Saxophonist Bill Evans "Something In The Rose"

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Excellent, highly melodic CD
After providing an abundance of hard-edged, aggressive jazz-funk and jazz-rap on Live and Escape, Bill Evans surprised his followers by being so relaxed on Starfish and the Moon. This excellent, highly melodic CD was hailed as "Bill Evans' acoustic album," which was misleading because Starfish has its share of keyboards and synthesizers as well as electric bass and electric guitar. But it is accurate to say that the rap-free Starfish uses more acoustic instruments and less amplification than one had come to expect from the soprano and tenor saxophonist, who favors subtlety on such introspective, lyrical jazz-pop as "The Last Goodbye," "Something In the Rose" and "I'll Miss You." Even when he gets into a funk-minded groove on "Whiskey Talk" and "Shady Lady," Evans is moody and evocative rather than intense. Though the Chicago native had often played lyrically in the past, he was never as consistently restrained as he is on Starfish, a curve ball that was the last thing one would have expected to follow Escape. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
Through Liebmans recommendation, he was tapped by Miles in 1980 , at the age of 22, to play a key role in Miles celebrated comeback band. Bill became Miles right-hand man and soloistic foil in concert and on a series of recordings -- 1981s The Man With The Horn, 1982s We Want Miles, 1983s Star People and 1984s Decoy. After leaving Davis band in 1984, Evans joined John McLaughlin in a reconstituted edition of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, appearing on 1985s Mahavishnu and 1987s Adventures in Radioland. He also toured and recorded through the 80s with the band Elements (with keyboardist Cliff Carter, bassist Mark Egan and drummer Danny Gottlieb) and through the 90s with Petite Blonde (an all-star fusion band he formed which was comprised of bassist Victor Bailey, drummer Dennis Chambers, guitarist Chuck Loeb and Evans on tenor and soprano saxes) and also with former Police guitarist Andy Summers. More recently, Evans has toured Europe and the States with the Soulbop band, which he co-leads with trumpeter Randy Brecker.