Paris Move

“Here is a well-made, charmingly retro album, the work of Gabriel Evan. His third album, Island Hopping, continues his exploration of Caribbean jazz and folk music from the early to mid-twentieth century, which began with his previous record, Global Entry.

The influences range from Cuba’s Lecuona Cuban Boys to Venezuela’s Lionel Belasco, and everywhere in between. This style of jazz is not currently broadcast on Bayou Blue Radio, but it will soon have a place in a specialized show, “Jazz Of The Week,” which will present the best new jazz albums released each week.

Gabriel Evan, a talented saxophonist and clarinetist passionate about this form of Latin jazz, doesn’t just reinterpret it; he also offers particularly clever arrangements that give the album a wonderful dynamism. Pani Ti Moun, a beguine from the early 1930s from the island of Martinique, sets the tone for the album with its highly danceable groove. Carmencita (1933) – one of two classic Lionel Belasco waltzes on the record – presents the more languid and delicate side of the album, with Evan and trombonist Charlie Halloran trading passages back and forth. Halloran himself leads Charlie & the Tropicales, a 60s-style Caribbean lounge band based in New Orleans, making him – along with band members Jafet Perez and Pete Olynciw – a perfect fit for the album.

In 15 tracks, Evan revives a part of early twentieth-century jazz history, reminding us that the great strength of jazz is its ability to adapt to various styles. Indeed, Boychick Calypso, the first original track on the album, is true to its title (Boychick means “young boy” in Yiddish), as its playful melody brings a childlike energy to the listeners’ ears. Jafet showcases his skills with his fills, keeping the energy high throughout the piece and supporting the four soloists. Habana Hammock – the album’s second original composition by Evan – invokes the more peaceful side of the record. The simple melody and relaxed island groove established by pianist Kris Tokarski transport the listener to an isolated beach, lounging seaside without a care in the world. Guitarist Josh Dunn, who traveled from NYC to Crescent City to record with Evan and company, plays a calming and introspective solo, one of the best on the record.

One should take the time to listen to this album, which is full of exciting rhythms and colors, often amusing, and imagine the immense work that went into selecting and arranging 15 tracks to bring this album to life. This album is certainly one of our “Favorites,” and we warmly recommend it to anyone sensitive to this form of jazz.”

- Thierry de Clemensat

View in Website

Jazz & Blues Report

“An unsung small group of the swing era, the John Kirby Sextet, is celebrated on a new recording by New York saxophonist Gabriel Evan. The Kirby Sextet was a celebrated group on 52nd Street in the 1930s with their chamber musical approach to jazz (predating the Modern Jazz Quartet) that included reworking classical compositions, as well as place their own spin on pop and other numbers. Evan's Orchestra is a sextet. In addition to Evan on alto & soprano saxophones, the Orchestra members are Joe Goldberg on clarinet and tenor saxophone, John Zarsky on trumpet, Joe Kennedy on piano, Ben Fox on upright bass, and Michael Voelker on drums and percussion. This two reed, trumpet, and rhythm section line-up is similar to the Kirby sextet line-up.

Bassist Kirby's band included trumpeter Charlie Shavers who also did a fair share of arranging for the band. Evan, who made most of the arrangements here, used three of Shavers' arrangements along with one arrangement by Frankie Trumbauer. The opening "Waltz of the Flowers" finds Evan emulating Shavers' arranging style in this delightful, diverting reworking of Tchaikovsky's waltz into a swing number. With the clean ensemble playing and crisp rhythmic approach, this is music of definite charm.

There is a fascinating repertoire on this recording, including an early Cuban number, "Rumba Azul," played with a supple feel; there is also a lively rendition of an early Duke Ellington swinger, "Jubilee Stomp." Then there is a Mid-Eastern flavor to the sextet's version of Henry Mancini's "Lujon."

"Arabian Nightmare" is one of three Charlie Shavers arrangements on the record and a lively take on Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade." Another Shavers arrangement is of Shavers' "Effervescent Blues." A performance of this last number by the Kirby Sextet can be heard on the Savory Collection reissues, whether on Mosaic Records or on Apple Music.

Evan's "South 5th Street" is a relaxed, spirited swinger. At the same time, his "Negotiations of South Williamsburg" spotlights Goldberg's clarinet on a klezmer-tinged performance that starts lethargically before transitioning into a brisk tempo. Then, Evan's adaptation of Ben Johnson's 1616 poem, "Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes," transforms the Elizabethan poem into a 52nd Street swing number with Zarsky and Kennedy standing out.

Global Entry is an unexpected delight with a first-class ensemble providing noteworthy renditions of a most intriguing and surprising repertoire. “

-Ron Weinstock

Midwest Review

GABRIEL EVAN ORCHESTRA/Global Entry:

”Lawdy, help my jaded ears! Evan loves kicking it with old timey stuff but he does not hit the usual bases. His opening Tchaikovsky track sounds like it should be the soundtrack for a "Little Rascals" short---and things go on from there. The funny thing here is that he's working out on legit pieces that he runs through a serious side of Spike Jones (?) and keeps them legit but turns the whole thing into a world of whimsy that we sorely need. This may be no way to get rich but it certainly is the way to warm the hearts of malcontents that need a grin everywhere. Killer stuff.”

-Chris Spector

View on Website

All About Jazz

At least one dictionary defines an orchestra as "a large instrumental ensemble...which combines instruments from different families including bowed string instruments...woodwinds...brass...percussion..." and "other instruments such as the piano, celeste...and harp..." Or, in the vernacular of New York-based saxophonist Gabriel Evan, a jazz sextet with some but not all of the above. Which is an around-the-block way of saying that Evan's "orchestra" lands somewhere short of the normal definition.

And that's by no means the only anomaly on Global Entry. Even though Evan's "orchestra," small as it is, places every one of the album's dozen numbers in a jazz framework, there are improvised solos on only five; the others are through-composed. As for the music, it spans a wide range of genres and eras, reaching back as far as the seventeenth century for the poet Ben Jonson's "Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes," neatly refurbished in trad jazz style by the late trumpeter Charlie Shavers, and embraces composers as dissimilar as Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Duke Ellington and Henry Mancini.

Evan wrote the Dixie-oriented "South 5th Street" and Klezmer-like "Negotiations of South Williamsburg," Shavers penned the well-grooved "Effervescent Blues." Tchaikovsky's familiar "Waltz of the Flowers" (updated by Evan) raises the curtain, followed by the first of two enticing rumbas, Ernesto Vasquez' "Rumba Azul" (the other is "Rumba Tambah," which closes the session). Shavers arranged Rimsky-Korsakov's "Arabian Nightmare" (from Scheherazade), Evan the traditional "Diane" (Tropical Moon), Ellington's buoyant "Jubilee Stomp," Mancini's sultry "Lujon" and Leo Blanc/Rafael Hernandez' "Tambah." Frankie Trumbauer scored the Original Dixieland Jazz Band's "Singin' the Blues."

The solos, such as they are, are more or less evenly divided among trumpeter John Zarsky (muted on "Jubilee Stomp"), clarinetist Joe Goldberg and pianist Joe Kennedy. Evan solos briefly on soprano ("Singin' the Blues," "Jubilee Stomp") and alto ("Drink to Me"). The group's other members are bassist Ben Fox and drummer/percussionist Michael Voelker. The frame of reference varies from trad to swing, never edging closer to modern jazz than that, and seems quite comfortable there. For what it is, Global Entry plays out as an astute and amiable session with a handful of special moments.
-JACK BOWERS

View on Website