A remarkable album from a true innovator.
by
SCOTT OSLER
I was in a few high school bands with Peter Evans back in the 1990's, and it is wonderful to see how his always-prodigious talents have matured over the last decade. By my count, this is the fourth album available on iTunes that he has been a part of, along with Moppa Elliot's "Mostly Other People do the Killing," The New York Trumpet Ensemble's "All Praise be Thine," and the eponymous "Carnival Skin." Peter has never been afraid to journey into the realm of avant garde or difficult music, but then, this is not meant to be another cookie-cutter album of jazz standards. Those who may want to dismiss this as a potpourri of gallimaufry are missing the point of the album, and of the spirit of jazz in general. After all, what is jazz if not a century-long tradition of innovation and reinvention? From King Oliver to Louis Armstrong to Bird & Diz, Miles, Coltrane, Electric-era Miles and Herbie, Weather Report, Irakere, and beyond, jazz has always been defined by its ability to change and assimilate new ideas. It is only in the past 20 or 25 years that some musicians have lost sight of this.
Having heard Peter play his music since 1994, I can assure that this has always been his voice, and one of a tremendously proficient musician blessed with true originality. Peter has the technical proficiency of many more well-known players, but whereas many A-listers turn out the same old retrogressive pabulum disc after disc (I'm looking at you, Messrs. Marsalis, Sandoval, and Hargrove), Peter tries to redefine and expand the genre. Listening to Peter bring the full armamentarium of the trumpet to bear on this album is to auscultate the future. Once the importance placed on churning out more dated, jaded, neo-New Orleans dixie/ragtime by certain over-commercialized and blowhard (pun intended) trumpet players who play overly-calculated solos stops stifling the younger generations from being able to bring their own contributions to the form, perhaps originality will once again take the fore, and albums such as this will enjoy the full audience they deserve. Take a listen to "!!!!!," and you'll want to hear more. So, when's the piano album coming out, Peter?
