Bill Evans – How My Heart Sings (Cloth) - Hardcover

Pettinger, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300071930 ISBN 13: 9780300071931

Publisher: Yale University Press, 1998

Synopsis

Bill Evans (1929-1980) is universally acknowledged as one of the most influential of all jazz pianists. Classically trained on flute, violin, and piano, Evans chose jazz - specifically the jazz piano trio - as his medium. This biography tells Evan's story. Based on research and conversations with many of Evan's friends and colleagues, as well as Pettinger's firsthand memories of performances at the Village Vanguard in New York and Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London, it describes the life, the musicmaking and the legacy of this major American jazz artist. The author asseses Evan's recordings and analyzes his technique, tone production, approach to group playing, and compositional methods. With a full discography and dozens of photographs, the volume should be welcomed by jazz fans and general readers alike.

About this title

Review:

"Pettinger understands what sets the pianist apart, and explains with a minimum of technical language and just enough musical transcriptions to get his key points across. . . This is an ideal companion for those who want to 'understand' Evans in the most important way, through listening."--Bob Blumenthal, Boston Globe

"Peter Pettinger writes frankly in his fine new biography of what was no secret to Evans's appalled colleagues: The most influential jazz pianist of the past half-century was addicted to drugs--first heroin, then cocaine--for much of his adult life."--Terry Teachout, New York Times Book Review

"[A] fine new biography . . . packed with . . . shrewd critical commentary."--Terry Teachout, New York Times Book Review

"Pettinger . . . has thoroughly researched Evans's life, reading the available literature and tracking down the pianist's associates for commentary, and he has listened assiduously to the Evans catalog, which is no small feat given its enormousness."--Adam Bresnick, Wall Street Journal

"Pettinger provides a portrait of Evans that will serve as a foundation for further investigation of this quiet jazz giant. Recommended for jazz fans and music buffs."--Library Journal

"Pettinger is eminently qualified to assay Evan's evolution as a pianist, and students of Evan's music will no doubt enjoy the author's references to Evan's scores and academic excursions."--Publishers Weekly

"One of the most moving and informative jazz books of recent years. . . . For its sensitive sympathetic and insightful look at the artistry of Bill Evans, How My Heart Sings makes a valuable contribution."--Joel Roberts, All About Jazz

"The greatest strength of Pettinger's writing is that, analyzing Evans' recorded legacy, almost piece by piece, he tells how Evans did it--that is, what to listen for--in terms fully accessible to the lay listener. So this is not an exposé or analysis of a 'tortured' artist, but a fine music lover's reference about a nonpareil artist."--Booklist

"Pettinger's approach is at once delightfully insightful and detailed in terms of musical analysis. . . . A much-needed addition to the growing list of respectable biographies of the greatest figures in the first century of jazz history. . . . An excellent choice for collections supporting studies of popular music at all levels."--Choice

"Indispensable. . . . The 40-page discography alone will be cherished as will the author's dogged research into the circumstances surrounding all important Evans recordings and trio personnel changes. . . . Through interviews with friends and colleagues, Evans own utterances and the author's insider knowledge of the piano, the book contains many insights into Evans' music."--Jeff Bradley. Denver Post

"Accessible to non-musician and including a complete discography, Pettinger's book is highly recommended for Evans fans."--Jazz Insider

"Pettinger's strength as a listener and analyst makes this an essential book about Evans. . . . This fine book will be a part of the foundation for Evans scholars to come."--Doug Ramsey, Jazztimes

"Pettinger chronicles in detail Evan's endless search for empathy and expression of emotion within his perennial context, the piano trio, and his famous successes within that context. . . . How My Heart Sings is told with a simplicity and calm momentum that are reminiscent of Evan's music itself; it shows facility supported by scholarship and research."--Jon Rodine, Rain Taxi

"A thoroughly researched, well-written biography of the soft-spoken but troubled jazz pianist."--San Francisco Examiner Magazine

"A stark--yet refreshingly lyrical--document of a jazz pianist who said more with his music than with his indulgences."--Chet Williamson, Worcester Weekly

Selected as a 1998 Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times Book Review
Winner of the 1999 ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award in the Pop Books Category

"Peter Pettinger's book on pianist Bill Evans is one of the best jazz biographies I have ever read. It is beautifully and lovingly written, meticulously researched, and filled with deep insight into Evans's personality and musicmaking."--Barry Kernfeld, author of What to Listen for in Jazz

"This book is likely to become a classic. There is nothing quite like it in the history of jazz. A concert pianist looks at the work of a jazz pianist whom many authorities consider one of the greatest musicians of the twentieth century. Pettinger hears all sorts of subtleties as only a fellow pianist can. He is also a felicitous and interesting writer. This is a brilliant piece of extended analysis."--Gene Lees

About the Author:

Peter Pettinger was an international concert pianist for more than twenty-five years. His many recordings include the Bartok sonatas with the violinist Sandor Vegh, the Elgar sonata and a jazz album with the violinist Nigel Kennedy, and Elgar's works for solo piano.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0300071930
• ISBN 13: 9780300071931
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 356