Original Compositions Inspired by the Genius of Bill Evans' Compositions

This dissertation analyzes diverse compositions by Bill Evans to create a deeper understanding of his creative methodologies and techniques. The knowledge gained generated the musical data which inspired my creation of a collection of original compositions for solo piano. Evans musical style is considered by many jazz aficionados as a benchmark standard that greatly influenced the evolution of jazz. His knowledge of the four centuries of music preceding his works was broad and his compositional techniques were of the highest intellectual order (Reilly 2010, ix). Unlike many of the jazz professionals of his day, he was academically educated and achieved a Bachelor of Music degree at Southeastern Louisiana College (Shadwick 2002, 51) with later graduate studies in composition at Mannes College of Music (Pettinger 1998, 24). Evans composed over fifty original works and received much critical acclaim, including seven Grammy Awards, eleven nominations, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994, and induction into the Downbeat Hall of Fame in 1981. In this dissertation, Evans composition techniques were explored to identify trends and patterns to lead to a deeper understanding of his methods. The first step was to select diverse works for intense study from Evans fifty original pieces. The in-depth musical analysis used the LaRue model to analyze sound, harmony, melody, rhythm, and growth (i.e. SHMRG); Schenkerian analysis to investigate the structure; and a unique data-driven methodology to compare chord/scale relationships. The selections chosen for analysis covered a broad range, from the more obscure to his best known characteristics. The distillation of Evans technique through this in-depth analysis of seven pieces was an enlightening experience to advance my compositional skills, and a powerful inspiration for my seven original compositions. This dissertation expands the knowledge in the field of music as follows. Evans use of formulaic composition is explored with examples presented with respect to melody, rhythm, harmonic logic, and elaboration. The use of Schenkerian analysis on the seven inspirational pieces is unique and identifies the formulaic structure of these pieces. My creative processes are also shared and presented in parallel with my seven original pieces.