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| Orrin Evans at The Jazz Standard This Weekend Amidst a bustling performance schedule for consummate pianist Orrin Evans, the artist announces a Labor Day weekend run at New York's Jazz Standard. With a group of celebrated musicians by his side, Evans presents four nights of exciting material from Thursday, August 29th through Sunday, September 1st. The Orrin Evans Trio will feature Luques Curtis on bass, Mark Whitfield Jr. on drums, and will feature special guest Kevin Eubanks on guitar, former Musical Director of "The Tonight Show" band for nearly two decades. Audiences will be treated with selections of from 2017's critically-acclaimed #KnowingIsHalfTheBattle, which featured the same illustrious outfit of players, as well as from an upcoming release from the Eubanks Evans Experience, an exciting duo project set to be released in January. Tickets for the Jazz Standard performances are available here. This run at the Jazz Standard comes at a time of growth in the trajectory of Evans' remarkable career. Since the release of Never Stop II, his debut as a member of the famed trio The Bad Plus, the artist is celebrating a newfound recognition, being named "Rising Star" on piano in the 66th Annual Downbeat International Critics Poll and being hailed by the New York Times as "a viable candidate for jazz's most resourceful and invigorating contemporary pianist." "The last year and a half of touring with The Bad Plus has been amazing, " Evans says, "but it's also been eye-opening. It's been educational to learn that my name hasn't reached certain audiences as a bandleader. This summer I'd like to spend as much time seizing the moment and introducing some of my favorite projects to some old and, hopefully, new fans." While some artists might have taken the summer months to relax and bask in the glow of a year's work, Evans has embarked on a relentless touring schedule which include many performances with The Bad Plus, two residencies with Evans' raucous, hard-driving Captain Black Big Band in preparation for recording the ensemble's much-anticipated new album, a trio tour that will introduce him to new audiences in the Midwest; and a series of collaborations with some of the most exciting names in jazz. Evans' labor day weekend Jazz Standard performances will culminate a rigorous schedule of what the artist describes as "a summer continuing to do what I love to do: playing music with family." More About the Artist: Born in Trenton, NJ but raised in Philadelphia, acoustic pianist Orrin Evans was among the "Young Lions" of straight-ahead jazz who emerged in the 1990s. His main focus is hard bop, although he has occasionally detoured into soul-jazz and R&B when backing such vocalists as Denise King and his wife, Dawn Warren. Influenced by McCoy Tyner, Horace Silver, Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, among others, Evans graduated from high school in the early 1990s and studied at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ before going on to study privately with Kenny Barron and be employed as a sideman by Bobby Watson, Ralph Peterson, Duane Eubanks, singer Lenora Zenzalai-Helm and others. Evans recorded his first CD as a leader, The Orrin Evans Trio, for his own Black Entertainment label in 1994. After that, he signed with Criss Cross and recorded Justin Time in 1997, Captain Black in 1998 and Grown Folks Bizness in 1999. Listen to the Band followed a year later, with Blessed Ones and Meant to Shine following soon, continuing his yearly release schedule. Now a member of The Bad Plus, Evans tours frequently with trio while also acting as bandleader of his own trio and the Captain Black Big Band. write your comments about the article :: © 2019 Jazz News :: home page |