Pianist, composer, and bandleader Orrin Evans has followed a vigorously individual path through more than 25 albums as a leader and co–leader. This gala six–night run, with two outstanding bands, will be Evans’ final performances before he begins an exciting new career phase as a member of GRAMMY award-winning trio The Bad Plus. One of the most vital big bands on the scene today, the Captain Black Big Band has seized the attention of the jazz world with its vigorous delivery, a raucously unpredictable vibe, and a changeable lineup that encompasses both jazz elders and rising stars. The combination of two critically–acclaimed albums to its name – its 2011 self-titled debut and 2014's Mother's Touch (both Posi–Tone) – and seven years of dynamic live performances led to the group being named Rising Star Big Band of the Year in the 61st annual DownBeat Critics Poll, and placing in the top five for Big Band of the Year. More recently, the Captain Black Big Band was awarded two high–profile commissions: a suite honoring the centennial year of cosmic bandleader Sun Ra, which premiered at Jazz at Lincoln Center; and another, inspired by Thomas Hart Benton’s 1930 mural “America Today,” that was performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “…The Captain Black band really dominates a room. It connotes the 1980s and ‘90s in style and lan¬guage, but maybe the ‘60s in energy, which is to say it plays with urgency, beyond the coding that makes jazz a small–audience special interest.” (The New York Times) Orrin Evans - piano Josh Lawrence - trumpet Ingrid Jensen - trumpet Stafford Hunter - trombone David Gibson - trombone Todd Bashore - alto sax Morgan Guerin - tenor sax Anwar Marshall - drums Alex Claffy - bass Milton Suggs and Joanna Pascale - vocals