MAR 29 | Orrin Evans Trio
Mar 29, 2024
Joe Henderson Lab
PLEASE NOTE:
This page is an archive of a past production
Please visit our calendar for all upcoming SFJAZZ shows.
Original show description below.
Carrying on the proud tradition of masterful Philadelphia keyboardists, Orrin Evans is “jazz’s most resourceful and invigorating contemporary pianist” (The New York Times). He brings his working trio featuring bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Mark Whitfield Jr. for this special evening in the Joe Henderson Lab.
Steeped in music from his childhood, Evans cut his teeth in the Philly club scene where he was mentored by Shirley Scott, Trudy Pitts, Charles Fambrough, and Mikey Roker, and studied with fellow Philadelphian Kenny Barron at Rutgers University.
He released his Criss Cross debut, Justin Time, at the age of 21, and parlayed his sideman stints with saxophonists Bobby Watson and Branford Marsalis and drummer Ralph Peterson Jr. into a superlative career as a composer and bandleader. To date he’s released 25 albums in multiple settings, won a 2010 Pew Fellowship in the Arts, and topped multiple DownBeat Critic’s Polls.
In addition to his trio and quartet, Evans leads the Captain Black Big Band and the trio Tarbaby with bassist Eric Revis and drummer Nasheet Waits, and famously replaced pianist Ethan Iverson in The Bad Plus in 2017, serving a three-year stint with the band and releasing two albums.
Evans’ most recent album, the 2023 Smoke Sessions release The Red Door, is a scintillating session compiled from recordings made over the last three years that features appearances by trumpeter Nicholas Payton, vocalist Jazzmeia Horn, and the late trumpet great Wallace Roney.
“Jazz’s most resourceful and invigorating contemporary pianist” (The New York Times), pianist Evans brings his working trio featuring bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Mark Whitfield Jr.
A highly esteemed pianist with post-bop dynamism in his bloodstream
NPR on Orrin Evans
A highly esteemed pianist with post-bop dynamism in his bloodstream
NPR on Orrin Evans
Personnel
Orrin Evans piano
Robert Hurst bass
Mark Whitfield Jr. drums
He is the real deal on piano, with an appealing, hard-edged, angular concept that's his own.
Stereophile on Orrin Evans
Personnel
Orrin Evans piano
Robert Hurst bass
Mark Whitfield Jr. drums
He is the real deal on piano, with an appealing, hard-edged, angular concept that's his own.
Stereophile on Orrin Evans
Watch & Listen
Orrin Evans
The Red Door
Orrin Evans
Weezy
Orrin Evans
The Red Door
Orrin Evans
Weezy