My Content
Membership has its privileges! Sign up or sign in to gain full access to both All About Jazz and Jazz Near You. Learn more.
Articles | Popular | Future
Roberto "Zizzi" Zanetti, Orrin Evans, and Michael Formanek
From Verona, Italy Roberto “Zizzi" Zanetti takes us on a trip through the jazz of the Roaring Twenties paying homage to the music innovators who flourished during the social and political problems of the Prohibition Era. Orrin Evans raises the temperature with live recordings from his large ensemble The Captain Black Big Band and Michael Formanek displays true innovation with his new band the Elusion Quartet featuring Tony Malaby, Kris Davis and Ches Smith. In between more jazz, old and ...
read moreOrrin Evans: Presence
You have to wonder how many outlets a restless creative like hard bopping pianist Orrin Evans needs to fully express himself. Twenty-five or so albums into a legacy that finds him as the newest member of The Bad Plus after years of riffing and ripping it up with The Mingus Big Band, experimenting with soul/jazz Luv Park; solo successes--Faith In Action, (Posi-Tone, 2010); The Evolution of Oneself (Smoke Session, 2014)--and various collaborations, Evans still has a talent bursting with ideas ...
read moreOrrin Evans: #knowingishalfthebattle
Since the 1990s Philadelphia-based pianist Orrin Evans has carved out a revered career as a band leader, producer, composer, and first and foremost, one helluva jazz pianist. Recorded live at New York's Sear Sound's Studio, #knowingishalfthebattle is his third release on Smoke Sessions with an all-star lineup that includes two other well-known Philly natives, guitarists Kevin Eubanks and Kurt Rosenwinkel. Energy runs through the session through the virtuosic performances of the three headliners as well as the ...
read moreOrrin Evans: The Evolution Of Oneself
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 ...
read moreOrrin Evans: Hot Irons In The Fire
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 jny: Philadelphia, jazz, though a pleasure, was a bit of a mystery when he was first experimenting with it. “I ...
read moreOrrin Evans' Captain Black Big Band: Mother's Touch
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 ...
read moreOrrin Evans' Captain Black Big Band: Mother’s Touch
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. ...
read moreOrrin Evans' Captain Black Big Band: Mother's Touch
Nobody does big bands these days. Nobody. Not without institutional support like a university or a foundation. Not unless you are Orrin Evans. The jny: 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 ...
read moreOrrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola
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 ...
read moreOrrin Evans: Flip The Script
Pianist Orrin Evans' last three outings for the Posi-Tone label have been vastly different from one another. He forged new, edgy frontiers as part of the collectively formulated Tarbaby on The End Of Fear (Posi-Tone, 2010), put his own unique stamp on the big band format with the bold Captain Black Big Band (Posi-Tone, 2011), and gave a nod to Philadelphia, the city that formed and nurtured him, on the mostly trio-based Freedom (Posi-Tone, 2011). Flip The ...
read moreOrrin Evans: Flip The Script
In the wrong hands, the contemporary piano trio can sound like a retread of piano trios since the dawn of popular music. In the right hands it remains a potent force: exciting, engaging, full of imagination and capable of flights of invention. The hands of Orrin Evans are the right hands. The Philadelphia-born pianist is approaching 20 years as a recording artist and, by the sound of Flip The Script, he's in one of his most creative periods to date.
read moreOrrin Evans: Freedom
Philadelphia was a symbol of freedom long before Elton John ever penned his well-known tribute to tennis legend Billy Jean King. The city was a hotspot for American revolutionaries when the British were running the show, and Philadelphia played host to the First Continental Congress and the Second Continental Congress, which signed the Declaration of Independence. This city has come to represent the ideals of freedom within American society, and its rich jazz history is a reflection of the city's ...
read morePoll Results
All About Jazz would like to thank the 4,000 members who participated in our poll to help us identify the world's top jazz venues. For a recap, click here.
Jazz Story
By Travis Rogers Jr.
Member since: 2012
I was first exposed to jazz through a high school friend who played Keith Jarrett's “The Koln Concert” for me. Therefore, that was the first jazz record I bought. From Jarrett to Chick to Oscar and Herbie and then came my first hearing of “A Love Supreme.” I was never the same...
