What he said at the beginning is true for so many things...

* management. My current manager refuses to understand actual technical challenges that we're dealing with. Instead he is just trying to figure out how the team can organize itself, and work with other teams, and scale itself, and collaborate, and track work, etc. I think we are making a lot of wrong decisions at the moment due to this stubbornness to understand the actual types of problems we're trying to solve, and from there understand how we can organize work to better serve us and allow us to make progress.

* research. There can be a lot of bike shedding, or drive-by feedback, on complicated projects. Rarely people want to actually dig into one part of the problem, and really understand it. Most engineers think that it any problem is easy to solve. Yet when they have to solve it, they get lost. Research is about taking it one step at a time, understanding everything that's in front of you before going to the next page. It's only when you accept that you are going to have to invest time into this, and take it slowly, that you start making real progress, and start getting a real understanding of the whole problem.

I'm recovering from a year-long obsessive binge of Bill Evans Trio. For other fans here, I'm curious as to what your favorite album is? I Will Say Goodbye and Since We Met are brlliant, of course, but Sunday at the Village Vanguard with Scott Lafaro holds a special place in my heart.

Yours?

Bill Evans in the long-form of this episode discusses how he approached his career: which was focus on the music first and foremost. He pushes back against trying to solve too many problems at the same time.

“If I spread myself all over the place I would have lost sight of everything.”

“Gosh if you try to accept every problem you’re just going to go insane. So you have to choose some field in which you operate at your best capacity which will then serve as an influence towards all the other problems that you may worry about. So if I take care of the music the best I can with my truest beliefs, then all these other things will be affected as I desire them to be affected, as much as I can affect them.”

I am immediately a fan of him.

"The professional...must fight to preserve the naiveté that the layman already possesses" - a genius quote by Bill Evans that applies to more than just music.

The full documentary is worth checking out:

The Universal Mind of Bill Evans (1966) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwXAqIaUahI

Are there modern equivalents of this type of content? Longform discussions with a genius about their field, it is so good.

I seen either this or another interview where he drives home the idea the the only way to succeed is to enjoy the learning process itself.

His episode of Piano Jazz with Marion McPartland is really a joy. It's on spotify.

Thanks for this! While the provided clip offers some widely applicable advice which transcends music, it’s also a nice gateway to a pleasant 45 minute documentary.

If you enjoyed this, you'll likely enjoy Ethan Iverson's discussions of Evans:

https://ethaniverson.com/2020/04/08/riffs-second-set/ https://ethaniverson.com/reds-bells/

Favorite Piano Player :). As a jazz aficionado I've tried to learn a lot of tricks from Bill. Genius.

Bill Evans & Jim Hall --> Undercurrent

Favorite pianist and probably musician of all time. I'm always a little aback when I hear him speak; the piano is his real voice.

> Bill Evans – The Creative Process and Self-Teaching (2007) [video]

That how 2007 looked like?

Whoa! Have loved Evan's playing for ever but have not heard him speak before, let alone have him speak about his own creative approach. It is indeed inspiring beyond improvisational music!

Hold my beer, I gotta go listen to the intro to "So What" again now... :-)

Bill had a lifelong heroin addiction though. I wonder how much that helped him with focus and creatively.

Classic video. Such a genius.

Wow. Total Genius.

Not by the trio, but Undercurrent was the first album I listened to, and my favorite from Bill Evans by far. His (and Jim Hall's) improvisations, and the overall tone of the piano, in these tunes were incredible in terms of both melody and harmony.

I usually recommend "Since We Met" to anyone new to Evans, its a great collection of tunes and a great performance. "I Will Say Goodbye" is a great record too, although my CD copy has lots of tape wow and flutter all over it. I'm not sure if the broken tape machine was used in mastering or whether all recordings have these artefacts.

How about his work with Toots Thielemans, ‘Affinity’. Such an unlikely combo but certainly kindred spirits.

Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby are 2 of the best live albums of any genre

The 1972 ORTF Paris recording (https://www.discogs.com/Bill-Evans-Trio-Complete-February-19...) is the one I listen to most (although Conversations with Myself is a close one). I particularly like the rendition of Autumn Leaves and Someday My Prince Will Come from it, although the whole album is excellent. For some reason, not available on Apple Music, though (I’ve had it on CD for many years).

Funny, I started my obsession about two months ago. I've basically always had Sunday at the Village Vanguard somewhere in my rotation for the last 10 years, but I've only started branching out with other Evans albums recently, beginning with Undercurrents. So I'm following replies here with some anticipation.

'Conversations With Myself' was enjoyable for me. Multiple Bills, playing at once!

Nice to see some jazz fans on HN.

There are so many good ones, but my personal favorite is Moonbeams for a more slow, contemplative sound.

Mine is Some Other Time: The Lost Session From The Black Forest

I can listen to that album without ever getting tired.

Sunday at the Village Vanguard is my favourite

I recommend trying out Ahmad Jamal maybe you like him too

Hmm, I think it’s called “Time Remembered”? I believe that’s the one with their take on Danny Boy, my favorite interpretation of it (narrowly beating the King’s Singers).

I have been enjoying Bill Frisell Gone, Just like a train. Review: “...as if Carl Perkins and Duane Eddy took on Otis Rush and Bill Evans in a bridge tournament.”

The Complete Village Vanguard, and Complete Verve, are essential because of the alternate takes, which imo are often better than the master takes.

Consecration: The Final Recordings

It's recorded weeks before his death. There's something special in his later performances.

Favorite album probably You Must Believe In Spring. Days of Wine And Roses from Letter To Evan is my favorite tune at the moment.

Undercurrent is my favorite, closely followed by waltz for debby, stellar artist!

Explorations hits a great spot for me. But Village Vanguard is probably my fav.

Undercurrent is a definite favorite, what a brilliant musician.