Castles Made of Sound: The Story of Gil Evans

by Larry Hicock

Gil Evans was once described by Miles Davis as "the greatest musician in the world," yet he has remained one of the least known and most underrated innovators in jazz. Revered by generations of musicians, Evans created a unique sound, drawing from such diverse inspirations as Duke Ellington, Claude Debussy, Charlie Parker, Cecil Taylor, and Jimi Hendrix. Best known for his collaboration with Miles Davis on albums such as Birth of the Cool and...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0306809451
• ISBN13: 9780306809453
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A solid work

I haven't read the Crease bio, so I can't compare, but this is a solid work which provides a clear and well organized picture of Evan's personal and professional life, and how he was an amazingly laid-back and un-ambitious character, almost zen-like. Particularily well-described is his philosophy of his post-'69 bands, where he developed the philosophy of the "leaderless band", and where he even hated to count in the band. A strength of the book is it's many interviews with musicians who played with Evans, and it is here where we get a sharply delineated image of Evans the man: he clearly was much admired and loved, and was valued as much for his life-lessons as he was for his musical genius. If the book has a weakness, it's in the lack of penetrating insight into the music itself (for that one must search out Max Harrison's "Sheer alchemy, for a while" found in Bill Kirchner's Miles Davis Reader). Still, I've learned a lot about Evans, and have a much better feeling for the music and the man after reading this work; I'll give it a four.