Bill Evans: How My Heart Sings

Victor Verney

Contributing Editor since 2006

former sailor, steelworker, musician, professor & journalist turned freelance writer

Recent articles (34 total)

Published: May 19, 2006

While Evans thus paid a steep price, literally and figuratively, to play for The Chief, his work with Davis firmly established his reputation and, perversely, his self-esteem. Evans was "brutally self-critical," according to Keepnews, who used to joke about "forming a Demon Band of musicians who never thought they were good enough, never thought they had got it right." (Along with Evans, Keepnews' hypothetical combo would have included Sonny Rollins on saxophone, J.J. Johnson on trombone, and Wes Montgomery on guitar).

At one point, Evans' own ambivalence about being a professional performer went so far as to lead him to the psychiatrist's couch to find out if that was what he really wanted to do. Under the influence of truth serum, he invariably answered "yes." But when Davis chose to him to fill what was then the most coveted piano chair in jazz, Evans was validated to himself. Evans realized that if he was to respect Davis and his ability to judge musical talent, it then followed that he had to respect Davis' opinion of him as a musician.

There is a final paradox about Evans, that applies to How My Heart Sings as well. Casual fans not only do not need to read Evans' biography in order to enjoy his music, they may well find that the book detracts from that enjoyment. Many who have read biographies of famous musicians, painters and writers regret doing so—the tawdry details and unseemly anecdotes about the artist may serve to detract from their enjoyment of the art.

However, as Gopnik astutely noted, Evans has no casual fans—and no one knew this better than Evans himself. In a 1980 interview, shortly before his death, Evans said: "I think some young people want a deeper experience. Some people just wanna be hit over the head and, you know, if then they [get] hit hard enough maybe they'll feel something. ... But some people want to get inside of something and discover, maybe, more richness. And I think it will always be the same; they're not going to be the great percentage of the people. A great percentage of the people don't want a challenge. They want something to be done to them. ... But there'll always be maybe 15 percent that desire something more, and they'll search it out ...."

Evans' comments seem prescient today in light of the overblown stage pyrotechnics, brutish gangsta sensibilities and sheer sledgehammer quality of so much music being listened to by young people today. The overwhelming majority of them have little or no interest in Evans' music, and by extension they will have little or no interest in Pettinger's book.

Like Evans' music, How My Heart Sings is for the 15%.

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