Did Joe Pass ever record with Bill Evans??

[Paul]

I may have misunderstood him, but I thought a local pianist
mentioned that Joe worked with Bill at some point.

Maybe he meant to say that they only covered each others'
compositions?

Because I didn't find a Youtube video of them playing
together.....

[Tony Mountifield]

Doing a search in Spotify for "Joe Pass Bill Evans" didn't turn up anything.

In comparison, searching for "Joe Pass Oscar Peterson" gave a lot of results.

Cheers
Tony
--
Tony Mountifield
Work: to...@softins.co.uk - http://www.softins.co.uk
Play: to...@mountifield.org - http://tony.mountifield.org

[TD]

Of course. Two completely different styles and essentially not compatible.

[Joe Finn]

Good question. Evans recorded with Jim Hall a few times and with Burrell on "Quintecence". I don't know of a recording they [Pass & Evans] did together. This is not to say that they never worked together. Since they were both active during the same decades it would be hard to believe thier paths never crossed. Maybe somebody out there can shed a little light on this. ........joe

[339]

On Thursday, April 24, 2014 7:09:11 AM UTC-5, Paul wrote:
> I may have misunderstood him, but I thought a local pianist mentioned that Joe worked with Bill at some point. Maybe he meant to say that they only covered each others' compositions? Because I didn't find a Youtube video of them playing together.....

How My Heart Sings, by Peter Pettinger, is about the best source out there on Bill's playing career, and it also includes a comprehensive discography of his recordings. There is no mention anywhere in that book of Bill ever working or recording with Joe Pass. There are a ton of Evans bootleg recordings out there so I suppose it is possible, but I would tend to doubt it since their styles were so completely different.

[Paul]

Well, they both played Jazz at the highest levels, so if they did
ever collaborate, I'm sure it would have been outstanding.

It would be a shame if they never recorded at least one track
together....

[ott...@hotmail.com]

The closest to that concept might be the "Catch Me" Recording with Joe Pass and Clare Fischer.
They do a couple of Bill Evans' tunes E.G.: No Cover No Minimum and Walkin' Up
Very Nice album.

Bg

[van]

On Thursday, April 24, 2014 8:09:11 AM UTC-4, Paul wrote:

I doubt they ever played together, but who knows?
There's definitely no recordings of them.
Other than the two JF mentioned, other guitarists who recorded with BE as a sideman are:
Sam Brown
Dick Garcia
Barry Galbraith
Joe Puma
Other guitarists who played with him are:
Mundell Lowe
Lenny Breau
Bob Grillo
Jimmy Raney
Probably a few other NY guitarists back in the 50s.
I've been playing with a guy for the last five months who has been emulating BE for almost 50 years(!). He's even beginning to look like him!
He said that Helen Keane pretty much decided who he was going to record with on his LPs.

[TD]

It is said that Puma discovered him. They met at the racetrack.

[John Galich]

On Thursday, April 24, 2014 7:35:08 PM UTC-5, TD wrote:


> It is said that Puma discovered him. They met at the racetrack.

Another factoid..."Waltz for Debby" was written for Mundell Lowe's daughter. Evans was the pianist in one of Lowe's groups at the time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhRLObtZPQA


John Galich

[van]

Actually, they say Mundell Lowe discovered him. He heard him playing in Lousiana, where he went to college. He told BE to look him up in NY. Orrin Keepnews has a thing on youtube where he says in an interview that ML played a recording of BE over the phone to OK, and he heard something going on there, and signed him to Riverside.

[van]

While ML is credited with discovering him John, I don't know about that WFD story. I've read that he named it after his niece in a number of books.
I never trusted ML...; - )

[TD]

Yes, I heard that too. As for Puma, that wouldn't surprise me. He was a character.

[Gerry]

On 2014-04-24 15:37:46 +0000, somebody said:

> This is not to say that they never worked together. Since they were
> both active during the same decades it would be hard to believe thier
> paths never crossed.

