Category: Reviews

Posted on by

Midwest Record on Peter Brendler “Outside the Line”…

http://midwestrecord.com/MWR793.html

PETER BRENDLER/Outside the Line: For a bass player looking to move jazz sounds forward into uncharted territory, “Walk On the Wild side” is a good jumping off point to bring listeners into the tent with something familiar but still outré after 40 years and let them wander the rooms from there. A high octane modern jazz set, Brandler and crew play as one even when heading off in different directions. The set lives up to the title, and progressive and fearless ears will be well rewarded by a rising, improvising jazzbo that just doesn’t take no for an answer. Well done.
8121 

Posted on by

The Jazz Page raves up Jared Gold “JG3+3″…

thejazzpage.com

On his 7th release, Hammond B3 organist Jared Gold augments a core organ trio with a three piece brass section and the result is outstanding. JG3 + 3 sounds the way a big league jazz recording is supposed to sound. Joining Gold are Dave Stryker on guitar and Sylvia Cuenca on drums, along with Patrick Cornelius on alto sax, Jason Marshall on baritone sax and Tatum Greenblatt on trumpet. The musicianship here is top shelf. The selection of material is a nice balance of traditional and contemporary, original and covers, upswinging and contemplative. Gold composed two of the compositions with Stryker contributing one his own, and there nice renditions of songs by Wayne Shorter, Michael Jackson, Cannonball Adderley and James Taylor, among others. This is just a fantastic effort from beginning to end.On his 7th release, Hammond B3 organist Jared Gold augments a core organ trio with a three piece brass section and the result is outstanding. JG3 + 3 sounds the way a big league jazz recording is supposed to sound. Joining Gold are Dave Stryker on guitar and Sylvia Cuenca on drums, along with Patrick Cornelius on alto sax, Jason Marshall on baritone sax and Tatum Greenblatt on trumpet. The musicianship here is top shelf. The selection of material is a nice balance of traditional and contemporary, original and covers, upswinging and contemplative. Gold composed two of the compositions with Stryker contributing one his own, and there nice renditions of songs by Wayne Shorter, Michael Jackson, Cannonball Adderley and James Taylor, among others. This is just a fantastic effort from beginning to end.

Posted on by

Audiophile Audition reviews Steve Davis “For Real”…

http://audaud.com/2014/02/steve-davis-for-real-posi-tone/

Steve Davis – For Real – Posi-Tone

Steve Davis – He always “brings it”…

 

Steve Davis – For Real – Posi-Tone PR8116, 58:09 ****:

(Steve Davis – trombone; Abraham Burton – tenor sax; Larry Willis – piano; Nat Reeves – bass; Billy Williams – drums)

Steve Davis is one dependable cat. We’ve previously reviewed many of his prior CD issues, and they all hit the mark. Going back to Alone Together in 2007, to the more recent  Eloquence(on JLP), and Images and Gettin’ It Done (on Posi-Tone), the sense of swing and polished presentation is always there. Davis is an integral member of the new millenium’s version of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messenger’s, One for All. His solo projects, usually containing his own compositions, are eagerly anticipated by fans of hard bop.

Steve’s pedigree is first rate, having been mentored by Jackie McLean, and serving on the last version of Blakey’s Messengers from 1989 to 1990, before Art’s passing. He has taught at the Hartt College of Music, where his studies brought him in contact with Jackie Mac.

On his latest CD, For Real, his pairing with tenor saxist Abraham Burton, strongly brings to mind the Jazz Crusaders’ sax and ‘bone masters, Wilton Felder and Wayne Henderson. On the opening title track, they totally nail the funk and “grease” of the Crusaders appeal. With long time accompanist, the brilliant pianist Larry Willis bringing gospel tinged piano fills, it’s a great way to set the stage for what is to come. On “Nicky D” Steve Davis’ burnished tone kicks into a nice groove that the rhythm section supports. “Angie’s Groove” shows off the ensemble blending that One for Alldoes so well. They are locked in until Willis, and then Steve, and Burton take center stage. “Days Gone By” is a mellow ballad that will showcases Abraham Burton’s lyrical skills matched by Davis’ ability to enter the realm of JJ Johnson as a balladeer.

