The Harmony of Bill Evans

This book is unique in a couple of ways. It is a compilation of articles on how Bill Evans used harmony. Obviously, Evans' extensive studies in college and beyond went far beyond what one thin book can cover, but it does what it does efficiently and well. The author is an unabashedly effusive fan of Evans and throws this energy into the work to make it as clear and understandable as possible.Articles include:Peri's Scope-Harmonic Analysis (includes Evans' intensive regimen for learning new songs)Peri's Scope-Thematic Analysis (good discussion of developing a musical theme)Times Remembered-Harmonic AnalysisTimes Remembered-Modal AnalysisTimes Remembered-Intervalic Analysis"Funny Man" and "I Should Care" (lots of practical discussion of reharmonization techniquesI Fall in Love Too Easily (more reharmonization)Twelve Tone Tune (probably of more academic than practical interest)How Deep is the Ocean (advanced reharmonization)B Minor Waltz (more advanced reharmonization)For instant gratification, the book provides a rigorous method for learning new songs. For reassurance, it reminds the reader of how much Bill Evans worked on songs before they were "battle ready" and how long the author took to work out fingerings to one Evans song (eight months). It is amazing that jazz musicians have any time to perform at all, given all the techniques they have to learn. For future reference, the book constantly trumpets the virtue of Arnold Schoenberg's 1911 Theory of Harmony, the influence of which is pointed out periodically in Evans' work.The book presents articles in a fairly logical order of increasing difficulty. It is presented in a fashion easily understandable to me, who knows a good deal of theory, but has no degree in music.The bad news is, this book will not have an instant and noticeable effect on your piano playing. The good news is, this book is by a highly skilled, true blue Evans fan, who provides enough material to keep most musicians of above-average skill very busy for a long time. Plus, with careful reading and intensive practice, the book should eventually move the dedicated Evans fan a few steps closer to understanding how to play a bit more like him.I may be a little hard giving this bargain of a music book only four stars. Except for the author's "groupie" tone, the lack of instant magic for my piano playing, and lack of chapters on my favorite tunes, this book would rate five stars from me. It definitely gets my recommendation for people seeking what it offers.

This book, though well done, reads more like an academic Master's thesis than a truly "helpful" book. If you've been schooled in jazz theory, it won't be hard to follow the logic of the tunes' analyses; without a strong theory background, however, you'll probably get lost rather quickly. But at some point with these kinds of (academic) books - and there are WAY too many of them out there - you have to wonder how much of this stuff is helpful, how much of it is MUSICAL, and how much of it is academic simply for academic sake. "How many ways is it mathematically possible to dissect this particular tune?" For example, if Wes Montgomery begins a musical phrase with an Eb note over a C minor chord, is Wes "thinking" of it as the third of the C minor chord, or the ninth of a tritone substitution for the G7 chord, or the fifth of an Ab Major 7 chord? Does it matter... as long as it's "musical" and sounds good, as long as it "works?" I found Jack Reilly's book to be a little too immersed in hero worship, and despite his best intentions, more of an oddity than the helpful book I was expecting. If you really want to understand reharmonization, etc., in a way that is both musical AND helpful, try Mark Levine's "The Jazz Piano Book." By the way, I'm a guitarist.

I am not through yet, but the author did a good job explaining Bill Evans. So far I am studying it and I love it.

pretty thin on content

Fab

Too much about Reilly!

See comment under Vol 2 review.These volumes I'm finding are not only fascinating,but of inestimable value in my return effort to jazz piano.

I bought this as a gift for my brother, who is a jazz musician. He absolutely loves it! Great book!

The lack of proof reading in all of Reilly's books (including this one) make them almost useless. Sad.

Loved it ! It really helped me with my success of my piano playing !

Even as a highly accomplished and experienced professional jazz pianist, this book is a real challenge. This is because the book eloquently exposes the breathtaking depth of Bill Evans musical visions through application, beautifully and expertly explained and illustrated by Jack Reilly. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. This is a highly specialised work for advanced players who have done their wood-shedding and then some. Good luck peeps!

El libro está bien estructurado, con contenidos comprensibles y abundantes ejemplos en formato de partitura. Con la ventaja de poder leerlo en cualquier dispositivo.

The perfect book of harmony to understand the spirit of bill evans, but in the same time, the spirit of jazz and harmony, a must-have book that every musician need to get !