Bill Evans

Evans received Grammy Awards. Bill Evans was born on 8 February 1958. Recorded with the gender male. Classed in the genre jazz. Classed in the genre jazz fusion. Bill Evans was recorded as saxophonist, jazz musician, vocalist and composer. Recorded with the occupation saxophonist. Recorded with the occupation jazz musician. Recorded with the occupation vocalist. Recorded with the occupation composer.

• Name — Bill Evans • Birth Name — William D. Evans • Born — 9 February 1958 • Birthplace — Clarendon Hills, Illinois, U.S. • Genre — Jazz, jazz fusion, bluegrass • Occupation — Musician • Instrument — Tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone • Years Active — 1979–present • Label — Elektra/Musician, Blue Note, Jazz City, Lipstick, ESC, BHM, Vansman • Associated Acts — Miles Davis, Elements, Mahavishnu Orchestra • Website — www.billevanssax.com William D. Evans (born February 9, 1958) is an American jazz saxophonist, who was a member of the Miles Davis group in the 1980s and has since led several of his own bands, including Push and Soulgrass. Evans plays tenor and soprano saxophones. He has recorded over 27 solo albums and received two Grammy Award nominations. He recorded an album called Bill Evans – Vans Joint with the WDR Big Band in 2009. He has played a variety of music with his solo projects, including bluegrass, jazz, and funk. His early influences on saxophone were Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, John Coltrane, Stan Getz, Steve Grossman, and Dave Liebman.

Evans was born in Clarendon Hills, Illinois, United States. His father was a classical piano prodigy and until junior high school Evans studied classical piano. He attended Hinsdale Central High School and studied with Bunky Green and Joe Daly in Chicago while attending high school. Early in his studies he was able to hear such artists as Sonny Stitt and Stan Getz at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago. Evans attended University of North Texas and William Paterson University, where he studied with Dave Liebman, an alumnus of trumpeter Miles Davis's early 1970s bands. Moving to New York city in 1979, he spent hours in lofts playing jazz standards and perfecting his improvisational style. At the age of 22, he joined Miles Davis and was part of his comeback in the early to mid–1980s. He was instrumental in helping Davis put the group together, bringing in Mike Stern, Marcus Miller and John Scofield. Notable albums recorded with Davis include The Man With The Horn, We Want Miles, Star People, and Decoy. Evans is unrelated to pianist Bill Evans (1929–1980), who played with Davis in the 1950s. He has played, toured and recorded with artists such as Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Michael Franks, Willie Nelson, Mick Jagger, Les McCann, Mark Egan, Danny Gottlieb, Randy Brecker, The Allman Brothers Band, and Medeski Martin & Wood. He is the leader of Petite Blonde album with Victor Bailey, Dennis Chambers, Mitch Forman, and Chuck Loeb. He joined the reformed Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1984 and performed with them until they broke up in 1987. Beginning in 1990 he toured with his own band. Two of his albums, Soul Insider and Soulgrass, were nominated for a Grammy Award. Soulgrass was combination of bluegrass and jazz fusion that featured Béla Fleck, Sam Bush, Bruce Hornsby, and Vinnie Colaiuta.