“Blues on Blues” is just that. Written by Larry Willis, it is manna from heaven for those that love soul jazz. “Tactics” is more assertive, and the closer, “Daylight” lets the group explore a Latinesque tinge, with Billy Williams’ percussion providing the propulsion to keep the juices flowing.

Kudos again go out to Posi-Tone’s main men: producer Marc Free, and engineer Nick O’Toole, for bringing supreme acoustics that help Davis and Company strut their stuff. Steve Davis is definitely “for real.”

TrackList: For Real, Nicky D, Angie’s Groove, Days Gone By, Big East, Blues on Blues, Tactics, I Found You, Daylight

—Jeff Krow

 

Posted on by

Steve Davis “For Real” is KIOS album of the month…

kios.org

Here’s a release that is going to write it’s own review, a session so inspired and intuitively right-there that it all bubbles to the surface propelled by the buoyant trombone sound of Steve Davis. This quintet session is Davis’s seventeenth album as leader and a gem among a steady succession of strong recordings.

Certainly one of our great contemporary jazz artists, Steve Davis has acquired his impressive jazz chops through years of wood-shedding and playing in good company. A member of Art Blakey’s final group of Jazz Messengers, Jackie McLean’s group, Chick Corea’s “Origin” and the cooperative group “One For All”, he has been an essential element of the modern jazz scene for over two decades. With a warm trombone voice evoking the sound of J.J. Johnson, Davis is a superb soloist and composer. All but one of the pieces on this album are substantive originals.

The second horn player for the date is tenor saxophonist Abraham Burton, who was a member of drummer Arthur Taylor’s “Wailers”, plays in the Mingus Big Band and also tours with the Abraham Burton-Eric McPherson Quartet. He possesses a rich, authoritative sound and invokes a restless edge to the selections with his creative solos.

The rhythm section on “For Real” is a dangerous trio capable of supporting and steering the horn men with articulate drive and finesse. Pianist Larry Willis’s discography extends back to classic Blue Note sessions with Lee Morgan and Jackie McLean. He was a member of Jerry Gonzalez’s Fort Apache Band and has also led his own sessions. Willis is a player with consummate taste and a polished soulfulness expressed with exquisite chords. Bassist Nat Reeves has just the right touch. He spent a lot of time with Jackie McLean in the 1990s and has recorded with Steve Davis numerous times. Drummer Billy Williams is one of those fine musicians who combine taste and energy, laying back when the mood is serene and driving proceedings on more upbeat numbers – as evidenced with his splendid work upon “Daylight”.

All of these artistic elements come together on “For Real” in a pleasingly cohesive album. From the bluesy strut of the title track, the relaxed beat of “Angie’s Groove”, the smoking, boppish feel of “Tactics” to the insistent Latin beat of “Daylight”, there’s a lot to like. “Big East” sounds like a page from the Jazz Messengers book with mellifluous notes flowing from Davis’s trombone. “Days Gone By” finds the group in a pensive mood and “I Found You” is laid back and melodic. The one non-Davis piece, Larry Willis’s number “Blues On Blues”, is a low-intensity groover with marvelous interplay between bassist Reeves, drummer Williams and the soloists.

 

Yes, there is a lot to enjoy on “For Real”. Check it out this month during our jazz programs on KIOS-FM and even pick up a copy for yourself. As with Steve Davis’s other albums, his music stands up very nicely over the years as enduring jazz statements.

