Charles
Evans' On Beauty - to be released May 12th on More is More Records - presents
the seasoned baritone saxophone artist as a unique voice in the creative music
community. On this audacious new
project, written specifically for soprano saxophone great David Liebman, Evans
has devised methods of combining chromatic harmony with improvisation,
employing the rare combination of the baritone and soprano saxophones.
Evans
and Liebman celebrate the CD in a special concert on Friday, June 19 at
Greenwich House Music's Sound it Out Series in NYC. Joining them are Ron
Stabinsky on piano and Tony Marino on bass. Evans also celebrates with two
dates in Brooklyn: May 14 with Stabinsky, Marino and Dan Blake on soprano at
Shapeshifter Lab and May 23 in a solo gig at The Firehouse Space.
Liebman
put down the tenor saxophone for fifteen years to fully actualize his desire
for a personal soprano voice. Evans, the apprentice, has followed Liebman's
lead in many ways. Specifically, the
exclusive devotion to the soprano's distant lower relative, the baritone, for
nearly twenty years has rendered him ready for profound creation with the
premiere living soprano master.
Each
subsequent recording shows that Evans is continuing to go deeper into the
development of a very personal approach both to playing his instrument and
composing music perfectly suited to his playing style. As his work progresses,
even the very open term "jazz" is beginning to seem too confining a
term to describe his music. He has arrived at the point of simply sounding like
Charles Evans. His work is highly expressive and often complex, but not in a
way that aims to overwhelm. He achieves all through the subtlety and control
that comes from years of single-minded pursuit of ideals without compromise.
The
baritonist has worked diligently to broaden the expressive range of his
instrument, with specific care towards the difficult altissimo register
(featured very lyrically and eloquently here) as well as the application of chromatic
improvisation/composition on the big horn.
The music is strengthened by the use of freely associated triads,
intervals, and chromatic lines in polyphonic improvisation with the other
members of the group. The quartet
members truly leave their egos at the door, beautifully expressing and
understanding the composer's musical vision.
Accompanying
the saxophonists are two musicians that are masters in their own right. Bassist
Tony Marino, through his longtime tenure in various Liebman groups, brings a
level of artistry on the upright that is rarely matched. His experience, and
ability to adapt to the challenges of both the improvisational and written
material, was indispensable in this undertaking. Pianist Ron Stabinsky can be heard in a
variety of creative musical settings, from his new role in Mostly Other People
Do the Killing to his recent work with trumpet virtuoso Peter Evans. Stabinsky proves to be the glue to the
ensemble, bringing an incredible precision to the notation, along with a
creative versatility to each movement of the piece.
Evans'
music is genre nonspecific and avoids employing the traditional jazz
vocabulary. The combination of jazz
instruments, 20th-century classical techniques and harmonies, and free
improvisation demonstrate Evans' refusal to be limited or allow his music to be
pigeonholed. A preference for the subtle
and delicate is often demonstrated, vs. traditional jazz virtuosity. Compositionally, the music grew from the
successes of the quartet's first CD Subliminal Leaps. The baritonist's intent is to deepen the most
beautiful attributes from the first record, thereby reaching further avenues of
artistic expression.
"On
Beauty," a composition written for Liebman's specific instrumental voice,
utilizes devices with him in mind, many of which were cultivated and refined in
past years by the innovative saxophonist. Evans contemplates beauty by taking a
very close look at the finest musical qualities in the quartet's
repertoire. Several polychord
progressions are featured in the piece.
Thematic melodies (at times appearing in variation such as retrograde)
are derived from the harmonic material, and vice versa. These melodies are thoroughly exhausted
throughout the work and reimagined, from the subtle eloquence of Movement I to
the lively polytonal march of Movement II.
Writing for two independent simultaneous duos takes precedence in
Movement III and IV, where the quartet reaches a healthy balance of improvised
vs. written material. Surprise is a
virtue throughout, as the composition is varied by interruptions that lead the
music to unexpected places. The use of
the baritonist's virtuosic altissimo register is fully explored in tasteful
ways, stating melodies both in duo with the soprano and also in support of
Liebman's masterful polychordal improvisations.
Ending Beauty brings back the themes, this time reharmonized, leading to
a surprising up-tempo trading section and ending with the saxophone pair in duo
at their introspective finest. This
compositional cohesion is a fine example of the actualization of Evans' writing
within Liebman's personal unique language, with all parties demonstrating
profound and heartfelt improvisations.
Charles
Evans was raised in a small town named Factoryville, Pennsylvania. He began intensive baritone saxophone study
with the late Bill Zaccagni at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. During this time he also studied with David
Liebman, who instilled an artistic mindset in the young baritonist and inspired
him to pursue music to his fullest potential.
Following Liebman's cue, Evans moved to New York, where he received a
master's degree in jazz performance while studying with Antonio Hart. Shortly
thereafter, he completed the Music Education program at Queens College for
state certification.
Among
Evans' seven releases is his March 2009 multi-layered solo baritone saxophone
release, The King of All Instruments, which earned wide praise including 5
stars in DownBeat Magazine and helped enable Evans to consistently place in the
DownBeat Annual Critics Poll on baritone saxophone. As Hank Shteamer said in
his Time Out New York review:
"Evans is dead serious about getting the most out of his regal
horn. Hypnotic and, in spots, powerfully creepy, it's a singular statement from
a composer expressing profound art."
He continued to develop his non-tonal writing and playing with Live at
St. Stephens (2009) receiving "Best New Release, 2010-Honorable
Mention" in All About Jazz magazine. In 2013 Evans placed 4th in the
"Rising Star Baritone Saxophone" category of DownBeat. As Michael Jackson noted in his 5 Star
DownBeat review, "My highest marks are for originality and audacity, but
there is a more profound inner communion here."
Perhaps
it could be said that the baritone saxophone has a new leader, one who sees
possibilities previously unexplored.
Uniquely, Evans places composition on an equal level of importance to
his playing, a quality that has proven instrumental in reaching sincere,
personal, depth and expression. As Alain
Drouot of DownBeat Magazine said about Subliminal Leaps, "The exchange on
the opener shows that the saxophonists did not need much time to get
acquainted. The unusual marriage (of
baritone and soprano saxes) bears some impressive fruit on this outstanding new
album." Subtle, dissonant, and
emotional, Charles Evans has used the very same lineup and musical language to
create a unique and expressive work of art once again, with the release of On
Beauty (MIM 152).
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