Orrin Evans

Orrin Evans is a jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader. He is well-versed in hard and post-bop, neo-soul, and R&B. In addition to leading dates, he is a prolific first-call sideman, and is particularly adept at backing singers. After woodshedding in various bands, he formed the Black Entertainment label in 1995 to release his leader debut, The Trio. He signed with Criss Cross in 1996 and worked in a number of contexts: On 1997′s Justin Time he led a quintet, and followed with the acclaimed octet outing Captain Black in 1998. Two more quintet albums — Grown Folk Bizness and Listen to the Band — followed in 1999. Evans spent several years recording for Imani, issuing outings such as LuvPark in 2003 and Tarbaby’s self-titled debut in 2006. In 2010, he issued three recordings in different settings for Posi-Tone including Tarbaby’s The End of Fear, the live Captain Black Big Band, and Freedom with a quintet. Tarbaby and the Captain Black Big Band continued to record and tour with fluctuating lineups, but the pianist issued titles under his own name, too, including 2013′s acclaimed trio set ...It Was Beauty and the live quintet date Liberation Blues — his first for the Smoke Sessions label. In 2018, Evans replaced pianist Ethan Iverson in Bad Plus and they recorded the all-original Never Stop II followed by 2019′s Activate Infinity. He left BP in the spring of 2021, and in July released The Magic of Now.
Evans was born in Trenton, New Jersey, but raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His mother, a classical opera singer, introduced him to music early and he began taking piano lessons as a child. The vastly musical city afforded him the opportunity to study — informally — with jazz legends such as Trudy Pitts, Shirley Scott, Mickey Roker, and others. He attended and graduated from the Girard Academic Music Program, and in 1993 was accepted into the Mason Gross School of The Arts at Rutgers University. While attending Mason Gross, he studied with Kenny Barron, Joanne Brackeen, Ralph Bowen, and Ted Dunbar.
Evans arrived in New York as one of the emerging class of Young Lions playing straight-ahead jazz, and hard bop in particular. Early on, he worked as a sideman with saxophonist Bobby Watson and drummer Ralph Peterson, as well as in the bands of Duane Eubanks, singer Lenora Zenzalai-Helm, and several others. In 1995 he set up the Black Entertainment label to release his debut leader date, The Trio, with bassist Matthew Parrish and drummer Byron Landham. Though the band played many club dates, Evans was busy working as a sideman with other musicians and couldn’t undertake widespread touring.
He signed with Criss Cross in late 1996 and issued his label debut Justin Time in 1997, leading an “ortet” with Landham, trumpeter John Swana, saxophonist Tim Warfield (tenor sax), and bassist Rodney Whitaker. The record drew positive notice from critics. The octet outing Captain Black followed in 1998 with Warfield and Whitaker, but also included saxophonists Sam Newsome, Antonio Hart, and Ralph Bowen, as well as bassist Avishai Cohen and mentor Peterson on drums. 1999′s Grown Folk Bizness offered a smaller version of the band, minus Warfield, Cohen, and Hart. Listen to the Band followed a year later and included drummer Nasheet Waits and Evans’ old friend bassist Reid Anderson. Evans opened the new century with a new band, Seed, who issued a self-titled LP for Imani, as well as the quartet outing Blessed Ones — with Eric Revis on bass — and the mixed lineup outing Meant to Shine. What became obvious in observing the latter’s personnel — that included Revis, Bowen, and Newsome — was how much stock Evans put into his personal and professional relationships: His recordings before and after this release feature many of the same players in ever-evolving settings; further, he is a first-call sideman for an astonishing variety of leaders.
In 2003, Evans formed Luvpark and issued its self-titled debut on Imani. In addition to Bowen, its lineup included drummer Donald Edwards, with guest vocals by his wife Dawn Warren-Evans and J.D. Walter. The following year he released Live at Widener University leading a quartet with Anderson, Waits, Newsome, and saxophonist J.D. Allen. After releasing Easy Now for Criss Cross, Evans formed the modernist Tarbaby, one of his most compelling bands. For its self-titled 2006 freshman offering, Evans brought back Allen, Revis, and Waits, and added young saxophonist Stacy Dillard. Tarbaby toured relentlessly with Evans adding and subtracting players in his lineup in order to accommodate busy schedules. In 2006 he issued Faith in Action; his first album for Posi-Tone, it featured Luques Curtis on bass. A revamped Tarbaby released The End of Fear in 2010, with trumpeter Nicholas Payton and saxophonist Oliver Lake playing alongside Allen, Waits, and Revis. The globally acclaimed album underscored Evans’ ability to mold a slew of disparately matched players into a cohesive unit. That year also saw the release of a live self-titled offering from the Captain Black Big Band, and 2011′s Freedom showcased a quintet outing that saw drummer/percussionist Byron Landham return to Evans’ fold. 2012′s Flip the Script indeed did, as one of Evans’ somewhat rare trio offerings. The pianist worked on a slew of recordings that year, including Conrad Herwig’s A Voice Through the Door and Wayne Escoffery’s The Only Son of One. Evans returned to Criss Cross for It Was Beauty, with drummer Donald Edwards and a handful of alternating bass players. Tarbaby returned with two albums: Ballad of Sam Langford included Ambrose Akinmusire in the trumpet chair, while the live Fanon, recorded two years earlier, was released by RogueArt and included vanguard guitarist Marc Ducret in its lineup.
In 2014, Evans signed with the venerable jazz indie Smoke Sessions. His label debut was Liberation Blues with Curtis on bass and Bill Stewart on drums, and included guest spots from Allen and trumpeter Sean Jones, whose recordings Evans regularly appeared on. That year the pianist played on Edwards’ Evolution of an Influenced Mind, and vocalist Michelle Lordi’s debut album Drive. Evans closed out the year with Mother's Touch by the Captain Black Big Band.
2015′s The Evolution of Oneself proved a special album for the pianist. It was the very first time he’d recorded with bassist Christian McBride (a fellow Philadelphian) and Detroit drummer Karriem Riggins. Evans had shared an apartment with the pair during his early years in New York, and had worked with them on bandstands a few times, but this date marked the first time they shared a studio. The 18-track set included a stellar array of originals and standards — including an iconic cover of Philly sax legend Grover Washington, Jr.’s “A Secret Place” — and featured guest guitarist Marvin Sewell on a few tracks. That year Evans also played on Warfield’s Spherical: Dedicated to Thelonious Sphere Monk, and on vocalist Joanna Pascale’s fourth album Wildflower. The following year, Evans released #knowingishalfthebattle with a lineup that included alternating guitarists Kurt Rosenwinkel and Kevin Eubanks, Mark Whitfield, Jr. on drums, and Curtis on bass. Captain Black Big Band’s Presence was also released that year, and he guested on albums by Eubanks, Josh Lawrence, and Jones.
In 2018, the Bad Plus simultaneously announced the departure of founding pianist Ethan Iverson and Evans replaced him for the release of Never Stop II. Like its 2010 predecessor, it uncharacteristically featured only original material. In 2019, Evans toured intensely with the Bad Plus, and released the Captain Black Big Band’s The Intangible Between.
In October the Bad Plus’ new label, Edition Records, debuted with Activate Infinity to near-universal critical acclaim. Evans’ tenure with the trio proved short-lived, however; in the spring of 2021 he announced his departure. In July he released The Magic of Now on Smoke Sessions, leading a quartet that included Stewart on drums, bassist Vicente Archer, and 23-year-old alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins. ~ Thom Jurek