Musicians: Steve Davis: trombone; Abraham Burton: tenor saxophone; Larry Willis: piano; Nat Reeves: bass; Billy Williams: drums

Tracks: For Real; Nicky D; Angie’s Groove; Days Gone By; Big East; Blues On Blues; Tactics; I Found You; Daylight

 

Posted on by

NextBop calls Orrin Evans Captain Black Big Band new CD Mother’s Touch “a sizable leap in scope and sound”…

nextbop.com

It was last October that I had the chance to catch Orrin Evans and his Captain Black Big Band. The venue was NYC’s famed Dizzy’s Coca Cola Club, and the occasion the birthday centennial of jazz’s greatest space case, Sun Ra. I’d known Evans from his flurry of small group releases over the past few years, particularly his wonderfully adaptive and melodic touch at the piano. Those records, which mostly kept to a straightforward bop sound, in no way prepared me for the Captain Black Big Band of this set. Donned in a dashiki while leading his men to the stage, procession-style, with a conch shell, Evans and his 16-piece band summoned the spirit of the Arkestra with eerie precision, from the spontaneous mid-song exclamations (“Jupiter! Venus! Mars!”) to the freewheeling, slightly off-the-rails execution of the arrangements. I knew from the CBBB’s eponymous debut that the orchestra was versatile, but the show left me with the distinct impression that these guys could do anything.

And now Evans and Captain Black are back with Mother’s Touch, the band’s first studio recording and a sizable leap in scope and sound. Though nothing touches the freewheeling experimentation of those Sun Ra tribute shows, Evans and crew show off their versatility in less obvious ways, utilizing a set of mostly original material that subtly expand on the framework of traditional big band jazz. More than anything, Touch displays the incredible range as a composer and arranger Evans has harnessed, even over the three years since the CBBB’s eponymous debut.

Not that Evans is particularly interested in being the star of the show. As on Captain Black’s debut, his piano mostly offers a support role for his cast of talented soloists including Marcus Strickland, Conrad Herwig and Duane Eubanks. Evans own composition “Dita” is about only place where the pianist really spaces out, laying down a wonderfully pensive interlude that nicely cools the otherwise hard-hitting record. And really it’s those hard-hitting tracks that make Touch worth the price of admission, particularly set highlights including a shapeshifting take on Wayne Shorter’s “Water Babies” and the wonderfully executed mini-suite “Prayer for Columbine.”

Befitting its home on Positone, a label which has always skewed towards a specific brand of retro-hip acoustic bop, Touch mostly avoids the more modern big-band touches of fellow big-band arranger/composers such as Darcy James Argue or Maria Schneider. Where Evans and his Captain Black Band keep things fresh lies in their attention to tenants of old-school big band: tight arrangements, killer soloists and an ever-vigilant ear for melody and swing. Compared to the Sun Ra feature, this is certainly no interstellar adventure in terms of adventurous. But Touch comes nowhere short of dispelling his reputation as one of jazz’s most dexterous and gifted players.

J.D. Swerzenski
Contributing Writer
j.d.swerzenski[at]trinity.edu

Posted on by

AAJ posts another review for Captain Black Big Band “Mother’s Touch”…

www.allaboutjazz.com

New York-based pianist / composer (and two-time Grammy Award nominee) Orrin Evans served notice with his first big-band album for Posi-Tone Records that there was an impressive new ensemble on the scene, a message that is firmly underscored by the second, the cryptically named Mother’s Touch., whose tone and temperament mirror Evans’ contemporary point of view. 

Evans wrote six of the album’s nine numbers, the first of which, the gospel-flavored “In My Soul,” kick-starts the session with righteous vigor underpinning solos to match by Evans and tenor saxophonist Marcus Strickland who switches to soprano for another trenchant statement on Evans’ colorful “Explain It to Me.” The leader steps aside in favor of pianist Zaccai Curtis on “Mother’s Touch,” a seemingly unrelated two-part suite whose total playing time is roughly four minutes. Tenor Stacy Dillard, trombonist David Gibson and trumpeterTatum Greenblatt add solos on Part I, Strickland (tenor) and baritone Mark Allen on Part II. The album’s lone ballad, “Dita (for Karyn Warren),” is a charming showpiece for Evans and altoTodd Bashore. 

