Gil Evans - 1975 - There Comes a Time

Gil Evans

1975

There Comes a Time

01. King Porter Stomp 3:48

02. There Comes A Time 16:10

03. Makes Her Move 1:25

04. Little Wing 5:03

05. The Meaning Of The Blues 5:51

06. Aftermath The Fourth Movement Children Of The Fire 5:45

07. Anita's Dance 2:53

Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute – David Sanborn

Baritone Saxophone, Bass Clarinet – Howard Johnson

Celesta, Timpani, Congas, Cowbell – Sue Evans

Drums – Tony Williams (tracks: A1, A3 to B4)

Drums – Bruce Ditmas (tracks: A2)

Electric Bass – Herb Bushler (tracks: A1, A3 to B4)

Electric Bass – Paul Metzke (tracks: A2)

Electric Guitar – Ryo Kawasaki

French Horn – John Clark

French Horn – Pete Levin

French Horn – Peter Gordon

Percussion [Vibes], Marimba, Chimes, Gong, Drum – Warren Smith

Percussion, Tabla, Cuica – Bruce Ditmas

Piano, Electric Piano, Percussion – Gil Evans

Steel Guitar, Synthesizer [Drums], Bells – Joe Gallivan

Synthesizer – Paul Metzke

Synthesizer, Organ – David Horowitz

Synthesizer, Organ – Pete Levin

Synthesizer, Piccolo Flute – Tom Malone

Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Billy Harper

Tenor Saxophone, Flute – George Adams

Trombone – Joe Daley, Tom Malone

Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Ernie Royal

Flugelhorn – Lew Soloff

Trumpet, Koto, Vocals – Hannibal Marvin Peterson

Tuba – Bob Stewart (tracks: A1 to B1, B4)

Tuba – Howard Johnson

Tuba – Joe Daley (tracks: B2, B3)

Tuba – Tom Malone

This CD reissue of Gil Evans' There Comes a Time differs greatly from the original LP of the same name. Not only are there three previously unreleased performances ("Joy Spring," "So Long," and "Buzzard Variation"), but "The Meaning of the Blues" has been expanded from six minutes to 20, and two numbers, "Little Wing" and "Aftermath the Fourth Movement/Children of the Fire," have been dropped (the former was reissued on Evans' Jimi Hendrix tribute album) and the remaining four tracks were re-edited and remixed under Evans' direction. So in reality, this 1987 CD was really a "new" record when it came out. The remake of "King Porter Stomp," with altoist David Sanborn in Cannonball Adderley's spot, is a classic. The "new" version of "The Meaning of the Blues" is memorable, and overall the music (which also has solos by Billy Harper and George Adams on tenors, along with trumpeter Lew Soloff) is quite rewarding, it's a creative big band fusion that expertly mixes together acoustic and electric instruments. This was one of Gil Evans' last truly great sets.

Fifteen years or so after the arrangements for Miles Davis and his own Out of the Cool album, Gil Evans' music shows continuities but also marked differences with his earlier work. The differences: with the electric bass, the electric guitars and synthesisers, Evans has been electrocuted: electric noise permeates this album; secondly, in the albums with Davis, Evans' music always seemed arranged, completely and utterly arranged, there was one one sensibility controlling the orchestra and the music could almost be considered as a series of duets between Evans and Miles Davis - now the control has been loosened, Evans has become more of a leader, a director, rather than the arranger controlling every note: it feels as though the charts have been put away: the result is a sense of roughness, at times almost of chaos, much of the music being a thick, untidy, messy noise. The couple of shorter tracks seem little more than ideas for future projects (although Anita's Dance in almost three minutes long - Louis Armstrong or Charlie Parker could use the same time to record a piece of music that revolutionised the form); then there are three middle sized tracks: Evans's arrangement of Jimmy Hendrix's Little Wing (on a review of Hendrix I pondered how good a singer he was, compared to Hannibal Peterson's vocals here he was superb), Jelly Roll Morton's King Porter Stomp (interesting to compare this with Evans's late 1950s recording of this tune: but this version suffers through Dave Sanborn's slightly frantic alto playing, which doesn't compare well with Cannonball Adderley's playing on the earlier recording) and, best of all, Hannibal Peterson's Children of the Fire. But it is the two long tracks - There Comes a Time and The Meaning of the Blues - that this album is at its best. One of the advantages of the CD reissue is that there is a fuller version of The Meaning of the Blues (while I can't help thinking that the 16 minute There Comes a Time could have done with some pruning, the simple and constant bass line becoming very tedious after a while). These two tracks (and the long bonus track on the CD: So Long) remind me of Miles Davis's music around the Big Fun time: they are big, impressive, but seem to float along, lacking any great sense of purpose: it's like walking across a broad plain where the views are impressive but you are not sure if there is anything up ahead. The two tenor players, Billy Harper and George Adams, are the most impressive musicians; but guitarist Ryo Kawasaki is perhaps the most representative, his playing has at times an earthy, grimy, primordial feel, but at other times it just seems a muddy muddle that confuses the sound into a brown mud pie.