The Gil Evans Orchestra Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix

Summary

The Gil Evans Orchestra Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix is an album of Jimi Hendrix's compositions by jazz composer, conductor and pianist Gil Evans. The music was arranged by Evans and members of his orchestra. The album was recorded in 1974 and performed by Evans with an orchestra featuring David Sanborn, Howard Johnson, Billy Harper, and John Abercrombie.[1] The album was re-released with additional tracks on CD in 1988.[2]

The Gil Evans Orchestra Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix
Studio album by
Gil Evans Orchestra
Released1974
Recorded11, 12 & 13 June 1974
Length74:33 Reissue with bonus tracks
LabelRCA CPL1-0667
ProducerGil Evans
Gil Evans chronology
Svengali
(1973)
The Gil Evans Orchestra Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix
(1974)
Montreux Jazz Festival '74
(1975)

Reception edit

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4½ stars stating "Evans' arrangements uplift many of Hendrix's more blues-oriented compositions and create a memorable set that is rock-oriented but retains the improvisation and personality of jazz".[3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic     [3]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide     [4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings    [5]

Track listing edit

All compositions by Jimi Hendrix

  1. "Angel" – 4:09 (arr. by Tom Malone)
  2. "Crosstown Traffic / Little Miss Lover" – 6:32 (arr. by Tom Malone)
  3. "Castles Made of Sand (arr. by Gil Evans) / Foxey Lady" (arr. by Warren Smith) – 11:26
  4. "Up from the Skies" [Take 1 – Original Master] – 9:16 (arr. by Gil Evans)
  5. "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" – 7:32 (arr. by David Horowitz)
  6. "Voodoo Child" – 5:02 (arr. by Howard Johnson)
  7. "Gypsy Eyes" – 3:40 (arr. by Trevor Koehler)
  8. "Little Wing" – 5:33 Bonus track on CD reissue (arr. by Gil Evans)
  9. "Up from the Skies" [Take 2 – Alternate Take] – 9:53 (arr. by Gil Evans) Bonus track on CD reissue
  • Recorded in RCA's Studio B in New York City on 11 June (tracks 4 & 9), 12 June (tracks 2, 6 & 7) and 13 June (tracks 1, 3 & 5), 1974, and 14, 25 & 28 April 1975 (track 8)

Personnel edit

References edit

  1. ^ Gil Evans discography accessed 12 June 2014.
  2. ^ Discogs album entry, accessed 12 June 2014
  3. ^ a b Yanow, S. Allmusic Review accessed 12 June 2014.
  4. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 74. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  5. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 462. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.