Svengali (Gil Evans album)

Svengali is a live album by jazz composer, arranger, conductor and pianist Gil Evans, recorded in 1973 by Evans with an orchestra featuring Ted Dunbar, Howard Johnson, David Sanborn, Billy Harper, Richard Williams, Trevor Koehler, and Hannibal Marvin Peterson.[2] The name of the album is an anagram for Gil Evans.

Svengali
Live album by
Released1973
RecordedMay 30, 1973 at Trinity Church; June 30, 1973 at Philharmonic Hall[1]
VenueTrinity Church, NYC;
Philharmonic Hall, NYC
GenreJazz
Length40:41
LabelAtlantic
ProducerKenneth Noland
Gil Evans chronology
Masabumi Kikuchi with Gil Evans
(1972)
Svengali
(1973)
The Gil Evans Orchestra Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix
(1974)

Reception

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The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4½ stars stating "one of Gil Evans's finest recordings of the 1970s. He expertly blended together acoustic and electronic instruments... Evans's arrangements are quite inventive and innovative. Rarely would he be so successful in balancing written and improvised sections in his later years".[3]

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

Track listing

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All compositions arranged and conducted by Gil Evans.
  1. "Thoroughbred" (Billy Harper) - 6:33
  2. "Blues In Orbit" (George Russell) - 10:15
  3. "Eleven" (Miles Davis, Gil Evans) - 1:42
  4. "Cry of Hunger" (Harper) - 10:18
  5. "Summertime" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward) - 3:58
  6. "Zee Zee" (Evans) - 7:37
  • Recorded live in 1973 at Trinity Church, New York, NY except "Zee Zee" which was recorded at Philharmonic Hall, New York, NY.

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ Gotou, Makoto (2012). Svengali (Media notes). Warner Music Japan Inc. WPCR-27049.
  2. ^ Gil Evans discography accessed February 2, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Yanow, S. Allmusic Review accessed February 2, 2010.
  4. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp. 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.