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Orrin Evans

Orrin Evans is a pianist, composer, bandleader, producer, and label founder whose projects include the Captain Black Big Band and Tarbaby.

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Photo source · Photo: Stéphane (esteban_zia), CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Career Overview

About Orrin Evans

Evans' official biography roots his work in Philadelphia's jam-session and Black-music traditions and follows a leader catalog released through Criss Cross, Palmetto, Posi-Tone, Smoke Sessions, Giant Step Arts, and his own Imani Records. It presents community-building and artistic self-determination as recurring parts of his practice.[1]

His projects move among the Captain Black Big Band, the collective trio Tarbaby, duo and vocal collaborations, Brazilian-influenced Terreno Comum, and changing small groups. The discography separates those ensemble identities while Imani Records provides a platform for Evans and other artists.[1][2][3]

Ensembles and Career Threads

Bands & Projects

Leader, pianist, composer, and arranger

Captain Black Big Band

Evans' large ensemble has produced a multi-album catalog and serves as the principal setting for his big-band writing and community of collaborators.[1][2]

Co-leader and pianist

Tarbaby

The collective trio with Eric Revis and Nasheet Waits combines original music and wide-ranging repertoire in a flexible, risk-oriented piano-trio format.[1][2]

Co-founder, producer, and recording artist

Imani Records

Founded 2001; relaunched 2018

Evans and Dawn Evans created Imani as a home for projects outside conventional label paths and later expanded it to release work by a broader artist roster.[1]

Selected, Not Exhaustive

Recordings to Know

1998

Captain Black

Leader, pianist, and composer

Evans' second leader album introduced the Captain Black name that would later identify his large ensemble.[1][3]

Release details

2024 · Giant Step Arts

You Think This Is America

Tarbaby co-leader and pianist

Recorded live at Hunter College, the album presents Tarbaby entirely as a piano trio through originals and arranged repertoire.[1]

Release details

Imani Records

Walk a Mile in My Shoe

Captain Black Big Band leader, pianist, and composer

The fifth Captain Black Big Band album connects Evans' ensemble writing with a personal account of his lifelong medical journey.[1][3]

Release details

Artist-Authorized Destinations

Start Listening

Walk a Mile in My Shoe

Hear the Captain Black Big Band album through Evans' artist-run Imani Records Bandcamp.

Official discography

Browse Evans' small-group, big-band, collaborative, and Imani Records releases.

Live Calendar

Upcoming Jazz DateBook Shows

Sat, Oct 10, 8:00 PM

Ted Poor with Orrin Evans

Chapel Performance Space at Good Shepherd Center · Seattle

Show details

Evidence-Based Connections

Related Musician Guides

Connections below come from shared current Jazz DateBook bills or normalized documented performance roles—not subjective similarity.

Adrean FarrugiaPiano · ComposerShared documented roles: Pianist · Composer · BandleaderAmina FigarovaPiano · ComposerShared documented roles: Pianist · Composer · BandleaderAnthony WonseyPiano · ComposerShared documented roles: Pianist · Composer · BandleaderArmen DonelianPiano · ComposerShared documented roles: Pianist · Composer · BandleaderArt HiraharaPiano · KeyboardsShared documented roles: Pianist · Composer · BandleaderAxel Tosca LaugartPiano · ComposerShared documented roles: Pianist · Composer · Producer

Sources

Career copy is original synthesis from the artist, label, and project sources below. Current dates come from Jazz DateBook event inventory.

  1. [1] Official biography and label history

    Orrin Evans

  2. [2] Official ensemble and project guide

    Orrin Evans

  3. [3] Official leader and collaborative discography

    Orrin Evans