Donald Edwards composed and Bashore arranged the lively “Tickle,” which precedes Eric Revis‘ supple “Maestra” and Wayne Shorter‘s frolicsome “Water Babies.” Tenor Victor North and trumpeter Fabio Morgera share solo space on “Maestra,” Dillard and Greenblatt (also the arranger) on “Water Babies.” The spirit is far removed from reverential on Evans’ buoyant finale, “Prayer for Columbine,” whose glossy tone abets elastic solos by Allen, Dillard, trombonistConrad Herwig and alto Tim Green. It’s a pity that Evans doesn’t solo more often, as he is a daring yet good-natured stylist in the manner of McCoy Tyner, Roger Kellaway and one of his mentors,Kenny Barron. He seems, however, content for the most part to play a supporting role and let the ensemble take the lion’s share of the bows and applause. 

Be that as it may, Evans’ purposeful imprint is all over the album, as it was on the band’s inaugural recording some three years ago. He is Captain Black, and the ensemble is an extension of his perceptive musical philosophy and personality.

Track Listing: In My Soul; Explain It to Me; Mother’s Touch Part 1; Dita (for Karyn Warren); Tickle; Maestra; Water Babies; Mother’s Touch Part 2; Prayer for Columbine.

Personnel: Orrin Evans: piano, leader; Tanya Darby: trumpet; Duane Eubanks: trumpet; Tatum Greenblatt: trumpet; Brian Kilpatrick: trumpet; Fabio Morgera: trumpet; Mark Allen, Todd Bashore, Doug Dehays, Stacy Dillard, Tim Green, Victor North, Marcus Strickland: saxophones; David Gibson: trombone; Conrad Herwig: trombone; Andy Hunter: trombone; Stafford Hunter: trombone; Brent White: trombone; Zaccai Curtis: piano (2, 8); Luques Curtis: bass; Anwar Marshall: drums; Ralph Peterson: drums (2).

Record Label: Posi-Tone Records

Style: Straight-ahead/Mainstream

 

Posted on by

StepTempest features detailed coverage for Orrin Evans “Mother’s Touch”…

steptempest.blogspot.com

Hard to believe it’s been just over 3 years since Posi-Tone Reecords released the self-titled debut CD from the Captain Black Big Band. Culled from 3 live dates, the music was hard-hitting, raucous, even fevered at times but filled with soulful melodies, smart arrangements and great solos.

8 months after that release (11/11), pianist, composer, founder and leader Orrin Evans took the band into Systems Two in Brooklyn to record the follow-up.  Partially crowd-funded through United States Artists (find out more about the organization here), “Mother’s Touch” is even better.  6 of the 9 tracks are Evans’ originals with one each from Eric Revis, Donald Edwards and Wayne Shorter.  6 different arrangers contributed to the program with the 2-part title track (cuts 3 and 8) attributed to the 20-member ensemble made up of 5 trumpets, 7 reeds, 5 trombones and a rhythm section.

The opening track, “In My Soul“, welcomes the listener with warm reeds and brass, a slow blues featuring excellent solos from Evans and tenor saxophonist Marcus Strickland. Gianluca Renzi’s arrangement has the flavor of Julius Hemphill in the lush saxophone melody and Thad Jones in the brass.  Trombonist David Gibson arranged Evans’ piece “Explain It To Me“, a piece that blends a fiery Latin feel with several straight-ahead sections.  Strickland delivers a soaring soprano sax solo while Ralph Peterson drives the band with his usual abandon – it’s the drummer’s only appearance on the CD with the bulk of the tracks driven by Anwar Marshall.  The pianist’s sweet ballad “Dita (for Karyn Warren)” has a lovely melody that Evans delivers in a most deliberate manner and the alto solo from Todd Bashore (who arranged the cut) is short but loaded with soul.  The arrangement calls for clarinets and flute plus a sweeping trumpet counterpoint and low trombones. Edwards’ “Tickle” is a straight-ahead “barn burner” that smokes all the way through its 4:06, especially when tenor saxophonist Stacy Dillard flies atop the amazing bass and drum work. Evans follows with his own energetic solo.  Revis, who is the bassist in the trio Tarbaby as well as long-time member of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, penned “Maestra“for the latter group. Here, the handsome ballad gets a funky makeover with a classy arrangement by Laura Kahle Watts (wife of drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts) featuring strong support from Evans plus fine solos from Victor North (tenor sax) and Fabio Morgera (trumpet). Trumpeter Tatum Greenblatt created the arrangement for Wayne Shorter’s “Water Babies” with its fine “call-and-response” featuring the soprano sax and muted trumpets at the onset.

