Evans’ brilliant career reflected in ‘Portrait’

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Dec. 17, 2004 | 8:33 a.m.

My mother made it a point to see Bill Evans perform as often as possible when she lived in the New York City area in the early 1970s.

No matter how many times she watched the jazzman lean over his piano keys and work his magic in a small, dark club, she always left feeling as though she'd witnessed something truly amazing.

She was devastated, then, when Evans died in 1980 at age 51, the result of a perforated ulcer made worse by years of cocaine abuse.

Sad as his death itself was, however, the true tragedy might be the lack of familiarity non-jazz aficionados have for Evans' legacy, one of the finest in the genre's history.

Most everyone knows that Miles Davis was the man on trumpet, that John Coltrane was king of the tenor sax and that Billie Holiday had a singing voice second to none.

But Evans, whose influence within the jazz community ranks with that of the all-time greats, remains a ghost to most, or at best a musician many have heard of but never heard from.

It's ironic, because Evans contributed to what has probably become the world's single most popular jazz album, Davis' 1959 classic "Kind of Blue."

That's Evans, then 29, providing the famous piano accompaniment to Davis, Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley on such seminal cuts as "So What," "All Blues" and "Flamenco Sketches."

After playing with Davis, Evans moved on to lead his own combos, releasing dozens of quality albums despite his shortened life span.

I chose "Portrait in Jazz" for this piece in part because it served as my own introduction to Evans' solo work and in part because it remains among my favorites years later.

Recorded in December 1959 -- just months after "Kind of Blue" -- "Portrait" features Evans' most celebrated trio. Bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian teamed for four top-notch albums and numerous live dates before LaFaro's fatal car accident ended the group's run in 1961.

The nine tracks on "Portrait" (plus two alternate takes) present a clear picture of Evans' style, an emotive, lyrical approach to his instrument that has become a blueprint for pianists in the decades since.

Evans' versions of "Autumn Leaves" and "Someday My Prince Will Come" set the standard for countless renditions that followed. And for the ultimate in tranquility, check out the two takes of "Blue in Green" -- a song co-written by Davis and Evans during the "Kind of Blue" sessions -- that end the serene "Portait in Jazz" set.

Artist: Bill Evans Trio.

Title: "Portrait in Jazz."

Year of release: 1959 (reissued 2003, Fantasy Records).

Tracklisting: "Come Rain or Come Shine," "Autumn Leaves," "Autumn Leaves" (mono), "Witchcraft," "When I Fall in Love," "Peri's Scope," "What Is This Thing Called Love?" "Spring Is Here," "Someday My Prince Will Come," "Blue in Green (take 3)", "Blue in Green (take 2)".