Evans Conducts Electric Voices in Fusion Orchestration
Creative big band fusion that expertly mixes acoustic and electric instruments, one of Evans' last truly great sets.
By 1975, Gil Evans had spent decades conducting large ensembles through bebop, cool jazz, and modal territories. For There Comes a Time, he assembled a twenty-piece orchestra that bridged acoustic tradition and electric innovation — strings of horns alongside Ryo Kawasaki's electric guitar, Howard Johnson and Billy Harper anchoring the reed section, David Sanborn on alto, and Tony Williams driving from the drums. The session captured Evans working with material that asked his orchestra to swing hard while accommodating the textures of fusion: synthesizer touches, electric guitar tones, and contemporary rhythm section energy that would have seemed out of place in his earlier Claude Debussy-influenced arrangements.
What makes this album cohere is Evans' restraint and orchestration. He didn't use electricity as novelty; he absorbed it into his compositional voice. Sanborn's playing is warm and direct, Kawasaki contributes melodic sensibility alongside electric shimmer, and the brass — Ernie Royal, Lew Soloff, Tom "Bones" Malone — maintains the weight Evans always demanded. Williams' drumming keeps the date modern without pushing it toward fusion cliché. The arrangements breathe. They don't overexplain themselves.
This was late-career work, and it holds up better than you might expect. AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow noted it as one of Evans' last truly great sets, and that assessment is fair: There Comes a Time shows an elder statesman still curious, still able to make space for unfamiliar colors without abandoning his own voice.
Who's playing
Herb Bushlerbass
Paul Metzkebass
Gil Evanspiano
川崎燎electric guitar
Joe Daleytrombone
Tony Williamsdrums
Bruce Ditmaspercussion
Sue Evanspercussion
Warren Smithpercussion
George Adamswoodwind
John ClarkFrench horn
Peter GordonFrench horn
Billy Harperwoodwind
Howard Johnsonreeds
Pete LevinFrench horn
Ernie Royalbrass
David Sanbornwoodwind
Lew Soloffbrass
Bob Stewarttuba
Tom “Bones” Malonebrass
Where next?
More by Gil Evans
Svengali 1973
Great Jazz Standards 1959
The Individualism of Gil Evans 1964
The Gil Evans Orchestra Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix 1988
The musicians on this record
Million Dollar Legs 1966
Tony Williams
plays drums (drum set) here
plays drums (drum set) here
Taking Off 1975
David Sanborn
plays woodwind here
plays woodwind here