The program closes with “Prayer for Columbine“, an Orrin Evans composition first recorded with drummer Ralph Peterson on his 2003 “Tests of Time” Criss Cross release (there is also an Evans Quintet live version from 2013 – you can watch it here.) Here, the Todd Marcus arrangement speeds the piece up a bit while creating a sweeping arrangement of the melody line from the trumpets (with saxophone counterpoint and trombone support.)  The tension builds throughout the 4 solos that start with trombonist Conrad Herwig and moves up to baritone saxophonist Mark Allen and then onto a conversation with the alto saxophone of Tim Green and tenor sax of Stacy Dillard. By the climax of the piece, the 2 men are center stage, their sounds converge then take the piece down to its quiet conclusion.

“Mother’s Touch” is an excellent recording, from the compositions to the arrangements to the solos.  The sound is stunning, crisp drums and piano stand out as does the way the mix spreads the reeds and brass sections around the spectrum. Orrin Evans makes a positive impression with every project he creates, he questions conformity and makes political statements yet does so with true belief. If you like large ensemble music, you should love the Captain Black Big Band! 

Posted on by

AAJ’s Dan Bilawsky reviews “Mother’s Touch”…

www.allaboutjazz.com

The studio-versus-stage argument will forever rage on in music, but it really shouldn’t. Each setting has its advantages and disadvantages. The jazz community has forever favored the stage, as many feel that jazz is meant to be experienced and created in the moment, with artist(s) feeding off the room and creating here-and-gone sounds. That preference is completely understandable, but the studio has its advantages; clarity, balance, and the right working conditions can often only be found there. 

The first two releases from pianist Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band both speak in similar fashion, but they’re a study in contrasts between the studio and the stage. Neither one suffers from the disadvantages connected to either setting, but Mother’s Touch certainly benefits from the sonic focus that can only be attained in a studio. The band’s thrilling eponymous debut had the spark that comes with music recorded live, and most of that music was two-dimensional, with focus shifting between soloist and ensemble. Mother’s Touch, in contrast, is multidimensional and far more nuanced in its presentation. Every single voice in every single section speaks with clarity, helping the ear to experience the brilliant juxtapositions that take place. 

“Dita” is as good a tune as any to illustrate how the studio serves this music. In a live setting, listeners might be taken by the soloists and the pristine-and-gorgeous horn voicings on this song, only to have the moment ruined by a mediocre sound system, noisy-and-disinterested patrons, clinking silverware, or an overzealous bartender with ice to dole out. Thankfully, no such thing can happen here. 

Mother’s Touch presents six Evans originals along with one tune apiece from drummerDonald Edwards (“Tickle”), bassist Eric Revis (“Maestra”), and iconic saxophonist-composerWayne Shorter (“Water Babies”). Evans and company wade in spiritual waters during “In My Soul,” and they make quick shifts in feel and style during “Explain It To Me,” which has a quirky piano introduction, straight sections, swing sections, and passages constructed of three bars of 7/8 and one bar of 4/4. The brief title tracks—”Mother’s Touch Part I” and “Mother’s Touch Part II”—pass quickly and contain solo escapades atop rubato rumblings. The aforementioned “Dita,” however, stays with the listener; Evans and alto saxophonist Todd Bashore shoot straight for the heart on that breathtaking tune. 

The second half of the album starts with the raging “Tickle,” which takes flight with saxophone runs and band punctuations. An understated funkiness carries “Maestra” along, “Water Babies” alternately simmers and smokes, and “Prayer For Columbine” surprises with its resolute spirit. Instead of dwelling on the tragedy that took place, Evans focuses on the we-shall-carry-on spirit that often follows horrific events. It’s the perfect way to end this album.

Track Listing: In My Soul; Explain It To Me; Mother’s Touch Part I; Dita; Tickle; Maestra; Water Babies; Mother’s Touch Part II; Prayer For Columbine.

