Although a title like The Individualism of Gil Evans might have you imagining a solo showcase from the pianist, the album actually presents Gil Evans—also an accomplished composer, arranger, and conductor—in full command of a dozens-strong big band. Released in 1964, it’s now getting a fresh vinyl pressing as the latest entry in Verve audiophile-friendly Verve Vault series.
Verve Vault releases feature all-analog 180-gram vinyl pressings newly-mastered from the original analog master tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound and pressed at Optimal in Germany. The reissue will be out July 10. Preorders are live now.
Evans and his band recorded The Individualism of Gil Evans at sessions throughout 1963 and 1964 with producer Creed Taylor. It would go on to earn a Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Jazz Performance – Large Group or Soloist With Large Group. Core contributors to the project included Johnny Coles, Steve Lacy, Jimmy Cleveland, Tony Studd, Bill Barber, Elvin Jones, and Paul Chambers. The credits also feature names like Eric Dolphy, Wayne Shorter, Phil Woods, and Kenny Burrell.
Evans wrote two of the five tracks, “Time of the Barracudas” and “Flute Song/Hotel Me,” with none other than Miles Davis. The two musicians went way back, including the 1949 and 1950 sessions later collected for Birth of the Cool (1957) and a trio of acclaimed Davis albums arranged by Evans, Miles Ahead (1957), Porgy and Bess (1958), and Sketches of Spain (1960). The rest of the repertoire includes the Evans originals “Las Vegas Tango” and “El Toreador” plus Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s “The Barbara Song.”
In his review at AllMusic Guide, critic Scott Yanow heaped praise upon The Individualism of Gil Evans, classifying the album as a rare glimpse into a fertile period for Evans. “Highly recommended to Gil Evans fans; it is a pity he did not record more during this era,” Yanow wrote.
