionist, it's absolutely amazing.

Thibaudet: I bet that some pieces if I were to play just the beginning some people, they would say " ah Satie or Debussy."

Evans: I started studying piano when I was six, but this was classical music.

Evans: At the age of six to thirteen I acquired the ability to sight read and to play classical music

Evans: And so that actually, both of us were performing Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and so on intelligently, musically

Thibaudet: In the last year or so, I would say in recitals I would play Chopin, Schumann, or Debussy whatever.  And then last encore, I would come out and play Bill Evans.

[at a concert] Thibaudet: It's called "Your Story" and I believe it's that last piece of music he wrote.








Thibaudet:  I think the idea behind is to try to open the world of classical music to more people. I think, especially the young generation thinks classical music is something boring is something really for the elite, stiff and serious. So that's why I'm always thinking of this young audience of how we can take them to the classical concert at least once in their life. If they don't like it, that's fair enough. But at  least give them a chance.

Eric Calvi: At the time I got the idea for this Bill Evans project I was actually sent to  a lot of Revel and the connection was made continuously. I just knew he was the right guy for the project. I was happy to find out  actually that Johnny [ Jean ] was a big fan of Bill Evans to start with.

Thibaudet:   I went to get a lot of Bill Evans records then I really started to listen a lot to his playing and look for some different scores and different arrangements and the idea just grew inside of everybody, me and the producers.  And just one day we just sat down at a meeting and we just said, "So what about the Bill Evans project?" And I said, "Well, I'm ready for it. I think it's a marvelous idea. I think it's something really different for everybody and I think - let's go for it!"

Thibaudet playing Evans arrangement of Alex North's "Spartacus" Love Theme





Evans playing his arrangement:






Thibaudet : If you play the beginning of the first Gymnopedie by Satie

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Here's another rendition of Satie's composition. I guess just making a video of a woman playing a guitar is boring so the director included some chick in a leotard whipping her hair back and forth and waving a scarf around:





In case above link breaks, a kludgy phone recording from Classic Arts Showcase

Liona Boyd, guitar
'Gymnopedie No. 1' (Lent et douloureux)
Music by Erik Satie (1866-1925)
Georgia Simon, dancer
Filmed at the Museum of Contemporary Art, LA
Directed by Adam Soch
Edited by Jimmy Grama & Liona Boyd
"Passport to Serenity"
Moston Records

I'm willing to agree that Evans' piano arrangement bears a resemblance to Satie, but, again, he is simply arranging Alex North's original composition, so the similarity would seem to be between North and Satie versus Evans and Satie

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Thibaudet: In the "Hello, Bolinas" introduction for example, for me it's a great example of kind of Debussy Revel like sound. 

Thibaudet: I think "Your Story" is really the most personal music he wrote.   I mean it's really like reading a book he writes from his heart. Which means when I play it will be like reading a book written from my heart because of the way I play it.  But I think it's the piece where you really give so much.  It's maybe one of the most romantic moment in his composition, as far as I'm concerned. I mean it's full of romance, it's full of passion.  Whether it's Rachmaninoff I think, I don't know, maybe more Brahms.  I think the way it's written with the left hand is like, this big singing stuff with the left hand, it really very much reminds me of Brahms writing.  It's very rich...

Thibaudet: I want to play this passage from "Peace Piece" because it's very interesting that in this music, it really reminds me of Olivier Messiaen actually because like the right hand suddenly burst like birds like bird songs answering from other birds and it really reminds me "Exotic Birds" the piece that  Messiaen wrote






The Messiaen piece "Oiseaux exotiques (Exotic Birds)" to which Thibaudet referred:

Thibaudet: So that really shows how much those composers are related together and how much Debussy, Ravel, and Satie and Bill Evans are close to each other and one almost brings to Bill Evans like he took it over from them, it feels like a really natural progression.

I learned 1 Minute and 30 seconds of this song and I’m too lazy to learn the rest.

“My Foolish Heart” Bill Evans pic.twitter.com/lCFLrDnU05

— nathan (@WhosNathanDale) July 17, 2018