NOTES & NEWS

March 2012: Youn can read an article I wrote for "Clavier Companion" where I answer the question: "How do you decipher rhythms when transcribing the recordings of Bill Evans ?" www.claviercompanion.com April-March, pages 58, 59, 60

February-March 2012: Still transcribing, I have achieved two complete transcriptions: h - "Some Other Time" from The Bill Evans album: "Everybody Digs Bill Evans", with its famous left-hand ostinato used again in "Peace Piece" - "Valentine", a nice composition by Fred Hersch played as an encore at the end of his concert in Barcelona, October 2010.

December 5, 2011 The creation of "Exercice de Concert" (Martial Solal-Pascal Wetzel) has been given by pianist Eric Ferrand N'Kaoua at the end of a beautiful concert "From Franz Liszt to Martial Solal" at Théâtre du Gymnase in Paris.

June 2011

I achieved the complete sheet music of a piano piece by the french virtuoso Martial Solal, entitled : "Exercice de Concert" ("Concert Exercise"), 17 pages of music, very much in the manner of his piano "Etudes" already published.. Many notes as usual with Martial, who plays with bitonality all through, and a real challenge for the transcriber.

September 2010

Enrico Pieranunzi has organized on September 4 & 5 a colloquy on Bill Evans during the Ischia Jazz Festival (Italy). The participants were: Vittorio Castelnuovo, journalist, Ludovic Florin, musicologist, Claudio Sessa, jazz historian, Enrico Pieranunzi, and myself. An opportunity to share different outlooks on Bill Evans's music. Thanks, Enrico!

March 2010

The brilliant Fred Hersch made in 1990 an album-tribute to Bill Evans: "Evanessence". A remarkable soloist, he also excels as a partner of singers. I made the complete transcription of his accompaniment for Janis Siegel in For No One, the Beatles song - "the centerpiece of the album" says Fred - arranged for their CD: "Slow Hot Wind"(1995).

June 2009

I achieved recently the complete transcription of People the long and superb piano solo (13:26) from "Alone Again" remarkable for at least one reason: Bill Evans doesn't improvise at all but play the theme not less than eight times, alternating the keys of Bb and E (tritone relationship). Twice he is near to conclude, but he changes his mind and goes on in a different mood and tempo. His left hand supports in a masterly manner the full harmonic treatment given to the piece that can be considered to be the touch-stone of this splendid album.The transcription was a real challenge: twenty pages of music played rubato, with some very fast left-hand lines.

I have finished in 2008 the complete transcription of Never Let Me Go, the very long and wonderful piano solo from "Bill Evans Alone" recorded October 21, 1968 (I had transcribed the first theme only for my first book, "The Artistry of Bill Evans"): twenty-three pages for a 14mn28 masterpiece.

I did also -Feb. 2009- the complete transcription (sixteen pages) of a 10mn piano solo: Danny Boy, the traditional irish theme played by Bill Evans in three different keys: Bb, B, and F, a device he used quite often to revive the interest. This solo was recorded April 4 or 10,1962, and released on the album "Conception".

I have completed the transcriptions of four tunes from You Must Believe In Spring: The Peacocks, Gary's Theme and Theme From M*A*S*H. (complete transcriptions) and the bonus track Without A Song (Theme only). So I have transcribed the entire album , one of the greatest Evans trio recordings: it would make a great book !

My transcriptions of I Loves You Porgy, Waltz For Debby and Reflections in D by Bill Evans have been played by the french pianist Eric Ferrand N'Kaoua at the end of his concert in Grenoble (France) on december 13, 2007. The program included works by Bach, Scriabine, Chopin, Gershwin and transcriptions of Oscar Peterson