- Luke Brandon, trumpet
- Daud EL-Bakara, trumpet
- Josh Evans, trumpet
- Mark Allen, sax
- Chelsea Baratz, sax
- Todd Bashore, sax
- Wayne Escoffery, sax
- Tia Fuller, sax
- Jaleel Shaw, sax
- Jack Walraith, tromb.
- Frank Lacy, tromb.
- Joe McDonough, tromb.
- Todd Marcus, bass cl.
- Orrin Evans, piano & dir.
- Mark Przybylowski, bass
- Gene Jackson, drums
- Captain Black Big Band (Posi-tone Records, 2011).
In October of 2009 Orrin Evans approached Chris's Jazz Cafe about creating a residency for a Big Band. His motivation for the project was based on his realization that much of the younger generation lacked mentors. The Big Band affords the opportunity for seasoned Jazz veterans as well as professors and educators to work collectively with younger musicians. Since its inception the Big Band has recorded a live CD and performed in well known Philadelphia and New York jazz venues.
Pianist Orrin Evans has been on a roll, with the release of a couple of diamond Posi-Tone releases in 2010: Faith in Action — dedicated to friend and mentor, saxophonist Bobby Watson—and the old school yet highly progressive thinking of The End of Fear , with Tarbaby trio-mates, drummer Nasheet Waits and bassist Eric Revis. But the truth of the matter is that Evans has been an active participant in the game for awhile, with numerous roles (leader, educator, and label owner), and a discography that includes a string of recordings in the '90s on the Dutch Criss Cross label.
The debut of Captain Black Big Band (a nickname of Evans' father, who smoked Captain Black tobacco) is another insight into Evans' repertoire—the aperture of his skills focused even wider, as he leads an humongous ensemble which includes newer flames such saxophonist Tia Fuller and time-weathered veterans like Frank Lacy. Recorded live at the New York's Jazz Gallery, the nearly forty-member band delivers music infused with Evan's contagious melodicism that is colored with the avant-garde, funky blues, and undeniable swing. Doused with Evans' street cred musicality from his stomping grounds in Trenton New Jersey, Philadelphia and New York, the band's sound is imbued with passion and adventurism.
