Gil Evans's Jazz Archive Acquired by Library of Congress
Gil Evans' arrangement for Miles Davis of Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo
The Library of Congress has acquired the complete collection of music manuscripts of jazz bandleader, arranger, pianist and composer Gil Evans.
Evans (1912-1988) was one of the greatest orchestrators in the history of jazz, celebrated for his collaborations with jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader Miles Davis. Evans was inducted into the Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1986 and awarded the 1960 Grammy for Best Jazz Composition for Sketches of Spain (with Miles Davis), and a 1989 Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album for Bud and Bird.
“We are grateful that the Gil Evans hand-written scores, sketches and lead sheets have been placed at the Library of Congress, where his brilliant work will be preserved,” said Miles Evans, son of Gil Evans. “We are thrilled that scholars, researchers and musicians will be able to access his innovative masterpieces within the Music Division for generations to come.”
The archive contains a huge collection of Evans’ compositions and arrangements, much of it in his own handwriting. The collection includes around 350 scores, 35 lead sheets, five music sketches, and 50 instrumental parts for works Evans created for recording projects between 1947 and 1987.
The collection also features approximately 160 scores, 20 lead sheets, and 35 instrumental parts for pieces that were never recorded. This is the first time that these items are publicly available for researchers to discover and access. Additionally, the collection includes 14 boxes of professionally copied scores (not in Evans's hand), an extensive collection of lead sheets that Evans called his 'Fake Book', and one large manuscript sketchbook.
The collection showcases the breadth of Evans' musical interest, containing his arrangements of works by popular jazz songwriters including Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, W.C. Handy, Jimi Hendrix, Huddie Ledbetter ("Leadbelly"), Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Jelly Roll Morton, Charlie Parker, and Fats Waller. The collection features the arrangements for a live performance by Sting with Evans and his orchestra which resulted in the album Last Session - Live At Perugia Jazz Festival, July 11, 1987 which did turn out to be Evans’s last session.
Other items in the archive highlight Evans’s arrangements of songs by many composers known for their work on Broadway and in Hollywood including Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Arthur Schwartz, and Jule Styne.
"Gil Evans had a multi-faceted impact on jazz in the 20th century," said Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres, acting chief of the Library's Music Division. "His distinctive artistic voice earned him a place in the pantheon of jazz greats. We are especially pleased to bring his musical legacy to the Library where researchers can explore the connections between Evans’ significant oeuvre and the musical legacies of many of his collaborators and influences."
