Orrin Evans

"The clear-cut best pianist of his time..." is how Hot House Magazine" described Orrin Evans in 1998, praise which was echoed again in the summer of 2002. This remarkable talent was nurtured in a household filled with music due to the efforts of his mother, a classical singer who surrounded the youngster with everything from the melodies of Puccini to the pulsating rhythms of Basie and Ellington. He learned from what he heard which is still the case today when he acknowledges such musicians as Trudy Pitts, Tim Warfield, Kenny Barron, Ralph Peterson, Edgar Bateman, Mickey Roker and Bobby Durham as inspirational guides. His formal study was at Philadelphia's prestigious Settlement School of Music under Charles Pettaway.

The New York Times described the pianist as "...a poised artist with an impressive template of ideas at his command", a quality undoubtedly recognized by the legendary saxophonist Bobby Watson who engaged Evans as piano chair for his band, a position he has held for six years. Orrin has recorded with Bobby on Live and Learn (Palmetto Records), Quite as it's Kept (Red Records) which features one of Orrin's original compositions "Looking in Your Eyes". Bobby also recorded another of Orrin's compositions "Two Stepping with Dawn" on Bobby Watson & Curtis Lundy Project (Sound Hills Records). Orrin has been playing with the Charles Mingus Big Band for the past three years. He has also toured with such diverse talents as the evolutionary Wallace Roney, Stefon Harris, and Antonio Hart.

For Orrin Evans, however, the greatest joy is playing his own band which, at different times, has included such notables as the aforementioned Ralph Peterson, Sam Newsome, Ralph Bowen, Nasheet Waits, Reid Anderson, John Swana and Duane Eubanks. Besides touring and recording, Evans is also a teacher and musical commentator, having conducted workshops, clinics and master classes both in The United States and abroad. When not on the road, he teaches privately. The newest Orrin Evans adventures are; "Meant to Shine", his latest cd on the Palmetto Records label, two projects on his own label, IMANI Records, one from the group SEED, and "Dejavu" by the Orrin Evans Trio, (both available online).

Orrin is also a PennPat (Pennsylvania Performing Artists on Tour) roster artist. Non-profit and government organizations in the mid-Atlantic region may qualify for funding for performances and residencies.

Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band: Walk A Mile In My Shoe

Read "Walk A Mile In My Shoe" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
October 25, 2024

Il nuovo disco di Orrin Evans e della sua Captain Black Big Band ci ricorda l'importanza delle radici per la comunità musicale afroamericana: il gospel, il blues, le big band, i cantanti e strumentisti storici. Una risorsa che è anche identità collettiva e forza culturale. Come ha sempre fatto in passato, il pianista e bandleader di Philadelphia s'ispira alla tradizione per rinnovarla e arricchirla, con passione e freschezza. Stavolta le orchestrazioni sono funzionali alle interpretazioni di quattro prodigiosi ...

Radio & Podcasts

Benny Golson, Orrin Evans, Logan Richardson and Miki Yamanaka

by Joe Dimino
October 13, 2024

Kicking off the 875th episode of Neon Jazz, we dive into something special--fresh sounds from a deeply personal project with Orrin Evans at the helm of the Captain Black Big Band. He is delivering powerful tracks from his 2024 release Walk a Mile in My Shoe. From there, we pause to honor the late, great Benny Golson, who passed away on September 21, 2024, at the age of 95. Next up, we spotlight Kansas City's established star, Logan Richardson, with ...

Radio & Podcasts

Orrin Evans: Walk a Mile in His Shoe

by David Bixler
September 17, 2024

The shoes that grace the cover of Orrin Evans' new record are special shoes from his childhood that were necessitated by being born with Neurofibromatosis. The record is called Walk a Mile in My Shoe (Imani Records) and the shoes are a reminder of his condition and the impact that this neurological disorder has had on him. However, Evans yearns to move past the initial metaphor of the title in order to convey the ideas of feeling worthy and taking ...

