Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Evan Christopher: Delta Bound

310

Evan Christopher: Delta Bound

By

View read count
Evan Christopher: Delta Bound
The clarinet and New Orleans share a long tradition of rhythmic swing and lyrical adventure. Long before Pete Fountain and Larry Shields, there were trad jazz pioneers including Lorenzo and Louis Tio, Lorenzo Tio Jr., Albert Nicholas, Alvin Batiste, Johnny Dodds, Barney Bigard, Omer Simeon, Jimmy Noone, Tony Scott and Sidney Bechet. The instrument, with its throaty, wooden timbre, allows emotions to be bared and feelings set free when in the hands of a master. Delta Bound recalls the masters of the clarinet while applying fresh, original songs to a syncopated rhythmic memory that remains timeless.

Clarinetist Evan Christopher, still in his thirties, hails from Long Beach, California, where he was exposed to all kinds of music and art as a youngster. Now working on his Masters Degree at Tulane University in New Orleans, he's enlisted the support of pianist Dick Hyman, bassist Bill Huntington and drummer Shannon Powell to 'splain the magic of The Big Easy and all its charming musical elements.

Christopher has you dancing in the streets, holding a colorful parasol and tossing baubles and beads to passers-by before the CD player reaches the album's title track. Written by Alexander Hill, it drives like a slow freight that knows where the tracks lead, as Christopher's clarinet signals a passive voice above the rhythmic stride of piano, bass and drums. Christopher gives Hoagy Carmichael's "New Orleans a welcome waltz step that swings high and low through the clarinet's registers. "La Ciudad Criolla and "The King of Treme, both originals, balance deep feeling with superb musicianship. A winning combination such as this shares the tradition of New Orleans while lifting spirits to lofty heights. 709

Track Listing

Vieux Carr

Personnel

Evan Christopher: clarinet; Dick Hyman: piano; Bill Huntington: double-bass; Shannon Powell: drums.

Album information

Title: Delta Bound | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Arbors Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

Near

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.