Two poems for Bill Evans, by Linda Werbner and Michael L. Newell
Beautiful, sad poet
haggard and thin
dressed in the polyester suit
you bought at Sears with Philly Joe
Your brow is damp
You hide the pain in your side
March 3rd, 2025
Bill Evans
“Plane to Italy” – a poem (for Bill Evans) by Linda Werbner
A hazy clip from Finnish TV,
the year he died
Shot in a dimly-lit studio
Evans has just finished a concert and the interviewer,
reverently holds an oversized microphone
December 20th, 2024
“The Jazz Dive” – the art of Allen Mezquida
.The Jazz Dive is the website of the musician and artist Allen Mezquida, whose work is described as “an independent art studio at the intersection of jazz and mid-century modern design” that is inspired by the counterculture music from the 1950s and 60s, and creates art “that resonates with both eyes and ears.” It is unique and creative and worth a look…
...December 18th, 2024
Interview with James Kaplan, author of 3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans and the Lost Empire of Cool
The esteemed writer tells a story about the jazz world before, during, and after the 1959 recording of Kind of Blue, and how the album’s three genius musicians came together, played together, and grew together (and often apart) throughout the experience.
...August 26th, 2024
“Alone at the Piano” – a playlist by Bob Hecht
In this edition of extensive jazz playlists, the award-winning jazz producer and scholar Bob Hecht focuses his attention on solo piano performances, including those by artists such as Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Art Tatum, Tommy Flanagan, Cedar Walton, Bill Evans, Jaki Byard, Keith Jarrett.
...August 1st, 2024
The Sunday Poem: “Thelonious Monk’s Hat” by Gary Jude
washes up
on the keyboard.
Bill Evans’ glasses too.
I put Monk’s hat on
and suddenly feel
like the captain of a ship.
March 30th, 2024
“Deep in the Woods,” a poem by Michael L. Newell
Dusk’s deep waters envelop me
with the quiet embrace of a Bill
Evans solo, the piano so low,
yet so all encompassing (drowning
me in beauty, beauty, beauty —
December 21st, 2023
“Four Sides Live” – a poem by Justin Hare
It tickles my fancy the way
francophone announcers
ornately say the names
of jazzmen in those live recordings
put to reel in Montreux.
Jack DeJohnette in particular
tickles me, perhaps because
it is a french-like sort of name.
November 16th, 2023
Six poets, six poems on Bill Evans
A poetic appreciation for the work of the legendary pianist
...October 21st, 2023
Interview with Joe La Barbera, co-author of Times Remembered: The Final Years of the Bill Evans Trio
Drummer Joe La Barbera talks about his book, and the significance of his experience working in Bill Evans’ last trio
...March 14th, 2022
“The Compositional Genius of Bill Evans — A Brief Overview & Playlist,” by Bob Hecht
Contributing writer Bob Hecht discusses Bill Evans’ enduring compositional genius, and has assembled an extensive Spotify playlist that includes many of his tunes.
...January 13th, 2022
“To The Audience Members Who Chatted During The Recording Of Bill Evans Trio Live At The Village Vanguard, June 25, 1961″ — a poem by John Riley
. . Inside the Village Vanguard, November, 2016 . ___ . . To The Audience Members Who Chatted During The Recording Of Bill Evans Trio Live At The Village Vanguard, June 25, 1961 . Relax, I will never scold, don’t shush. All music, like all moments, is soon lost. It’s vocal … Continue reading ““To The Audience Members Who Chatted During The Recording Of Bill Evans Trio Live At The Village Vanguard, June 25, 1961″ — a poem by John Riley”
...January 18th, 2021
“Listening to Bill Evans, June 2020” — a poem by John Stupp
. . © Veryl Oakland Bill Evans, Berkeley, California; April, 1969 . . Listening to Bill Evans, June 2020 First the piano by itself— after months of darkness after a Winter of clouds and wind after discontent after lies and lies explaining lies and prayers and ice and rivers forgetting to … Continue reading ““Listening to Bill Evans, June 2020” — a poem by John Stupp”
...June 12th, 2020
“Charles Ingham’s Jazz Narratives” — Vol. 6
Charles Ingham’s “Jazz Narratives” connect time, place, and subject in a way that ultimately allows the viewer a unique way of experiencing jazz history. This edition’s narratives are “”The Artists Salute Each Other”, “Monk’s Mood at the It Club” and “Communing with Ghosts”
...May 1st, 2020
“Charles Ingham’s Jazz Narratives” — Vol. 5
Ingham’s “Jazz Narratives” connect time, place, and subject in a way that ultimately allows the viewer a unique way of experiencing jazz history. This edition’s narratives are “The Annunciation of Chet Baker,” “Frank O’Hara Whispers to Scott LaFaro,” and “Blessing the Child.”