Liner Notes

Ralph Bowen: Keep the Change

by C. Andrew Hovan
September 7, 2024

I can still remember the impression that Ralph Bowen made on a young jazz enthusiast trying to break into radio and be part of the hip jazz crowd. I had decided to get involved with the programming end of a local non-profit arts support organization and on a letter perfect July evening our committee had lined up a double bill that included Kevin Eubanks and the mid '80s collective Out Of The Blue. An hour or so before OTB was ...

Radio & Podcasts

Orrin Evans, Lux Quartet, Andromeda Turre and Nasheet Waits

by Hobart Taylor
July 31, 2024

This week we feature brand new music from Orrin Evans' Captain Black's Big Band, The Lux Quartet featuring Myra Melford and Alison Miller, vocalist Andromeda Turre and Nasheet Waits. Playlist Brian McCarthy “The Beginning" from After/Life (Truth Revolution) 0:00 Maddie Vogler “Hymn For August" from While We Have Time (Origin) 15:09 Mike Downes “Banff Nights" from The Way In (Self Produced) 16:56 Host Speaks 22:20 Andromeda Turre “Critical Mass (featuring ELEW)" from From The Earth (Self Produced) 23:42 ...

Radio & Podcasts

Freedom & American Themes + Captain Black Big Band

by David Brown
July 23, 2024

Here is the show from Independence Day weekend with American and freedom themes as explored by jazz artists. From there, we'll check out some works from the Orrin Evans Captain Black Big Band, and more. Welcome friends and neighbors to The Jazz Continuum. Old, new, in, out... wherever the music takes us. Each week, we will explore the elements of jazz from a historical perspective. Playlist Thelonious Monk “Esistrophy (Theme)" from Live at the It Club-Complete (Columbia) 01:30 ...

Album Review

Michelle Lordi: Two Moons

Read "Two Moons" reviewed by Geno Thackara

by Geno Thackara
March 1, 2024

The art of the jazz diva does not shy away from the dark and mysterious. From putting a spell on somebody to helplessly falling under that old black magic, the tradition always seems to include some small touch of witchery, and Michelle Lordi, for her part, does not let a modern-day sound obscure those roots. The mood of Two Moons sits somewhere between a late-night set in a small jazz club and a round of spooky stories around the campfire. ...

Performance / Tour

hudson hall Announces A Semi-staged Musical Drama Based On The Life Of Frederick Douglass no Cowards In Our Band, November 2, With Musical Arrangement By Orrin Evans

Source: AMT Public Relations
September 18, 2024

Concept and Libretto: Anthony Knight, Jr. Musical Arrangement: Orrin Evans Director: Michael Hofmann Masud Olufani, Frederick Douglass Nia Drummond, soprano Edward Washington II, tenor Gregory Sheppard, bass Orrin Evans, piano Saturday, November 2, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. Hudson Hall Hudson Opera House 327 Warren Street Hudson, NY 12534 Tickets on sale now. Hudson Hall at the historic Hudson Opera House announces No Cowards in Our Band, a powerful musical drama ...
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Performance / Tour

Smoke Jazz Club Announces June Line-Up With NEA Jazz Master George Coleman, Vocal Great Mary Stallings, A New Project From Vincent Herring, An Album Release By Orrin Evans All-Star Quintet, And More

Source: AMT Public Relations
May 4, 2023

George Coleman Quintet (Jun 1-4); Orrin Evans All-Star Quintet record release (Jun 8-11); Vincent Herring and Something Else! (Jun 15-18); Mary Stallings (Jun 22-25); and more… Rated the #1 Jazz Club in New York City (Secret NYC), Smoke Jazz Club kicks off the start of summer with some of today’s living legends. NEA Jazz Master George Coleman returns with his special quintet (Jun 1-4), soulful saxophonist Vincent Herring gets inspired by the classic Blue Note album Something Else! (Jun 15-18), ...
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Contest

Enter the "Orrin Evans - Flip the Script" Giveaway at All About Jazz!

Source: All About Jazz
July 28, 2012

All About Jazz members are invited to enter the Posi-Tone Records “Orrin Evans - Flip the Script“ giveaway contest starting today. We'll select FIVE winners at the conclusion of the contest on August 27th. Click here to enter the contest

(Following Orrin Evans at AAJ automatically enters you in the contest.)