I've heard people tell me that recovering junkies find it in their best
interests to avoid working with active junkies. That might have been
part of it. But predominantly Evans basically worked in a trio from
around 1959 on. Yes, he did a marvelous Symbiosis with Ogerman, a
couple with Tony Bennet and Toots Thielemans and others, but most of
his work was trio both live and in the studio. So there is a long list
of important musicians from 1960 till his death in 1980 that he never
worked with.

Though he died at the age of 51, he and Pass were both born in 1929.
While Evans was probably most lauded while in NY during the late 50's
and through the 60's; Pass was in LA and doing TV and touring as a
sideman through these years. Though Pass did great work with small
record labels, his name only became ubiquitous in the mid-70's with
Virtuoso, and his subsequent sideman work with Oscar Peterson and Ella
Fitzgerald. Then he became a mule for Pablo appearing on every damn
thing they recorded for a few years. At this point Evans was only a few
years from death.

It's true that they didn't play the same musical styles, but had they
worked together it would have been great stuff. Pass and Evans were
two of the most sympathetic players of their time; brilliant
accompanists and widely appreciated for that specific skill among many
others. I am not a fan of Oscar Peterson and though I love Pass, the
album they did together sounds to me like a juggling act, full of fast
and scary maneuvers but not much depth or introspection. That's my own
personal viewpoint and I know it will be madness for fans. Still, I
think Pass and Evans would have been vastly more interesting to me,
especially live, in a double-LP. Ah well...

 ---===---

"Waltz for Debbie" was written for his niece, it's stated almost
everywhere. Debby herself told me so directly while she excoriated me
for 3-5 usenet posts after I offered my viewpoint on musicans and
heroin.

I believe that great musicians saddled with heroin addictions can be
trapped in the music business by that addiction. With their options
narrowed by the habit and its illegality, they have the *possibility*
of becoming even greater, as opposed to, say going back to college and
getting a degree in law or medicine, or getting a job as a programmer.
These three specific options were the results for me and part of the
crew I played with in the 70's. A couple of the guys who became junkies
didn't have the opportunity and so they pursued whatever musical
avenues they could, or dealt dope themselves, until they both died.
Their years were filled with evictions, crashing on people's couches,
endless borrowing of money, and one dental or health crisis after
another. It was an utter misery, which seems to be on the rise again.

As for the rest of us, our end was seemingly even worse: We became amateurs.

--
Those who wish to sing always find a song. -- Swedish proverb

[van]

While I'm sure Pass and Evans would have been an interesting combination, I think that there are other guitarists that would have been a better fit, rhythmically, and stylistically.
Jon Raney said that Evans and Jimmy Raney played at a jazz workshop together, and it worked out extremely well.
However, the decision of whom Bill would record with lay in the hands of Helen Keane, who basically took care of all of BE's decisions in the biz.
I think Ed Bickert would've been another guitarist who would have worked out just as well as Raney.

[339]