...April 17th, 2020
“Pressed for All Time,” Vol. 5 — producer Helen Keane on The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album
In this edition, producer Helen Keane tells Jarrett about how the collaboration of Tony Bennett and Bill Evans began, culminating in the 1975 recording, The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album.
...January 31st, 2020
“After Midnight A Little Jazz” — a poem by Michael L. Newell
In early morning silence,
breathing is audible.
Steam rises from tea.
A train’s whistle moans
in the distance, and I
whisper to the night
secrets I share with
...September 6th, 2018
“In Your Own Sweet Way” — A Bill Evans Memory, by Robert Hecht
It was the kind of New York night not fit for man nor beast. Sleet and wind whipping about, snow banks and ice everywhere. With my ‘49 Dodge slipping and sliding on the Village streets, I make my way to the Vanguard to catch the midnight set. The small sign outside the entrance inconspicuously announces: “Bill Evans Trio.” This is the 1962 edition of the trio, reformed after bassist Scott LaFaro’s death the year before; and this is the club where Bill had played his last sets with
...January 25th, 2018
“Peace Piece” — for musical escape
To understate the obvious, our world has not been the same since January 20. Science has become fiction, democratic institutions are being threatened, global relationships that have been nurtured for generations are devalued and misunderstood, and our world is in complete turmoil. Like Hillary or not (and God, how I liked her – her grace, intelligence, experience, resilience, strength, and compassion – all qualities we are starved for today), it is tough to argue with what is now clearly the most honest assessment of Donald Trump during the campaign, when she said, “A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.” Alas, this most basic and obvious warning — which should have elicited a major national conversation before the election — got lost in the noise of campaign coverage more concerned with her oh-so-scandalous emails!
So this is where we are, living on the brink of catastrophic war due to our man-child president’s narcissism, his endless lies, and his addiction to
...August 10th, 2017
Two new poems, by Michael L. Newell
WHY HE ASKED
Bereft of family, his only voice
a sax that created a neighborhood
of lost love and no future,
he slipped into memory where his story
was etched into daguerreotypes,
sketches of abandonment and hints of
...August 2nd, 2017
“In Search of an Elegy” — a poem (for Bill Evans) by Larsen Bowker
I’ll have it spare as the reverence you feel for silence
in your long melodic lines, where the music cries
in the sacred spaces you leave between the notes…
I’ll have the long curve of your back bending over
your shadow on the keys as you play “Turn Out
the Stars”, written for your father when he died,
Blue Notes stretching out as if you’d have them last
...April 15th, 2016
On Veteran’s Day — “Peace Piece” by Bill Evans
I submit this post with great thanks to all Veterans who have honorably served on our behalf…
For years I have thought the music that best honors those we celebrate on Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day is “Peace Piece” by Bill Evans. It’s a beautiful, simple and “peaceful” melody that is instantly memorable, and his playing is passionate and sensitive in a way Evans supremely communicates. Here is what Evans bassist Chuck Israels had to say about “Peace Piece”:
” “Peace Piece” is an example of the depth of Evans’ compositional technique. It is an ostinato piece, composed and recorded long before the more recent superficial synthesis of Indian and American music; in fact, it owes more to Satie and Debussy than to Ravi Shankar. The improvisation starts simply over a gentle
...November 11th, 2014
Poetry by Robert Farmer
SOUTHERN ELEGY
Just two “good ole boys”,
Levon from the Arkansas delta, Harry south Georgia,
gone within a month of each other,
both with big obits in The New York Times.
Who said we don’t honor earthiness!
April 3rd, 2013
“MATCHBOOK: The Spinnaker (Sausalito): in memory of Bill Evans,” a poem by Michael Harper
MATCHBOOK: The Spinnaker (Sausalito)
in memory of Bill Evans
by Michael Harper
Adrift in your own spittle
(eyebrows on vibrato knuckles)
we are across the bay
from reality;
but reality hits in waves
...May 22nd, 2007
Keith Shadwick, author of Bill Evans: Everything Happens to Me
Bill Evans (1929 – 1980) played a major role in the history of modern jazz. The New Jersey-born pianist’s groundbreaking ideas were so widely absorbed by his peers and subsequently by every new generation of musicians that he can be classed among the most influential figures in post-war jazz, ranking alongside Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.
...June 24th, 2002
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In This Issue
Interview
The Sunday Poem
“You Know by the Laughter,” by Joan E. Bauer
The Sunday Poem is published weekly, and strives to include the poet reading their work....
Joan E. Bauer reads her poem at its conclusion
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