Matt Jernigan

Music Theory April 22, 2014

Greg Kettinger

Ramsey Lewis and Bill Evans were and are two prolific jazz piano players
whose careers transpired along the same time. Equal in virtuosity, Bill and Ramsey
had very distinct styles and progressed the music in different ways. And within all of
their differences they have a series of similarities.
Bill Evans both stuck to a trio setting for their own respective careers.
Although at a time Bill recorded three solo albums. The first album Bill Evans
recorded with his trio comprised of Paul Motian and Scott LaFaro is titled Portrait in
Jazz (1960). He recorded it after playing as a sideman on Miles Daviss Kind of Blue
album. Most of the tracks on the album come from songbooks. The two exceptions
are Peris Scope and Blue and Green. These two exceptions because Peris
Scope becomes one of his most famous compositions and Blue and Green is a
composition that is part of an album that greatly influenced the direction of jazz.
Ramsey Lewiss 1960 album Stretching Out is comprised of songbook tunes, new
jazz standards, traditional folk songs, and an original. This album contrasts Portrait
in Jazz due to its wide-ranging collection of songs and feels. Where Bill Evans sticks
to a straight ahead jazz approach on Portrait in Jazz, the feels on Stretching Out are
heavily dictated by the vibe of the song.
The same can be said about Ramsey Lewiss album More Songs From the Soil
released the following year. This album is heavily influenced by the blues, swing,
and church. This album is comprised of standards and original compositions. Bill
Evans 1961 Album Explorations stays has a more a much more modern sound to it.
Whereas Ramseys music sounds more rooted in tradition. Bill Evans album is

contains straight ahead jazz standards that were relatively new at the time and
most importantly Nardis. This recording becomes one of the most famous
recordings of this song. One observation I have made about the sound of Bill Evans
Trio and Ramsey Lewiss Trio is that they both have a tendency to embody a
particular side of jazz. Ramsey Lewis is deeply rooted in a traditional jazz sound yet
combines that with the popular music or grooves at the time to progress his sound.
Bill Evans on the other hand has a more modern, straight-ahead sound and draws
inspiration from Miles and other such groups to progress his sound. Such can be
seen in Ramsey Lewiss albums: Bossa Nova (1962), The In Crowd (1965), and Sun
Godess (1974) and Bill Evans albums: Waltz For Debby (1964), The Bill Evans
Album (1971), and We Will Meet Again (1979).