Miles Davis & Bill Evans on "Star Eyes"
With digital technology comes the luxury of easily being able to listen without interruption to a series of interpretations of the same standard. This was a feature of iTunes that I'd been aware of but had never really exploited until fairly recently. Aside from learning tunes and checking out what changes different players used, I hadn't done it strictly for the pleasure of listening—for the pleasure of hearing the same song being worked through in different keys, tempi, etc.
Two solos on "Star Eyes" stood out especially when I was playing this game once: young Miles's with Bird from 1951, and a Bill Evans trio version with Eddie Gomez and Shelly Manne from the mid-'60s. Like the "Now's the Time" solo that Red Garland quotes in block chords on "Straight, No Chaser" on Milestones, Miles's "Star Eyes" solo has an eminently singable quality that makes it a real earworm; Bill's solo is more ornate and features those trademark triplet-y lines that weave accents with and against the grain of the time.
Miles Davis on "Star Eyes" (1951)
C
Bb
Eb
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Bill Evans on "Star Eyes" (1966)
C
Bb
Eb
Hi Kevin,
ReplyDeleteGreat work on the blog man! Keep it up! I look forward to visiting again.
-Camden Hughes
www.LearnJazzStandards.com
Glad you dig it. Thanks for reading.
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