Personnel: Tanya Darby: trumpet; Duane Eubanks: trumpet; Tatum Greenblatt: trumpet; Brian Kilpatrick: trumpet; Fabio Morgera: trumpet; Mark Allen: saxophone; Todd Bashore: saxophone; Dog Dehays: saxophone; Stacy Dillard: saxophone; Tim Green: saxophone; Victor North: saxophone; Marcus Strickland: saxophone; David Gibson: trombone; Conrad Herwig: trombone; Andy Hunter: trombone; Stafford Hunter: trombone; Brent White: trombone; Orrin Evans: piano; Zaccai Curtis: piano (3,8); Luques Curtis: bass; Anwar Marshall: drums; Ralph Peterson: drums (2). Additional arrangements by: Todd Bashore, Todd Marcus, David Gibson, and Gianluca Renzi.

Posted on by

Captain Black Big Band gets some great local coverage from the Philly Inquirer…

articles.philly.com

It’s a challenge to keep even a small band going for any length of time in the current jazz climate, and maintaining a big band that splits its time and membership between two cities is even harder.

But pianist Orrin Evans has done just that, helming his Captain Black Big Band for more than four years since its beginnings at Chris’ Jazz Cafe in late 2009. So why does he regularly corral 14 musicians from New York and Philly to tackle the ensemble’s boisterous arrangements?

“When I figure that out, I’ll probably stop doing it,” Evans said with a shrug last week over lunch at McMenamin’s Tavern near his home in Mount Airy. “It’s overwhelming – I’ve got to make sure everybody’s there, we’re not making tons of money, there’s a lot of people to pay. Musically, I love the sound of all these different colors and different sounds coming together. But I still haven’t quite figured out why I like doing it, and that’s what makes me get on that highway every week to see what happens.”

These days, Captain Black calls New York City home, with a residency on Monday nights at the Upper West Side club Smoke. The band returns to Philadelphia Wednesday night to celebrate release of its second CD, Mother’s Touch, at World Cafe Live with a pair of guests, both Philly natives: vocalist Joanna Pascale and guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel.

Rosenwinkel, who will also perform Tuesday at Underground Arts with his new psych-rock-improv trio Bandit 65, writes by e-mail that he’s a big fan of Evans: “Orrin is a brilliant pianist and dynamic composer and bandleader – a very soulful artist. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Wednesday’s show will mark their first chance to play together. “I wanted the opportunity to play with him and to get myself out of the comfort zone,” Evans said. “I don’t normally use guitarists that much, but with Rosenwinkel, I get a chance to play with a guitarist, someone from Philly, and someone I’ve wanted to play with for a while.”

Pascale is an old friend. Their first encounter was a near-disaster. She was 14 years old when her mother brought her to the now-defunct Blue Moon Jazz Club, where Evans was leading a regular jam session. When he called her to the stage, she brought up sheet music for Billie Holiday’s “Good Morning Heartache.” He waved it away.

“This was honestly the first time I’d ever sung when I wasn’t singing along to a record,” Pascale recalls. “Orrin starts playing, and something wasn’t right. I start singing, and he’s in a different key, and I’m horrified. So I turn around, and the bassist and drummer are laughing hysterically to the point where tears were rolling down their faces and their shoulders were shaking trying to hold it in.”

Nevertheless, Pascale and Evans established a musical relationship that has lasted nearly two decades. Most recently, he producedWildflower, her coming CD, which also features an appearance by Rosenwinkel. “Joanna’s like a little sister to me,” Evans said. “I think we really see time and space and rhythm in the same way. So whatever we do, there’s going to be space for us to grow and make something happen.”

What’s cool about Captain Black, Pascale says, “is how loose it is. But the level of musicianship of every single person in that band is so high that no matter what you put in front of them, it elevates the music to a whole other level.”

Mother’s Touch reveals a far more refined ensemble than the raw, combustible band captured live on its self-titled debut. Still, Evans is never one to plan much in advance and enjoys the thrill of the unexpected – even if it means occasionally playing a gig where not a single trombonist manages to show up.

