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Orrin Evans: The Evolution Of Oneself
by Mark Corroto
Simply put, if there was no Philadelphia sound, there would be no Orrin Evans. The pianist, hailing from The City of Brotherly Love, finds plenty of Philly passion on this busy trio recording, his 25th as a leader or co-leader. Here he teams up with Detroit drummer and former roommate (back in the day) Karriem Riggins, and Philly's go-to bassist Christian McBride. His amazing career has developed from the early post-bop Criss Cross recording days to his neo-soul ...
Continue ReadingMichelle Lordi: Drive
by Victor L. Schermer
It's difficult to conceive how this wonderful album of restrained and subtly rendered ballads came to be called Drive, a term which leads the listener to expect a package of revved up swing or rock. However, you don't have to be a cryptologist to realize that it comes from the last track, “Drive," which contains the line “Who's gonna drive you home?" This sense of melancholy and hoped for love, like so much of the American Songbook, is the essence ...
Continue ReadingOrrin Evans: Hot Irons In The Fire
by R.J. DeLuke
A pianist with great chops, great touch and an attack that fancies many influences from fierce swing to gospel, Orrin Evans is one of the outstanding creative musicians on the New York City scene. His work, no matter what the context--and he loves different contexts--is downright riveting at times. But for the 38-year-old who hails from Philadelphia, jazz, though a pleasure, was a bit of a mystery when he was first experimenting with it. “I didn't ...
Continue ReadingOrrin Evans' Captain Black Big Band: Mother's Touch
by Jack Bowers
New York-based pianist / composer (and two-time Grammy Award nominee) Orrin Evans served notice with his first big-band album for Posi-Tone Records that there was an impressive new ensemble on the scene, a message that is firmly underscored by the second, the cryptically named Mother's Touch, whose tone and temperament mirror Evans' contemporary point of view. Evans wrote six of the album's nine numbers, the first of which, the gospel-flavored “In My Soul," kick-starts the session with ...
Continue ReadingOrrin Evans' Captain Black Big Band: Mother’s Touch
by Dan Bilawsky
The studio-versus-stage argument will forever rage on in music, but it really shouldn't. Each setting has its advantages and disadvantages. The jazz community has forever favored the stage, as many feel that jazz is meant to be experienced and created in the moment, with artist(s) feeding off the room and creating here-and-gone sounds. That preference is completely understandable, but the studio has its advantages; clarity, balance, and the right working conditions can often only be found there. ...
Continue ReadingOrrin Evans' Captain Black Big Band: Mother's Touch
by Mark Corroto
Nobody does big bands these days. Nobody. Not without institutional support like a university or a foundation. Not unless you are Orrin Evans. The Philadelphia pianist writes and arranges music so appealing, a revolving cast of musicians can't resist playing his music. While we will never see an independent outfit like the Captain Black Big Band, which can swell to thirty plus musicians, touring for months on end, their occasional gigs and recordings are a godsend. The studio ...
Continue ReadingOrrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola
by Keith Henry Brown
Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band Dizzy's Club Coca Cola New York, NY October 6, 2013 Though the band leader/pianist /composer Sun Ra spoke of being part of an “Angel Race" from Saturn, his music, as avant-garde as it could sometimes be, was for the large part, accessible. One of his lifetime heroes was Duke Ellington, not just for his ability to lead a brilliant orchestra, but also for the ...
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