September, 1980, NYC
So…we’re walking up 7th Ave, Andy Statman and I…talking music, telling stories, laughing. Andy is always so upbeat, enthusiastic, and a ball to hang out with.
And funny? Man! One minute we’re cracking up, the next we’re deep into some scoring idea.
I glanced down at a stack of newspapers, still tied together at a news stand. Something catches my eye…
“Pianist Bill Evans d…”!
Oh no! Don’t tell us that!
Tears come to our eyes. We couldn’t speak.
I am fortunate to have seen Bill Evans live at least 6 times. Once when I was going to Berklee he did a Sunday afternoon solo set “in the round” at Boston’s legendary Jazz Workshop. David Grisman and I battled an epic NYC blizzard to get to a club where Bill’s trio played to maybe 6 people. When Bill Evans played you knew that you were in the presence of genius.
I am “blogging” about Bill Evans because just this week I was looking at a magazine rack, saw the Downbeat logo, and there he was on the cover…32 years later!! Incredible!
Thankfully…we have a lifetime of recordings…and Bill Evans continues to inspire on every one of them.
John Carlini
Copyright © 2016 John Carlini