Gil Evans and Claude Thornhill

Big Band Spotlight - 06/24/2012

Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States. He played an important role in the development of cool jazz, modal jazz, free jazz and jazz fusion, and collaborated extensively with Miles Davis. In 1986, he was inducted into the Down Beat Hall of Fame.

Claude Thornhill was an American pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader. He composed the jazz and pop standards "Snowfall" and "I Wish I Had You." In 1939, he founded his Claude Thornhill Orchestra. It became known for its many superior jazz musicians and for Thornhill's and Gil Evans' innovative arrangements, its "Portrait of a Guinea Farm" had become a classic jazz recording. In 1984, Claude Thornhill was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.

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