Jazz Articles about Evan Gregor

About Evan Gregor

Album Review

Dave Wilson: When Even Goes East

Read "When Even Goes East" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
March 19, 2026

There is a long and respected tradition in jazz of taking familiar popular songs and reimagining them in new ways. It involves uncovering fresh rhythmic vitality, harmonic subtleties, and emotional depth within melodies that listeners think they already know. Multi-instrumentalist Dave Wilson follows this tradition with conviction on When Even Goes East, an album that blends four original pieces with inventive reworkings of pop songs from the 1960s and 70s. The result is a collection that feels both reflective and ...

Album Review

Hyeseon Hong Jazz Orchestra: Things Will Pass

Read "Things Will Pass" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
October 29, 2024

There are a handful of things you should know about Hyeseon Hong (pronounced hay-sun hong), as each of them impacts the scope and purpose of the music on Things Will Pass. First, she is well-versed in the shaping and subtleties of contemporary big-band jazz; second, she was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea; third, she formed her own big band after relocating from Korea to New York City more than a decade ago; fourth, and perhaps most important, she ...

Album Review

Brenda Earle Stokes: Motherhood

Read "Motherhood" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
May 12, 2024

Motherhood is a salient subject if ever there was one. Yet few jazz musicians ever touch on it in their work, never mind dedicating an entire record to the topic. The real or keenly felt need to keep up with the Joneses in a musical atmosphere that typically applauds and promotes standard bearers, hyper-masculine happenings, politically charged firebrands, and cutting-edge quests doesn't leave much room for an honest and open-hearted look at the scope of selflessness and self-discovery involved with ...

Album Review

Erica Seguine: The New Day Bends Light

Read "The New Day Bends Light" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
March 11, 2024

Impegnandosi nel ruolo di produttore, Darcy James Argue dà particolare considerazione al debutto discografico di quest'ensemble, fondato nel 2011 a New York dalle compositrici Erica Seguine e Shon Baker. La prima è anche arrangiatrice e guida dell'orchestra, la seconda entra nel cast come sassofonista. Dopo varie esibizioni in locali chiave della Big Apple, le due leader hanno selezionato sette composizioni originali dal loro repertorio, incidendole con un ampio organico comprendente talentuosi solisti della metropoli. Alcuni di essi ...

Album Review

Ben Markley: Ari's Funhouse

Read "Ari's Funhouse" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
February 6, 2024

Accade spesso nel jazz che dagli incontri estemporanei nascano le cose migliori. Il bandleader e arrangiatore Ben Markley e il batterista Ari Hoenig si sono conosciuti nel 2019 in un jazz festival del Texas. Da quell'incontro è nato questo progetto discografico, che ha visto Markley orchestrare le composizioni di Hoenig per la big band che guida a Denver. Il batterista è ospite dell'ensemble e dà il suo contributo con un vivace e articolato sostegno ritmico. L'album è stato registrato nel ...

Album Review

Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm: Grit & Grace

Read "Grit & Grace" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
November 5, 2023

Asked to name the traits women most need to succeed in today's business world, Forbes magazine in a 2019 article underlined two of them as “grit and grace." One woman who took the advice to heart is bass trombonist Jennifer Wharton. She came late to jazz but has since made it her domain of choice, founding the trombone-centric septet Bonegasm and recording three albums under its name, the most recent of which, Grit & Grace, endorses Forbes' position by using ...

Album Review

Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm: Grit & Grace

Read "Grit & Grace" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
November 2, 2023

Blessed be the 'bone of invention and intention that is Jennifer Wharton. A mere six years ago, the noted bass trombonist had the idea to form a slide-centric septet and commission new music to bring her oft-neglected and ballasting instrument to the fore. Driven to act on that concept, Wharton thought things through, put a plan in motion and willed Bonegasm into existence. That aptly-titled band recorded its eponymous debut in 2018, released that revelation of a record in 2019, ...