Evan Christopher (born August 31, 1969) is an American jazz
clarinetist
This article lists notable musicians who have played the clarinet.
Classical clarinetists
* Laver Bariu
* Ernest Ačkun
* Luís Afonso
* Cristiano Alves
* Michel Arrignon
* Dimitri Ashkenazy
* Kinan Azmeh
* Alexander Bader
* Carl Baermann
* ...
and
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
.
Biography
Background
His first musical training was at the
Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts. After high school, he studied saxophone at the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
and graduated from
California State University
The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a public university system in California. With 23 campuses and eight off-campus centers enrolling 485,550 students with 55,909 faculty and staff, CSU is the largest four-year public univers ...
at Long Beach where he studied clarinet. Early mentors include clarinetists
Kenny Davern
John Kenneth Davern (January 7, 1935 – December 12, 2006) was an American jazz clarinetist.
Biography
He was born in Huntington, Long Island, to a family of mixed Jewish and Irish-Catholic ancestry. His mother's family originally came from Vi ...
,
Tony Scott
Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as ''Top Gun'' (1986), ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''Day ...
and soprano saxophonist
George Probert.
Career
Tours with singer-songwriter
A.J. Croce in the early 1990s brought Christopher to New Orleans. He moved to Crescent City in 1994
and enjoyed varied work before leaving to join the
Jim Cullum Jazz Band in
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, Texas in 1996. For nearly three years, he appeared nightly as their featured clarinetist and recorded episodes of the syndicated radio program ''
Riverwalk Jazz''. He returned to New Orleans but was forced to leave in 2005 when the federal levees failed because of
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
. He traveled continuously and lived briefly in Paris at the invitation of the city of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. During this residency, he formed the Jazz Traditions Project and Django à la Créole. The latter fused
Gypsy jazz
Gypsy jazz (also known as gypsy swing, jazz manouche or hot club-style jazz) is a style of small-group jazz originating from the Romani guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910–53), in conjunction with the French swing violinist Stéphane Gr ...
with New Orleans grooves. Tours with
Irvin Mayfield's New Orleans Jazz Orchestra made it possible for Christopher to return to New Orleans. He is a charter member of jazz composer guild, NOLA ArtHouse Music, and the Seahawk Modern Jazz Orchestra in southern California.
Christopher published research on the New Orleans style of clarinet. In 2002 he began pursuing a degree in musicology at
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
. From 2008–2009, he taught part-time at the
University of New Orleans
The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the University of Louisiana System and the Urban 13 association. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High rese ...
and taught an ensemble that performed with
Lucien Barbarin
Lucien Barbarin (July 17, 1956 – January 30, 2020) was an American trombone player. Barbarin toured internationally with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and with Harry Connick Jr.
He made his debut at the age of six, playing drums in the On ...
and
Marcus Roberts
Marthaniel "Marcus" Roberts (born August 7, 1963) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and teacher.
Early life
Roberts was born in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. His mother was a gospel singer who had gone blind a ...
. In July 2010, he debuted the "Treat It Gentle Suite", a concerto for clarinet and jazz band with the
Minnesota Orchestra
The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall.
History
Em ...
.
Discography
As leader
* ''This Side of Evan'' (Meridien, 1998)
* ''New Orleans Rendezvous'' (G.H.B., 1999)
* ''Danza'' with
Tom McDermott (STR 2002)
* ''Clarinet Road Vol. I: The Road to New Orleans'' (STR, 2003)
* ''Clarinet Road Vol. II: The Road to New Orleans'' (STR, 2005)
* ''Introduction: Live at the Meridien'' (ClassicJazz, 2007)
* ''Delta Bound'' (Arbors, 2007)
* ''Django a la Creole'' (Fremeaux, 2008)
* ''The Remembering Song'' (Arbors, 2010)
* ''Django a la Creole: Live!'' (Fremeaux, 2014)
* ''Clarinet Road Vol. III: In Sidney's Footsteps'' (STR, 2016)
As sideman
*
A. J. Croce
Adrian James "A.J." Croce (born September 28, 1971) is an American singer-songwriter. He is the son of Ingrid Croce and Jim Croce.
Biography
Croce was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, on September 28, 1971. His father died in a plane crash ei ...
, ''A.J. Croce'' (Private Music, 1993)
*
Jim Cullum, ''American Love Songs'' (Riverwalk, 1997)
* Jim Cullum, ''Chasin' the Blues'' (Riverwalk, 2005)
*
Lars Edegran, ''Lars Edegran and His New Orleans All Stars'' (G.H.B., 2000)
* Lars Edegran, ''Triolian String Band'' (G.H.B., 2011)
*
Lionel Ferbos, ''Lionel Ferbos with Lars Edegran's New Orleans Band'' (G.H.B., 1995)
*
Mark Isham
Mark Ware Isham (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician and film composer. A trumpeter and keyboardist, Isham works in a variety of genres, including jazz and electronic. He is also a film composer, having worked on numerous films and t ...
, ''Romeo Is Bleeding'' (Verve, 1994)
*
Tom McDermott, ''Bamboula'' (Minky 2013)
*
Irvin Mayfield
Irvin Mayfield Jr. (born December 23, 1977) is an American trumpeter, composer, bandleader and educator. On November 3, 2021, Mayfield was sentenced to 18 months in prison for defrauding the New Orleans public library system from over one mill ...
, ''Book One'' (World Village, 2009)
*
Arnold McCuller
Arnold McCuller (born August 26, 1950) is an American vocalist, songwriter, and record producer, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He was active as a solo artist and session musician, but is perhaps best known for his work as a touring back- ...
, ''Exception to the Rule'' (Coyote, 1994)
*
Trevor Richards, ''City of the Blues'' (Jazzology, 1999)
* Trevor Richards, ''35 Years 1965–2000 Blame It On the Blues!'' (New Orleans Jazz, 2000)
*
Terry Waldo
Terry Waldo (born November 26, 1944) is an American pianist, composer, and historian of early jazz, blues, and stride music, and is best known for his contribution to ragtime and his role in reviving interest in this form, starting in the 1970 ...
, ''Presents the Jazz Entertainers Vol. 1 Let It Shine'' (Stomp Off, 2003)
References
External links
Official site*
Le Show
''Le Show'' is a weekly syndicated public radio show hosted by satirist Harry Shearer.
The program is a hodgepodge of satirical news commentary, music, and sketch comedy. Shearer, an impressionist known for his voice work on ''The Simpsons'', w ...
interview:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christopher, Evan
1969 births
Living people
21st-century clarinetists
American jazz clarinetists
Dixieland clarinetists
Dixieland revivalist clarinetists
Arbors Records artists