On paper, jazz pianist Orrin Evans returns to his childhood roots and all the branches of influence that accompany it to inspire the thematic forces of his next Smoke Sessions record, #knowingishalfthebattle. In reality, the listening experience provides so much more.
"Knowing is half the battle" comes from a 1980s children's cartoon, "G.I. Joe," and it's a saying the Philly musician is fond of repeating during pivotal moments in his life.
The fruits of such inspiration lead Evans inward, as he relies on instinct and a sense of improvisation in every one of his original and originally designed compositions.
Enabling the improvisational instincts to flourish are two of the world's finest examples, guitarists Kevin Eubanks and Kurt Rosenwinkel - also from Philadelphia. Eubanks and Rosenwinkel flavor Evans' thematic scope with just the right amount of verve with open-minded absorption, gathering the inspiration from out there and within.
"They're two guitarists, but they're two people who have taken the guitar information and translated it in their own way," Evans described in a recent press release from DL Media. "One uses a pick, one doesn't; one uses a volume pedal more than the other, one plays with more effects on their sound, one is coming from Wes Montgomery and the other is coming from a different point; but they're both taking the information they were given and doing something different with it."
The album has Evans also playing with bassist Luques Curtis, borrowing his baby girl's cries for her special number "Zeni Bea," returning vocalist M'Balia, drummer Mark Whitfield Jr., and saxophonist Caleb Wheeler Curtis.
#knowingishalfthebattle is Evans' third album from Smoke Sessions Records, a more than suitable follow-up to last November's The Evolution Of Oneself. It's also his way of imparting his own life lessons in his music. "We're taught that with knowledge comes power. Which is true, but we never really realize that with knowledge comes responsibility," Evans explained in that press release. "Then we have to figure out how to forget. When you let go of everything that you've been taught, the possibilities of what can happen on the bandstand are endless."
Evans and his recording band let go of everything to jam their hearts out on instrumental and vocal compositions mostly cooked up by these original artists.
M'Balia's loose, on-key vocals in David Bowie's "Kooks" keeps the melodically inclined happy, while the totally instrumental "You Don't Need A License To Drive," taken from Evans' playwright dad, gives the jazzheads what they most desire, lots of funked-up chordal nodules to vibe off.
Evans displays originality of thought that pushes traditional jazz to the outer limits, into a kind of free form that encompasses more than the stagnant, meditative New Age class and the classicist-abstaining, experimental world music followers, where anything goes as long as it's pregnant with possibility.
The slow-moving but not at all monotonous "Heavy Hangs The Head That Wears The Crown" by Caleb Wheeler Curtis fulfills the promise of both extremes, giving Eubanks and Rosenwinkel plenty of art room to create on the spot. Evans gives the creativity room yet grounds the lofty art with a place to go, rest, and return; he and his rhythm section come and go, reminding the guitarists to come back down to earth eventually, which they do in wispy, whispery strands. ~Carol Banks Weber

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