On Monday, April 28, 2014 2:46:00 AM UTC-5, van wrote:
> On Sunday, April 27, 2014 2:35:02 PM UTC-4, Gerry wrote: > On 2014-04-24 15:37:46 +0000, somebody said: > > > > > This is not to say that they never worked together. Since they were > > > both active during the same decades it would be hard to believe thier > > > paths never crossed. > > > > I've heard people tell me that recovering junkies find it in their best > > interests to avoid working with active junkies. That might have been > > part of it. But predominantly Evans basically worked in a trio from > > around 1959 on. Yes, he did a marvelous Symbiosis with Ogerman, a > > couple with Tony Bennet and Toots Thielemans and others, but most of > > his work was trio both live and in the studio. So there is a long list > > of important musicians from 1960 till his death in 1980 that he never > > worked with. > > > > Though he died at the age of 51, he and Pass were both born in 1929. > > While Evans was probably most lauded while in NY during the late 50's > > and through the 60's; Pass was in LA and doing TV and touring as a > > sideman through these years. Though Pass did great work with small > > record labels, his name only became ubiquitous in the mid-70's with > > Virtuoso, and his subsequent sideman work with Oscar Peterson and Ella > > Fitzgerald. Then he became a mule for Pablo appearing on every damn > > thing they recorded for a few years. At this point Evans was only a few > > years from death. > > > > It's true that they didn't play the same musical styles, but had they > > worked together it would have been great stuff. Pass and Evans were > > two of the most sympathetic players of their time; brilliant > > accompanists and widely appreciated for that specific skill among many > > others. I am not a fan of Oscar Peterson and though I love Pass, the > > album they did together sounds to me like a juggling act, full of fast > > and scary maneuvers but not much depth or introspection. That's my own > > personal viewpoint and I know it will be madness for fans. Still, I > > think Pass and Evans would have been vastly more interesting to me, > > especially live, in a double-LP. Ah well... > > > >  ---===--- > > > > "Waltz for Debbie" was written for his niece, it's stated almost > > everywhere. Debby herself told me so directly while she excoriated me > > for 3-5 usenet posts after I offered my viewpoint on musicans and > > heroin. > > > > I believe that great musicians saddled with heroin addictions can be > > trapped in the music business by that addiction. With their options > > narrowed by the habit and its illegality, they have the *possibility* > > of becoming even greater, as opposed to, say going back to college and > > getting a degree in law or medicine, or getting a job as a programmer. > > These three specific options were the results for me and part of the > > crew I played with in the 70's. A couple of the guys who became junkies > > didn't have the opportunity and so they pursued whatever musical > > avenues they could, or dealt dope themselves, until they both died. > > Their years were filled with evictions, crashing on people's couches, > > endless borrowing of money, and one dental or health crisis after > > another. It was an utter misery, which seems to be on the rise again. > > > > As for the rest of us, our end was seemingly even worse: We became amateurs. > > > > -- > > Those who wish to sing always find a song. -- Swedish proverb While I'm sure Pass and Evans would have been an interesting combination, I think that there are other guitarists that would have been a better fit, rhythmically, and stylistically. Jon Raney said that Evans and Jimmy Raney played at a jazz workshop together, and it worked out extremely well. However, the decision of whom Bill would record with lay in the hands of Helen Keane, who basically took care of all of BE's decisions in the biz. I think Ed Bickert would've been another guitarist who would have worked out just as well as Raney.

I think BE and Jim Hall had worked and recorded together when they both taught at Lennox in 1959. In my opinion those two had a similar sensibility about the music. There was also one occasion mentioned in the Pettinger book when the BE trio lost their drummer and Hall sat in on guitar for the last week or so of the gig. Chuck Israels swore it was outstanding and should definitely have been recorded. I'm not saying Raney or Pass wouldn't have been great with Evans just that Hall and BE seemed to be a pretty natural musical partnership.

[van]

No doubt in my mind that Hall and Evans weren't perfect for each other.

[thomas]

On Sunday, April 27, 2014 2:35:02 PM UTC-4, Gerry wrote:

I think JP and BE were already both obssessive practicers and accomplished musicians before they became junkies.

[Garvin Yee]

You never really know how the chemistry will be. Opposites might
compliment each other better.

But I'm sure Evans and Pass would have made an awesome recording....

--
https://www.flickr.com/photos/34735015@N03/sets/72157623566520134/

http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/garvin+yee/all

[van]

At our weekly Bill Evans 'Channeling Sessions', we usually take a break, and go over the BE stories we've heard.
Our drummer (whose stories are not necessarily reliable) said that he heard that BE became a junkie, because Philly Joe Jones told him he was speeding up on some tunes.
Bill asked him what he could do to correct that problem.

Philly Joe took him to a secluded place, and pulled out a needle.

He said something like, "Here, you just take one shot of this, and you'll be groovin' in no time!"