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Saxophonist and friends brewing a rare blend in Soulgrass
photo courtesy of Bill Evans
Bill Evans and his band are on tour.
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Published: November 13, 2008
Saxophonist Bill Evans was virtually unknown in the jazz world when he was hired by the late trumpet player Miles Davis in 1980. Davis had decided to emerge from a self-imposed five-year retirement during which he indulged in all manner of bad habits and nefarious behavior -- everything that he found pleasurable except playing music.
Davis' chops were rusty. And Evans, a brilliant player but essentially untested, was hired, not just to help the contrary Davis make his return, but to pick all the players for the band.
No pressure there.
"(Saxophonist) Dave Liebman, who had played with Miles just before Miles disappeared, had recommended me to him," Evans said. "That was enough for Miles. I talked to Miles, he tells me what he's thinking about musically, then tells me to make it happen. So I asked around for recommendations, and I get guitarists John Scofield and Mike Stern. and (bassist) Marcus Miller, among others. Then I exhaled."
Evans worked with Davis for four years, establishing his own place in the jazz pantheon while contributing to such Davis albums as The Man With the Golden Horn, We Want Miles and Decoy.
Davis' affection for Evans is well-documented. Their relationship, as described by Davis, is given particularly prominent play in Miles by Miles, a new and revelatory book of Davis interviews.
Evans' time with Davis taught him many things, but he said that several have served him particularly well. "You have to be yourself as a player, and you have to go at your performance the best you can every time out," Evans said.
"You don't pay attention to outsiders who tell you what is right and wrong, what you are supposed to do. Push the music in your way, then let it evolve.
"And along the way, pay attention to the names of new players you hear about again and again. There is a reason you hear their names."
Evans is schooled in the styles of John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. He is respected for his ability to adapt. He has worked as a sideman for a startling array of people -- Mick Jagger, John McLaughlin, Willie Nelson, Herbie Hancock. He co-runs a band, Soulbop, with trumpet player Randy Brecker, that leans toward the funky side of improvisational music.
But his main focus is on Bill Evans Soulgrass, a genre-busting fusion of bluegrass, Appalachian music, jazz and funk.
"I see it as different languages communicating in a new way," Evans said. "Improvisation is common to jazz and bluegrass, so that is a meeting place. What I am doing here is trying to integrate the more advanced harmonic sophistication of jazz within music that converses through improvisation that comes from two different backgrounds."
He laughed and said, "What we are doing is playing music that is uncomfortable to the point that it becomes comfortable."
The roots of the band go back to 2006, when Evans released an album, Soulgrass, recorded with such bluegrass and roots-music upstarts as Bela Fleck, Victor Wooten and Bruce Hornsby.
He then began to delve deeper into fusing what he calls "America's two most important forms of music." In addition to banjoist Fleck, he has performed and recorded with dobroist Jerry Douglas, whom Evans calls "one of the finest and most inventive musicians I have ever worked with," and mandolinist Sam Bush, who is performing as a member of Soulgrass for the tour that brings that band to North Carolina.
Evans is by no means the first musician to try to fuse the core elements of bluegrass and jazz -- attempts can be traced back to mandolinist David Grisman's "Dawg music," The Dixie Dregs in the 1970s and Bela Fleck & The Flecktones in the 1990s. But Evans feels that his approach is different.
Touring is hard -- the band goes out on short runs -- and there is little interest from record companies in signing a band that is so experimental. "In America, we work this band on a small scale," said Evans, who works Soulgrass, and more conventional jazz bands, at least 100 days a year in Europe. "But one promoter tells another promoter, one fan tells another fan, and the momentum builds. I have to remember that, here, I am working in a world in which I am a nonentity.
"It wasn't that long ago that there were no drums in a bluegrass situation -- much less a saxophone. And using bluegrass musicians to play jazz -- that just gets the jazz police all (ticked) off."
Evans assembled Soulgrass using a lesson learned from Davis -- word of mouth. Fleck and jazz guitarist McLaughlin recommended Ryan Cavanaugh, who plays banjo (and is a longtime resident of Carrboro). Word of mouth brought in bassist Dave Anderson, fiddler Christian Howes and drummer Joel Rosenblatt.
"I love playing with these guys and am really proud of this band, as they aren't afraid to push me as hard as I push them," Evans said. "Every performance is a pleasure and surprise, and it's not often you can say that. And with Sam (Bush) joining us, anything can happen"
He paused. "This is band that people who love music will love," he said. "All these people can really play." He laughed and said, "And they don't care what you call the music."
See live video of the band on Evans' Web site, www.billevanssax.com.
If you go
Bill Evans Soulgrass will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro. Tickets are $18, $22 at the door. Visit www.catscradle.com or call (919) 967-9053.
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