Everybody Digs Bill Evans
Director – Grant Gee – 2025 – UK / Ireland – Cert. 15 – 102m
*****
Following the unexpected death of his trio’s bass player in a car crash, jazz pianist Bill Evans finds himself incapable of playing – out in UK cinemas on Friday, September 11th
Director Gee has a clear empathy for the worlds of music and musicians, with documentaries Meeting People is Easy (1998), about Radiohead touring to promote their album OK Computer, and Joy Division (2007). The current film represents his first foray into the narrative feature.
It opens with a recreation of a number from Evans’ 1961 New York Village Vanguard gig – the Bill Evans Trio with Evans (Anders Danielssen Lie from The Summer Book, Charlie McDowell, 2024; Bergman Island, Mia Hansen-Løve, 2021; The Worst Person in the World, Joachim Trier, 2021) on piano, Scott LeFaro (Will Sach) on bass, and Paul Motian (Boz Martin-Jones) on drums – two recordings of which were released as the highly regarded LPs Sunday at the Vialllage Vanguard and Waltz for Debby. As reel to reel spools rotate, so too do car wheels, specifically those carrying LeFaro to his death in a car crash 11 days later.… Read the rest