Jazz Articles about Orrin Evans

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Orrin Evans: Easy Now

by AAJ Staff
June 5, 2005

For those who may have been disappointed by the Philadelphia pianist-composer Orrin Evans' recent experiments with backbeats and electric keyboards, Easy Now marks a notable return to swinging on acoustic instruments. But this new venture is primarily a tribute to the late Don Evans, a gifted playwright and educator, as well as Orrin's father.

If these compositions are any indication, Don Evans must have been complex, thoughtful, and unpredictable, perhaps a bit like the jutting measure of 5/4 ...

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Orrin Evans/The Band: Live at Widener University

by Terrell Kent Holmes
April 25, 2004

Live At Widener University, a two-disc set by The Band, led by pianist and educator Orrin Evans, exemplifies cohesiveness, and shows just how exciting jazz can be when a gathering of stellar musicians step up to the plate and knock it out of the park. “Two Faces of Nasheet," composed by drummer Nasheet Waits' father, Freddie, opens with a straight-up theme, then quickly branches off into what Evans likes to call “structured confusion." Tenor man J.D. Allen, Waits ...

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Orrin Evans: Meant to Shine

by C. Michael Bailey
October 17, 2002

A bit of a Jazz Pill...

Orrin Evans is best known as one of the “young lion" practitioners of Hard Bop. Meant to Shine, however, sounds like well-executed Post Bop/Free Bop. Evans’ vision on this recording owes a great deal to Miles Davis’ second great quintet and the post John Coltrane period in jazz. This current disc is filled with beautifully craggy, perfectly obstinate music. Evans has been well known for creative stubbornness and he offers no exception here. He ...

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Orrin Evans: Blessed Ones

by C. Andrew Hovan
April 12, 2002

One certainly can’t accuse pianist Orrin Evan of hopping on the revival bandwagon. Nothing he’s done over the course of four previous Criss Cross sides and two self-promoted albums smacks of mainstream sentimentality. On the contrary, Evans likes to push the envelope and that fact becomes ever so apparent now that he’s in the wide open surroundings of Blessed Ones. This is his first trio affair and it squarely puts the weight on the pianist’s shoulders in terms of keeping ...

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Orrin Evans Trio: Deja Vu

by Mark Corroto
January 1, 2002

Pianist Orrin Evans has always been (what am I saying? He was in high school in the early 1990s) a kind of undiscovered favorite of piano jazz fans. His recordings for the Dutch label Criss Cross have shown a maturity in playing and composing beyond his tender years. Like his stablemate at Criss Cross records Bill Charlap, expect Evans to break out soon with a major US exposure.

It may sound a bit odd that the yet-to-be-famous Evans would reissue ...

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Orrin Evans and Seed: Seed

by Mark Corroto
February 1, 2001

The sound of Orrin Evans’ piano is restless. His latest trio, Seed, features original compositions that have an unsettled quality. Like Horace Tapscott’s explorations of the 1970’s or Andrew Hill in the 1960’s, this band pushes an expansive enthusiasm for new jazz. Evans keyboard work reminds me of a very propulsive Thelonious Monk mixed with the percussive elements of Herbie Hancock. His prior records, all four on the Criss Cross label (and all worth searching for), showcase a superstar in ...

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Orrin Evans: Grown Folk Bizness

by C. Andrew Hovan
February 1, 2000

It's been a few years since pianist Orrin Evans placed in the Thelonious Monk Piano Competition. All the while, he's been maturing as an artist with a nice spate of Criss Cross dates along the way documenting that development. Grown Folk Bizness is Evans' third release for the label and it ups the ante even further from what we experienced on his first two illustrative discs. This is due, in part, to the pianist's further amalgamation of his varied influences, ...