He was called the Poet of the Piano, and the Chopin of Jazz, this week Donald Macleod delves into the life and music of Bill Evans. Although Evans started off in the world of classical music, it wasn't long before he got the Jazz bug. His classical training wasn't wasted though, for it went on to influence the way he performed for the rest of his life. His touch at the piano became legendary, and his preferred ensemble for performing his own compositions, and those by others, was the Jazz trio combining piano, bass and drums. Evans came to prominence when invited to work alongside Miles Davis and, in time, Evans would go on to perform with the likes of Tony Bennett, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, Stan Getz and Monica Zetterlund.

Family was very important to the composer Bill Evans. His earliest musical influences came from his mother, and his most famous work, Waltz for Debbie, was inspired by his niece. Evans won a scholarship to Southeastern Louisiana University, and around the same period he composed his earliest known composition, 'Very Early'. After a brief spell in the army, and by the time he was twenty-six, Evans recorded an album called New Jazz Conceptions, which included his new work, 'No Cover, No Minimum'. Bill Evans was starting to make quite a name for himself, and then came the call from Miles Davis offering Evans the chance of performing alongside the legendary trumpeter and his ensemble. Show less