Falkner Evans

“The beauty of jazz as an art form is the freedom of expression allowed,” explains pianist and composer Falkner Evans. “There is nothing more free in music than jazz improvisation." Growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Evans was influenced by both pop and jazz music. A mainstay of the Tulsa scene in the 1970's, he eventually moved to New York in 1985 and immediately immersed himself in the city's vibrant jazz scene.

Evans's first three trio discs, Level Playing Field, Climbing the Gates and Arc, established his voice as a player and composer. Thomas Conrad of JazzTimes wrote that Evans "makes you listen carefully to discover the complexities" with in his music. His fourth outing, Point of the Moon, saw Evans expanding his band to a quintet and concentrating even more on his unique compositional style. George Kanzler wrote in Hot House, "already notable in trio format, Evans's distinctive compositions stand out given full quintet arrangements."

A cousin of the iconic author, William Faulkner Evans says "I love the element of surprise when putting together a piece of music. I want the music to be enjoyable on the first listen but open up and show its depth on repeated listening. All we can ever hope for is to absorb many different influences as we go along and distill these into something unique and fresh."

Evans is currently finalizing plans for his next recording with an expanded group. For more information on Evans, go to his website at falknerevans.com.