Good luck! Your Friends at Posi-Tone Records About Flip the Script Orrin Evans turns over a new leaf and strides confidently back onto the scene ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Orrin Evans

Source:
March 28, 2012

All About Jazz is celebrating Orrin Evans' birthday today!

“The clear-cut best pianist of his time..." is how Hot House Magazine" described Orrin Evans in 1998, praise which was echoed again in the summer of 2002. This remarkable talent was nurtured in a household filled with music due to the efforts of his mother, a classical singer who surrounded the youngster with everything from the melodies of Puccini to the pulsating rhythms of Basie and Ellington..."The clear-cut best pianist of ...
read more

126

Performance / Tour

Jazz Bridge Presents Orrin Evans at the Society Hill Playhouse on October 20th

Source: Suzanne Cloud
October 7, 2011

Opening a new Jazz Bridge Neighborhood Concerts series called Jazz at the Playhouse, pianist Orrin Evans will be appearing at the Society Hill Playhouse, 507 S. 8th Street in Philadelphia on October 20th, 2011 and with him will be bassist Alex Claffy, drummer Justin Faulkner, and saxophonist Chelsea Baratz. One Show: 7:30-9 p.m. Admission: $10/$5 for students. No advance sales. For info: 215-517-8337 or 856-858-8914. Parking is right across the street. Please note that after this initial performance by Mr. ...
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127

Recording

Orrin Evans - Freedom (Posi-Tone, 2011)

Source: Music and More by Tim Niland
July 15, 2011

Pianist and composer Orrin Evans has been on quite a roll lately, leading his own groups and then co-leading progressive groups like The Captain Black Big Band and Tarbaby, both of which were featured at recent jazz festivals and received acclaim by both fans and press alike. Riding this increasing crest of fame, he releases a very accessible album featuring his trio of Dwayne Burno on bass and Byron Landham and Anwar Marshall splitting drumming duties. Larry McKenna sits in ...
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159

Recording

Orrin Evans - Freedom (2011)

Source: Something Else!
June 16, 2011

You might say that top-notch jazz pianist Orrin Evans has become a fixture here at SER. It all got started four years ago when we noted his participation in Robin Eubanks' EB3 unit that made the phenomenal double-CD Live, Vol. 1 of 2007. Early last year we salivated over Evans' Bobby Watson tribute Faith In Action, a Best of 2010 selection, and again later in same the year as part of the cooperative trio Tarbaby for the widely acclaimed The ...
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141

Recording

The Captain Black Big Band (Posi-Tone, 2011)

Source: Music and More by Tim Niland
May 1, 2011

Putting together a big band in these dicey economic times is a tough proposition at best, but pianist and composer Orrin Evans is bucking the odds with this large ensemble that features tight ensemble playing and fine soloing. It is a particularly large band and this allows them to play several distinct textures and work them into the bands overall sound. The ensemble meshes nicely like a finely woven garment and everybody is on the same page throughout the album. ...
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169

Recording

One Track Mind: Orrin Evans on "Captain Black," "Commitment," "Jena 6," Others

Source: Something Else!
April 8, 2011

On this special edition of Something Else! Reviews' One Track Mind, we hand the reins over to Orrin Evans, a former sideman with Bobby Watson who quickly established himself as one of jazz music's most fascinating new voices over the course of a solo career begun in 1994. Here, the pianist shares unique insights into some of his more memorable tracks. Find out just who Captain Black was. How his chance discovery of a 1970 Belafonte/Horne recording called Harry & ...
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106

Interview

Something Else! Interview: Orrin Evans, Jazz Pianist, Composer and Bandleader

Source: Something Else!
April 7, 2011

By Nick DeRiso Orrin Evans arrived amidst a wave of new jazz performers in the early 1990s. Unlike many of those young lions, however, he managed to bob up from that era's ultimately empty retro-conservatism. “A lot of those guys, quite frankly," Orrin says, “just gave too much of a f—. And I never did." By that, Evans means he never cared that much about being careful, for convention. It hasn't sold him more records, nor made him a bigger ...
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