Jazz Articles about Orrin Evans

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Captain Black Big Band: Captain Black Big Band

by Bruce Lindsay
March 31, 2011

The man behind the Captain Black Big Band is pianist Orrin Evans. The ensemble's eponymous debut recording is a CD of such style, musicality and instrumental power that it seems only right to ensure that Evans gets the credit upfront. This is straight-ahead, swinging, big band music, recorded at three live performances in New York and Philadelphia in early 2010. The tunes may be familiar--Evans has recorded some of them more than once--but the new arrangements ensure that the band ...

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Captain Black Big Band: Captain Black Big Band

by Dan Bilawsky
March 29, 2011

The Posi-Tone label has positioned itself as a prime purveyor of small group jazz, with artists like pianist Orrin Evans leading the way, and both parties are breaking new ground with the release of The Captain Black Big Band. After putting out dozens of small group sessions, the label has taken a bold step in a bigger direction by releasing the debut big band recording from one of jazz's rising stars. Evans' prior output for the label--his own Faith In ...

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Orrin Evans: Faith in Action

by Raul d'Gama Rose
March 19, 2010

On Faith in Action, his reverent homage to an old boss, saxophonist Bobby Watson, Orrin Evans plays with his heart on his sleeve, gliding right down to his bare fingertips. Here is a pianist who channels masters from Thelonious Monk to Bud Powell and Bill Evans. However, through it all Evans is his own man, a singular voice that combines the precision of a surgeon and the compassion of a saint in an attack on the keys that is so ...

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Orrin Evans: Faith In Action

by Russ Musto
March 5, 2010

Ever evolving, keyboardist Orrin Evans continues to develop his personal voice and innovative vision of the jazz piano trio tradition, both in terms of repertory and dynamics. On Faith In Action, the versatile player joins forces with his regular rhythm-section mate from trumpeter Sean Jones' group, bassist Luques Curtis, and fellow TARBABY collaborator, drummer Nasheet Waits. The program is divided equally between compositions by the leader's former employer, saxophonist Bobby Watson, and works from his own Philadelphia household--three originals penned ...

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Orrin Evans: Faith In Action

by Mark Corroto
March 3, 2010

Orrin Evans, a Philadelphia jazz pianist with superior blues/bebop prowess, displays his strengths on Faith In Action, a tribute record to saxophonist Bobby Watson.

Back in the 1980s, fueled by the corporate marketing machines, there was a resurgence of classic, mainstream jazz. As the Marsalis family benefitted from this traditionalist resurgence, other players forged their own paths. Such was the story of Watson who, like trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, was an Art Blakey alum, but who eschewed conservatism for ...

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Orrin Evans: Faith In Action

by Bruce Lindsay
March 2, 2010

Faith In Action is Orrin Evans' first album on Posi-Tone Records and serves to further enhance the reputation of this New York-based pianist. The album is, in part, a tribute to and interpretation of the music of his friend and mentor, saxophonist Bobby Watson, who contributes five of the twelve tunes. It's a fine tribute, indeed, and demonstrates Evans' own talents as a player and interpreter. Evans' own compositions have immediate impact--especially the opening “Don't Call Me ...

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Orrin Evans: The Trio Live In Jackson, Mississippi

by Edward Zucker
October 23, 2006

Orrin Evans has recorded for the Criss Cross and Palmetto labels, but he always seems to venture back to Imani Records, his own label. This is where Evans convenes his musicians and material of choice, whether working with his “funk-fusion-R&B-electric band Luvpark, in a piano trio setting, or with a larger acoustic group, as on Live at Widener University (Imani, 2005). This independent streak has resulted in Evans failing to receive the public acclaim he is due, but it has ...