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Falkner Evans

“The beauty of jazz as an art form is the freedom of expression allowed,” explains pianist and composer Falkner Evans. “There is nothing more free in music than jazz improvisation." Growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Evans was influenced by both pop and jazz music. A mainstay of the Tulsa scene in the 1970's, he eventually moved to New York in 1985 and immediately immersed himself in the city's vibrant jazz scene.

Evans's first three trio discs, Level Playing Field, Climbing the Gates and Arc, established his voice as a player and composer. Thomas Conrad of JazzTimes wrote that Evans "makes you listen carefully to discover the complexities" with in his music. His fourth outing, Point of the Moon, saw Evans expanding his band to a quintet and concentrating even more on his unique compositional style. George Kanzler wrote in Hot House, "already notable in trio format, Evans's distinctive compositions stand out given full quintet arrangements."

A cousin of the iconic author, William Faulkner Evans says "I love the element of surprise when putting together a piece of music. I want the music to be enjoyable on the first listen but open up and show its depth on repeated listening. All we can ever hope for is to absorb many different influences as we go along and distill these into something unique and fresh."

Evans is currently finalizing plans for his next recording with an expanded group. For more information on Evans, go to his website at falknerevans.com.

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4
Album Review

Falkner Evans: Invisible Words

Read "Invisible Words" reviewed by Doug Hall


Within the songs that make-up Invisible Words (CAP, 2021), jazz pianist and composer Falkner Evans is facing a profound loss and delivering an intricate and gorgeous musical response. Losing his wife and soul partner abruptly last year, after 30 years of marriage (she took her own life), Evans has found a way to create a reflective tribute and moving celebration of his wife's life. Returning to his instrument in the form of a well-worn piano, in the basement ...

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Album Review

Falkner Evans: Invisible Words

Read "Invisible Words" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


On May 19, 2020, pianist Falkner Evans' wife Linda took her own life. A crushing blow. He has responded to this tragedy by making the album he never meant to make, Invisible Words; the title was taken from a quote Evans found upon searching through his wife's writings: “Music Is the Invisible Word, made visible through sound," taken, perhaps, (and slightly misquoted) from Kate Mosse's 2007 novel Sepulchre: “Music is the invisible world, made visible through sound." The ...

1
Album Review

Falkner Evans: Marbles

Read "Marbles" reviewed by Jack Bowers


On his fifth recording as leader, pianist / composer Falkner Evans has expanded his group size from trio (the first three) and quintet (the fourth) to sextet with vibraphonist Steve Nelson added on three of the album's ten numbers, the first nine of which were written by Evans. Even though this was a one-off, Evans' teammates are skillful enough to make it sound like a working ensemble. One reason for this is that the rhythm section (bassist Belden Bullock, drummer ...

4
Album Review

Falkner Evans: Marbles

Read "Marbles" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


Pianist Falkner Evans has been gradually expanding the size of his recording projects. He started out with a couple of trio discs, then made one with a quintet. On this latest offering, he fronts a three-horn sextet scored to sound like a bigger and fuller unit. He uses a front line of Michael Blake on tenor sax, Ted Nash on alto sax and Ron Horton on trumpet, that is blended into a cool, reedy sound which ebbs and ...

193
Album Review

Falkner Evans: The Point of the Moon

Read "The Point of the Moon" reviewed by Jeff Dayton-Johnson


Pianist Falkner Evans is a distant relative of the great American novelist William Faulkner, by the same obscure Southern logic by which Al Gore and Gore Vidal are related. He is also a former pianist for the tight Western swing outfit Asleep at the Wheel and leader of an acclaimed piano trio.Evans's famed ancestor once wrote, “The past is never dead. It's not even past." Seen in the right light, this is not a bad axiom for 21st ...

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Album Review

Falkner Evans: The Point Of The Moon

Read "The Point Of The Moon" reviewed by Mark Corroto


It is natural to equate a bit of hubris with jazz, but pianist Falkner Evans checks his ego at the door on The Point Of The Moon.Like his previous trio session, Arc (CAP, 2007), he returns with bassist Belden Bullock and drummer Matt Wilson, but supplements things with the horn frontline of tenor saxophonist Greg Tardy and trumpeter Ron Horton. If it weren't for Evans' name on The Point Of The Moon's cover, it might not seem like ...

193
Album Review

Falkner Evans: Arc

Read "Arc" reviewed by Christopher Shoe


Falkner Evans is an accomplished composer, and the number of ASCAP award-winning compositions present on Arc attests to that and more. Comprised of nine tunes, ranging from original material to jazz and pop standards, this statement from Evans' trio with bassist Belden Bullock and drummer Matt Wilson is sure to leave listeners with a pleasant aftertaste and a desire to come back for more. Evans' career has spanned a variety of musical genres and that has naturally ...

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Recording

Soft and Hard Running Bop from Pianist-Composer Falkner Evans

Soft and Hard Running Bop from Pianist-Composer Falkner Evans

Source: Gapplegate Music Review by Grego Edwards

Falkner Evans write some early -mid-sixties style Blue Note hard and soft bop pieces that have a nice solidity. That is, on his CD The Point of the Moon (CAP 1024). The pieces range from a sort of Mobley meets Andrew Hill hipness, to flat-out hard bop, all arranged well for a sextet that includes Matt Wilson, drums, Belden Bullock on bass, Gary Versace on organ or accordion, Ron Horton, trumpet, Greg Tardy on tenor, and of course Evans on ...

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Performance / Tour

The Falkner Evans Trio Wednesday, April 25th at The Kitano

The Falkner Evans Trio Wednesday, April 25th at The Kitano

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services


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Recording

Climbing the Gates Album Features Improx Trio: Falkner Evans, Cecil McBee & Matt Wilson

Climbing the Gates Album Features Improx Trio: Falkner Evans, Cecil McBee & Matt Wilson

Source: Creative Service Company

CLIMBING THE GATES ALBUM FEATURES IMPROVISATORY JAZZ TRIO OF FALKNER EVANS,CECIL MCBEE & MATT WILSON

New York jazz pianist Falkner Evans loves the purity of the traditional jazz trio, so he once again joins forces with bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Matt Wilson on the second Falkner Evans Trio album, Climbing the Gates, that features what Evans calls “complex structures with discernible melodies laid over the top, and lots of improvisation."

Evans says, “The beauty of the trio is that ...

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Through the Lens

Consolidated Artists Productions
2023

buy

Invisible Words

Consolidated Artists Productions
2021

buy

Marbles

Consolidated Artists Productions
2020

buy

Arc

Consolidated Artists Productions
2007

buy

Soul Witness

From: Through the Lens
By Falkner Evans

Brightest Light

From: Invisible Words
By Falkner Evans

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