Presence (Smoke Sessions)
Orrin Evans and The Captain Black Big Band
Released September 21, 2018
Grammy Nominee for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album 2019
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kv3AwthBuDOcC0lJ3rz4CKBwAcdAO_qiM
Spotify:
About:
The title of Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band’s third album, PRESENCE, reflects the essence of the band’s ethos: this recording captures what it was like to be present, in the moment, on these occasions. The album was recorded live at two Philadelphia clubs: Chris’ Jazz Café (the site of the band’s birth) and South Kitchen & Jazz Parlor. The recording retains the feel of those rooms, with lively crowds, the clinking of drinks, and playful interactions between the musicians and the audience.
The band as represented on PRESENCE is a smaller, tighter unit than on its two previous recordings. This 9-piece version of the ensemble is, in some ways, a practical decision. An 18-piece band is an unwieldy and financially daunting endeavor at the best of times, and this pared-down incarnation also proved to be a better fit for the intimate stage at Smoke Jazz & Supper Club, where the band enjoyed a long-running residency. But this new, streamlined Captain Black also reveals a core family of musicians who have entered Orrin’s sphere over the years and remained as loyal and enthusiastic collaborators.
That feeling of camaraderie extends to the ensemble’s repertoire. Unlike many a big band, Captain Black was never undertaken as a vehicle to spotlight its bandleader’s compositional or arranging chops. Orrin has long been more interested in seeing what other writers and arrangers bring to the table, either rethinking his own tunes as big band charts or offering their own pieces in expanded arrangements.
“I look for something different in the Captain Black Big Band,” is the way that Orrin puts it. “What I look for is the ability and the desire to be a part of a family, which stems from what I saw growing up in my household. You have to be ready and down to be a part of this. I actually get disappointed sometimes when other people don’t see that.”
Track Listing:
1. The Scythe 9:29
2. Question 8:28
3. Onward 10:37
4. When It Comes 3:15
5. Flip the Script 10:04
6. Trams 11:54
7. The Answer 13:07
8. Presence 8:59
9. When It Comes (alternate take) 1:20
Personnel:
The Captain Black Big Band
Caleb Curtis: alto saxophone (2, 3, 5, 6, 7 & 9)
Todd Bashore: alto saxophone (1, 4, & 8)
Troy Roberts: tenor saxophone
John Raymond: trumpet
Josh Lawrence: trumpet (1, 3, 4, 5, 7 & 8)
Bryan Davis: trumpet (2, 6 & 9)
David Gibson: trombone
Stafford Hunter: trombone (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8)
Brent White: trombone (9)
Orrin Evans: piano
Madison Rast: bass
Anwar Marshall; drums (2, 4, 6, 7 & 9)
Jason Brown: drums (1, 3, 5 & 8)
Produced by Paul Stache
Associate Producer: Damon Smith
Recorded at SOUTH by Katsuhiko Naito & Michael Comstock
Recorded at Chris’ Jazz Café by Katsuhiko Naito
Mixed and Mastered by Christopher Allen
Cover illustration by Dominique Dutton
Performance photo by Ola Baldych
Design by Damon Smith and Paul Stache
Executive Producers: Frank Christopher & Paul Stache
Review:
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 that he channels through the explosively celebratory Captain Jack Big Band.
Named after his father’s favorite pipe tobacco, even a scaled down Captain Black on Presencebrings to the bandstand a veritable village of Evans’ Philadelphia family. And they all shine bright. Caleb Wheeler Curtis and Todd Bashore share alto sax duties. John Raymond, Bryan Davis, and Josh Lawrence bring the trumpets. David Gibson, Brent White, and Stafford Hunter man the trombones. Hard honking, streetwise Troy Roberts blows a fierce and fiery tenor sax. Holding down the fort for all these guys to fly are bassist Madison Rast and the double drumming threat of Anwar Marshall and Jason Brown.
Recorded hot and live at Philly’s South Jazz Kitchen and Chris’ Jazz Cafe, this taut ensemble repeatedly gives the audience its money worth, breaking from the gate with the boisterous and bouncing “The Scythe.” Evans brings his love of McCoy Tyner to the effervescent foreground, while Roberts shakes the rafters. A swirling dervish of a track, it is only the beginning. Fired up, the audience excitement is palpable as Roberts vigorously solos centerstage intro-ing the rousing post bop “Question” a brassy feast wherein each player readily picks up the other’s challenge, pushing the music forward. Trumpeter Raymond’s “Onward” is a thrilling ten minutes, shifting seamlessly from an almost anthemic conversation between Evans and Rast to trombones and trumpets signaling a sea-change of time and meter. Evans’ “Flip The Script” is a swinging juggernaut, a mighty, Charles Mingus-like blast of reeds and rhythm. Roberts and Curtis are particularly locked in and exuberant as the pianist dodges in between in all, like a boxer trying to land the finishing punch on an ever moving opponent. “Trams” a Roberts’ original, is all languid vitality, a bluesy, juke joint highlight. The title track is a raw performance and quite possibly the nearest thing on Presence that one could term traditional.
Mike Jurkovic (All About Jazz)
