Bill Evans Soulgrass Mashing Jazz, Jams At Fairfield's StageOne
FAIRFIELD — At age 21, up-and-coming sax man Bill Evans got the opportunity to stand and play in the shadow of arguably one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time, Miles Davis. Davis so appreciated Evans’ talents that he featured the young musician on four of his albums recorded in the early to mid-1980s.
These days, at 56, Evans can look back on a rich and diverse musical career bouncing around with many other artists, consuming and contributing to every musical genre that would welcome him on stage or into the studio.
Over the course of those 35 years since first sitting in with Davis, Evans has made his mark with artists from Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Michael Franks, and Willie Nelson to Mick Jagger, Les McCann, Mark Egan, Danny Gottlieb, Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, Randy Brecker, The Allman Brothers, Medeski, Martin, and Wood, Warren Haynes and Umphrey’s McGee.
His more recent albums Soul Insider and Soulgrass were each nominated for Grammy awards. Soulgrass, in particular, became a groundbreaking bluegrass/jazz fusion project featuring the talents of banjo master Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, Bruce Hornsby, and famed session drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, who first made his mark with Frank Zappa.
Evans will be up close and personal when his band Soulgrass hits the intimate StageOne in Fairfield on September 12. He describes the Soulgrass concept as a melting pot of quintessential American music, combining elements of funk, rock, rhythm, and groove into a tasty, jam-infused mash-up that Evans says leaves fans from jazz purists and Deadheads to urban music fans satisfied.
On his website, billevanssax.com, Evans describes why his new band is as creatively satisfying for him as it is for the diverse group of music consumers he welcomes to each of his shows.
“Soulgrass takes everything I love and puts it in one place,” Evans says. “Each musician in the band is very well versed in all kinds of music and has to be able to change it up on a moment’s notice. I use a banjo [Ryan Cavanaugh], singing drummer [Josh Dion], guitarist [Mitch Stein], and bass player [Dave Anderson]. The music has no boundaries and it grooves extremely hard. The combination of Josh Dion’s vocals along with the saxophone continually evolves.”
That brings a very special element to every Soulgrass show, because on any given night — much like the Grateful Dead and other notable jam bands — every ticket holder is seeing a creation of material that will never be replicated again.
In a chat with The Newtown Bee ahead of his Fairfield set, Evans said that it’s all part of the magic ride he’s been on since he was first exposed to classical music as a child by his dad, a classical piano prodigy.
Evans, who also was a featured artist in residence at the Gathering of the Vibes in 2013, said he loves returning to the Bridgeport region, especially StageOne at Fairfield Theatre Company.
“I love playing that room,” he said. “It’s such a cool vibe, it’s a great stage and the audiences are great. It’s a really unique place and within an hour drive of my house in Westchester County.”
Evans’s most recent recording attempts to capture some of that Soulgrass magic in concert. He said his LIVE in Moscow project incorporates most of the material he recorded in studio for the album Dragonfly.
“Those songs go in so many different directions live that they have taken on a life of their own,” Evans said. “So in Fairfield we’ll be playing some of those songs and some of the material I’m recording now for my new record.”
That project features some familiar talent, including Warren Haynes, JJ Grey, and a few other collaborators.
“I’m co-writing songs with those guys, so it’s kind of a combination of guests, special friends I like to have play with us, so we’re going to be demoing some of those songs live at our September gigs including the show at StageOne.”
Evans, like Haynes, has been embraced by the jam band scene, and Evans credits the artist for helping ease him into that scene.
“The song we’re working on is as yet unnamed, but it’s something of an anthem. It’s just a rocking funky happening song with some really cool changes,” he said. “We’re about to record it, so it will be done by the time we get to Fairfield.”
He said Soulgrass has such a unique sound because of Dion’s vocal and drumming style and the Bluegrass influence of Cavanaugh, who is also well-versed in jazz.
“Anderson, who lives in Connecticut, can play any kind of music — so he’s extremely funky and can go in any direction,” Evans said. “He’s like the master of what not to play, and Mitch used to play with people like the Brecker brothers. In order to play in my band you have to know about five different styles of music. It kicks ass in a groovy kind of way, but it also takes off in a jazz direction with little or no warning.”
Check out with special guests John Medeski on keys and Jake Cinninger on guitar.Soulgrass at New York’s Blue Note
Evans plays StageOne September 12 at 7:45 pm. Tickets are $32 with discounts for FTC members. For information and tickets, go to fairfieldtheatre.org, or call 203-319-1404.