Gil Evans

The Profile

Gil Evans (1912–1988) was a Canadian jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. A key architect of modern orchestral jazz, he collaborated with Miles Davis on Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess, and Sketches of Spain, and led acclaimed projects such as Out of the Cool and The Individualism of Gil Evans.

Canadian-born arranger, composer, and pianist; central collaborator with Miles Davis (Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess, Sketches of Spain); influential bandleader on Out of the Cool, The Individualism of Gil Evans, and There Comes a Time; a defining figure in cool jazz, post-bop, and third stream.

Anecdotal, elegiac riff sparked by Gil Evans’ Out of the Cool, circling around Jimmy Knepper’s life, a notorious Mingus punch, and a courtroom exchange about the label “jazz musician.” The piece closes as a farewell to Knepper, tying the mood to “Where Flamingos Fly.” Rated 3/5.