“A part of me thinks it would be great to walk in and have a full band every week,” he said. “But I prefer to not know what’s going to happen. As much as it seems like it would be easier for it to all be the same every week, that would get real boring for me. I never really get nervous – but I get nervous about the big band.”

 

CONCERT

Orrin Evans’

Captain Black Big Band

8 p.m. Wednesday, World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St.

Tickets: $20.

Information: 215-222-1400, www.philly.worldcafelive.com.

Posted on by

Another review for Orrin Evans “Mother’s Touch”…

newyorkmusicdaily.wordpress.com

Mighty Majestic Brilliance from Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band

by delarue

Big band jazz is not the most lucrative style of music: after paying twenty guys for the gig, you’re lucky if there’s anything left over for you. But some of the most exciting composers in jazz persist in writing and recording large-ensemble pieces. Darcy James Argue is probably the most cutting-edge. Of all the purist, oldschool, blues-based big bands playing original material, pianist Orrin Evans‘ Captain Black Big Band is without a doubt the most powerful and entertaining. For those who don’t know his music, Evans is a vigorously cerebral tunesmith and one of this era’s most distinctive pianists: think of a young Kenny Barron with more stylistically diverse influences and you’re on the right track. Evans’ initial recording with this band was a roller-coaster ride through lively and often explosive, majestically blues-infused tunes. His new one, Mother’s Touch, is arguably even better, and has a broader emotional scope. Evans and this mighty crew play the album release show at Smoke jazz club uptown (Broadway between 105th and 106th) with sets at 7 and 9 PM on April 28. Get there early if you’re going (a seat a the bar is your best bet) because this will probably sell out.

The album’s slow, torchy first track, In My Soul, is amazing. It’s the most lavishly orchestrated oldschool soul song without words you’ll ever hear. Evans’ gentle, gospel-infused piano, Marcus Strickland’s searching tenor sax solo, and an artfully arranged conversation between groups of horns lead up to a joyously brass-fueled peak. By contrast, Explain It to Me is an enigmatic, pinpoint, Monk-ish latin groove, guest drummer Ralph Peterson doing a good impersonation of a salsa rhythm section on his big kit.

The album’s title track is a relatively brief two-parter: it’s basically an intro, guest pianist Zaccai Curtis spiraling around majestically on the first and then leapfrogging on the second over a dense wall of sound and Anwar Marshall’s tumbling drums.The best song on the album – and maybe the best single song that’s come over the transom here this year – is Dita. Throughout its long, impressionistic crescendos, elegant solo voices peeking in through the Gil Evans-like lustre and gracefully acrobatic outro, the pianist has a great time alluding to both the rhythm and the blues.

 

Tickle, written by Donald Edwards, works variations on a series of big, whirling riffs echoed by Stacy Dillard’s clustering tenor solo and then some wryly energetic call-and-response among the orchestra. An Eric Revis song, Maestra builds off a trickily rhythmic, circular riff underpinning a casually funky groove and a tersely jaunty Fabio Morgera trumpet solo. The band has a blast with the droll, bubbly bursts of Wayne Shorter’s Water Babies, a long trumpet solo giving voice to the most boisterous of the toddlers in the pool. The album ends with the epic Prayer for Columbine, an unexpectedly optimistic, cinematic theme grounded in unease – it has the feel of a longscale Quincy Jones soundtrack piece from the mid 60s. Pensive trombone over a similarly brooding vamp eventually gives way to a massive funk groove with a long, vividly animated conversation between aggravated baritone sax and a cooler-headed counterpart on tenor. It’s not always clear just who is soloing, but the whole thing is a sweeping, passionate performance from a big crew which also includes trumpeters Tanya Darby, Duane Eubanks, Tatum Greenblatt and Brian Kilpatrick; saxophonists Mark Allen, Doug Dehays, Stacy Dillard, Tim Green and Victor North, trombonists Dave Gibson, Conrad Herwig, Stafford Hunter, Andy Hunter and Brent White, with Luques Curtis on bass.