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Evan Weiss
Evan Weiss was born and raised near Seattle, Washington. In addition to playing the trumpet, much of his childhood was spent hiking and camping in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Living in a musical household, he was able to pick up bits of knowledge from his two older brothers. And at the age of 11, Evan was given his very first CD: Clifford Brown. From that moment on, he devoted his studies to the art of improvisation and began study with Seattle bebop legend, Don Lanphere.
Later in life, Weiss studied music at the University of North Texas. During his stay, he had the opportunity to compose, perform, and travel with the Grammy-nominated One O’Clock Lab Band. This ensemble served as the perfect setting to experiment with composition and orchestration for large ensembles. Weiss was able to record several albums with the group and began building his reputation as a big band arranger. His pieces were performed at a series of sold-out concerts featuring guests such as Kurt Rosenwinkel, Rich Perry, Bill Holman, Phil Woods, and Wayne Bergeron.
While in college, Weiss took time to explore the world of electronic effects and sound processing. He recorded and toured with Nobody’s Business, an electric quartet whose unique textural and rhythmic concept transcended genre. During this period, he also began performing with in the Hildegunn Gjedrem Group. Performing with this phenomenal Norwegian singer demanded a new approach, blurring the line between the solos and the song itself. Moving away from typical jazz styles laid the foundation for Evan’s exceptionally compositional approach to improvisation.
After college, Weiss moved to Brookyln and released his debut chamber music album on Greg Osby's label, Inner Circle Music. Now in Dallas, Weiss plays in several original groups including The Polyphonic Spree and The Funky Knuckles. He also currently produces and records horns for everything from film music, to orchestral rock, to gospel, to pop, to jazz. Weiss also has used this time to expand his compositional horizons beyond big big with new commissions for Orchestra and Wind Ensemble.
Although he is well versed in bebop and swing, Evan’s improvisations are a departure from the traditional jazz solo. He is part of a new wave of musicians who seek an intensely personal approach to music. In the spirit of his jazz predecessors, Evan seeks to help the music evolve and grow for generations to come.
Evan’s debut album Math or Magic features voice, strings, woodwinds, symphonic percussion, and cinematic sound effects to send the listener through a mesmerizing array of musical environments. This project displays a sense of maturity and compositional unity that is very rare among musicians of such a young age.
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Evan Weiss: Math or Magic
by David Rickert
Combining jazz improvisation and classical composition has been an irresistible idea for many--an intellectual problem promising that, perhaps, the result will combine the best qualities of both. However, in practice, the third stream movement has largely been an indication of boring, pretentious recordings to avoid. But then a guy like Evan Weiss comes along with his debut, Math or Magic, which proves that there is a great deal of promise in the idea of creating music that isn't quite jazz, ...
read moreEvan Weiss: Soundscapes
by Marshall Taylor
Stylistically, Evan Weiss, an up-and-coming composer, arranger and player in the jazz idiom, is a hard nut to crack. Weiss' recent release, Math or Magic (Inner Circle, 2010), contains soundscapes produced by an 11-piece ensemble. The tunes, rich and dense in their orchestration, tread through an array of musical environments teeming with subtly placed electronic sound effects, classical composition techniques and suave Norwegian vocals. All About Jazz: Your recent release, Math or Magic, is very dense in ...
read moreTrumpeter Evan Weiss Creates Math or Magic
Source:
Rolling Thunder PR
DON'T MISS THIS STELLAR NEW RELEASE ON INNER CIRCLE MUSIC Composer/trumpeter EVAN WEISS MATH OR MAGIC His Debut CD on Greg Osby's Inner Circle Music Label Chamber Music For Fans of Modern Composition, Neo-Classical, Jazz and Beyond What the press is saying about MATH OR MAGIC: ..."one of the leading lights for the big bands of tomorrow to look up to. Clearly a case of auspicious beginnings, if he does nothing more than run at this speed, he'll always be ...
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Evan Weiss Project Releases "Math Or Magic" on Inner Circle Music
Source:
Rolling Thunder PR
Composer/trumpeter EVAN WEISS Celebrates the CD Release of his debut MATH OR MAGIC at DAN'S SILVERLEAF Sunday, Feb 20 Catch this Rare Appearance of Weiss's Large Ensemble Performing New Music From His Inner Circle Music Release Evan Weiss was born and raised near Seattle, Washington and now back in North Texas after a year in NYC. In addition to playing the trumpet, much of his childhood was spent hiking and camping in the mountains ...
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