• Year recorded — Title — Label — Year released — Notes • 1983 — Living in the Crest of a Wave — Elektra Musician — 1984 • 1985 — The Alternative Man — Blue Note — 1985 • 1989 — Summertime — Jazz City — 1989 • 1989 — Let the Juice Loose: Bill Evans Group Live At Blue Note Tokyo — Jazz City — 1990 — live at Blue Note Tokyo • 1990 — The Gambler: Bill Evans Live At Blue Note Tokyo 2 — Jazz City — 1990 — live at Blue Note Tokyo • 1993 — Push — Lipstick — 1994 • 1994 — Live in Europe — Lipstick — 1995 — live • 1995–1996 — Escape — Escapade — 1996 • 1997 — Starfish & The Moon — Escapade — 1997 • 1998 — Touch — ESC — 1999 • 2000 — Soul Insider — ESC — 2000 — featuring Les McCann, Ricky Peterson, Dean Brown, John Scofield, James Genus, Tim Lefebvre, Steve Jordan, Don Alias, Vaneese Thomas, Lew Soloff, Conrad Herwig • 2002 — Big Fun — ESC — 2002 • 2004–2005 — Soulgrass — BHM — 2005 • 2007 — The Other Side of Something — Intuition — 2007 • 2008 — Vans Joint — BHM — 2008 — with the WDR Big Band • 2012 — Dragonfly — Vansman — 2012 • 2014 — Soulgrass Live in Moscow — Vansman — 2014 • 2016 — Rise Above — Vansman — 2016 • 2011 — The East End — Jazzline — 2019 — featuring Etienne Mbappe, Wolfgang Haffner, WDR Big Band • 2018 — Live Down Under — Vansman — 2019 — featuring The Spykillers, Wolfgang Haffner, Simon Oslender, Gary Grainger • 2024 — Who I Am — Vansman — 2024 — featuring Béla Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Max Mutzke, Victor Wooten, Till Brönner, Nils Landgren, Wolfgang Haffner Co-leader with Hank Jones, Red Mitchell • Moods Unlimited (Paddle Wheel, 1983) – rec. 1982 Co-leader with Randy Brecker, Robben Ford and Tom Scott • Echoes of Ellington Vol. 1 (Verve, 1987) • Echoes of Ellington Vol. 2 (Verve, 1988) Co-leader with Victor Bailey, Dennis Chambers, Mitch Forman and Chuck Loeb • Petite Blonde (Lipstick, 1992) – live Co-leader with Andy LaVerne, John Patitucci and Steve Davis • Modern Days and Nights: Music of Cole Porter (Double-Time, 1997) Co-leader with Randy Brecker • Soul Bop Band Live (BHM, 2005) Co-leader with Robben Ford • The Sun Room (Ear, 2019) • Common Ground (13J Productions, 2020)

Elements • Elements (Philo, 1982) • Forward Motion (Antilles, 1984) • Blown Away (Passport, 1986) • Illumination (Novus, 1988) • Liberal Arts (RCA, 1989) • Spirit River (RCA, 1990) Steps Ahead • Steppin' Out with WDR Big Band (Jazzline, 2016)

With Victor Bailey • Bottom's Up (Atlantic, 1989) • Low Blow (ESC, 1999) • That's Right (ESC, 2001) With Miles Davis • The Man with the Horn (Columbia, 1981) • We Want Miles (Columbia, 1982) • Star People (Columbia, 1983) • Decoy (Columbia, 1984) With Mark Egan • A Touch of Light (GRP, 1988) • Beyond Words (Bluemoon, 1991) • Freedom Town (Wavetone, 2001) • Truth Be Told (Wavetone, 2010) With Michael Franks • Skin Dive (Warner Bros., 1985) • The Camera Never Lies (Warner Bros., 1987) With Jeff Golub • Unspoken Words (Gaia, 1988) • Avenue Blue Featuring Jeff Golub (Bluemoon, 1994) • Nightlife (Bluemoon, 1997) With Danny Gottlieb • Aquamarine (Atlantic, 1987) • Whirlwind (Atlantic, 1989) With Chuck Loeb • Life Colors (DMP, 1990) • Mediterranean (DMP, 1993) With Mandoki Soulmates • People in Room No. 8 (PolyGram, 1997) • Out of Key with the Time (Sony, 2002) • Soulmates (Paroli, 2002) • Aquarelle (Neo, 2009) With Lee Ritenour • Alive in L.A. (GRP, 1997) • This Is Love (i.e. Music, 1998) With Aziza Mustafa Zadeh • Dance of Fire (Columbia, 1995) • Inspiration (Columbia, 2000) With others • Mahavishnu (John McLaughlin), Mahavishnu (Warner,1984) • Andy Summers, Charming Snakes (Private Music, 1990) • Gianfranco Continenza, The Past Inside The Present (ESC, 2007) • Wolfgang Haffner, Dream Band Live In Concert (ACT, 2022)

Bill Evans was born on 8 February 1958 in Clarendon Hills. Evans held the nationality of United States. Evans was educated at Hinsdale Central High School. Evans worked as saxophonist, jazz musician, vocalist and composer. Evans was active from 1980. The fields Evans worked in include jazz and jazz fusion. Evans played the saxophone. Evans worked in English.

• Illustration — Bill Evans in Berlin • Illustration — Bill Evans live @ Leverkusener Jazztage 2019