Orrin Evans Josh Lawrence Duo at @exuberance

There are different kinds of jazz. There’s the physical kind, the kind that speaks to the body, that makes you move, nod your head, feel the groove, makes you smile uncontrollably. That’s been part of this music from the beginning. Then there’s the more cerebral kind of jazz that appeals to the intellect, that challenges expectation, that sounds different, that makes you think. Orrin Evans doesn’t just work both sides of that street—he brings them together, with a ceaselessly passionate heart. Lots of heart.

His relentless creativity has produced 25 albums in the last 20 years in various associations with a who’s who of jazz musicians. Seven years ago he formed the Captain Black Big Band, providing a platform for a rotating ensemble of riveting east coast players and arrangers. ...

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There are different kinds of jazz. There’s the physical kind, the kind that speaks to the body, that makes you move, nod your head, feel the groove, makes you smile uncontrollably. That’s been part of this music from the beginning. Then there’s the more cerebral kind of jazz that appeals to the intellect, that challenges expectation, that sounds different, that makes you think. Orrin Evans doesn’t just work both sides of that street—he brings them together, with a ceaselessly passionate heart. Lots of heart.

His relentless creativity has produced 25 albums in the last 20 years in various associations with a who’s who of jazz musicians. Seven years ago he formed the Captain Black Big Band, providing a platform for a rotating ensemble of riveting east coast players and arrangers.

Among them is Josh Lawrence, a trumpeter of uncommon intelligence—endlessly inventive, soaringly lyrical with a tone to die for. Educator, composer and arranger, Josh leads his own Color Theory and co-leads the ambitious and eclectic Fresh Cut Orchestra.

Josh Lawrence and Orrin Evans—trumpet and piano—alone together.

For precedents think Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines, Ruby Braff and Ellis Larkins, Clark Terry and Oscar Peterson. Then think today. Modernist romanticism. Sounds that look back, but look forward as well.

In an acoustically ideal space, an intimate invention lab for beauty and more on a Friday evening. I can’t think of a better way to conclude our 2016 series of jazz salons @exuberance. Reward yourself and join us for this very special program.

@exuberance parties at Matt’s are by invitation only to provide a dignified, comfortable and acoustically ideal setting for worthwhile art and ideas. Cellphones and other devices are to be holstered during the performances. Between sets, conviviality rules.

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