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Gil Evans

Gil Evans, Canadian-American pianist, composer, and bandleader (died 1988)

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Born
May 13, 1912
Age in 2026
114
Zodiac sign
Taurus
Birth year
1912

About Gil Evans

Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role in the development of cool jazz, modal jazz, free jazz, and jazz fusion. He is best known for his acclaimed collaborations with Miles Davis. Eventually, the family ended up in California, first in Berkeley, where Evans attended the ninth and tenth grades, then in Stockton, where he attended Stockton High School, graduating in 1930. After graduating, Evans attended the College of the Pacific in Stockton, where he founded his first jazz big band, Gil Evans & His Orchestra, in 1933, but then transferred to Modesto Junior College. While in college, he founded his first band, which performed his arrangements, and which became the house band at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa Beach, California, in 1935.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Gil Evans timeline

  1. Eventually, the family ended up in California, first in Berkeley, where Evans attended the ninth and tenth grades, then in Stockton, where he attended Stockton High School, graduating in 1930.
  2. After graduating, Evans attended the College of the Pacific in Stockton, where he founded his first jazz big band, Gil Evans & His Orchestra, in 1933, but then transferred to Modesto Junior College.
  3. While in college, he founded his first band, which performed his arrangements, and which became the house band at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa Beach, California, in 1935.

The world when Gil Evans was born

Gil Evans was born in 1912. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1912

  • Best-selling book"The Harvester" – Gene Stratton-Porter

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentJim Thorpe wins two gold medals at the Stockholm Olympics
  • Top headlineRMS Titanic sinks on maiden voyage — 1,500+ die
  • Technology milestoneFirst parachute jump from an airplane
  • World population~1.72B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWilliam Howard Taft
  • U.S. population94.6M

1912 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Gil Evans's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19122026
Population94.6M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.