Also exciting is that this week Falling Up has officially ‘charted’ – reaching number 36 on Jazzweek’s Top 50 Jazz Chart for January 17th.  It’s the only album among the top 50 that is self-released!

And for future excitement, I just confirmed that I’ll be playing with Cassandra Wilson when she performs with the Nashville Symphony as part of the jazz series on March 2nd.  Time to practice!

- evan

The first reviews of Falling Up have arrived as well.  I’ll link them here but moving forward I’ll post all of that information on my press page.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the album, there are myriad ways to do so.  Falling Up is available on itunes, amazon, CD Baby, emusic, and a number of other internet sources.  If you’re going to buy a hard copy of the disc, I recommend doing it through paypal (cheaper for you, better % for evan) – just click on the link at the bottom of the music page.

Reviews

Something Else!

Midwest Record

Muzik Reviews

Radio Stations

WMOT  89.5 Nashville

WSKG Binghamton, NY

WUCF  89.9 Orlando

WCLK  91.9 Atlanta

KSDS  88.3 San Diego

KUVO  89.3 Denver

WWUH  91.3 Hartford

KKFI  90.1 Kansas City

WESM  91.3 Salisbury, MD

WSIE  88.7 Edwardsville, IL

WSHA  88.9 Raliegh, NC

Jefferson Public Radio – Ashland, OR

WEMU  89.1 Ypsilanti, MI

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

- evan

I’ve finally got the ball rolling on my most important project to date, although I am hesitant to talk about it before I have all of the details finalized.

Exciting news: next week I’ll be backing up Gladys Knight with the Nashville Symphony.  The “Empress of Soul” had her major hits before my time, but if you haven’t listened to ‘Midnight Train to Georgia‘ recently, you absolutely must!

The monthly jam session started off 2011 very well with a great performance and information session provided by Roland Barber.  I’ll be announcing the featured guest for February 20th soon.

That brings me to the title of this post, “How do I know if I’m ready?”  This is a question I’ve been asked at some jam sessions here in town, and it’s a good one.  If you’re new to the world of jazz jam sessions, my best recommendation would be to come with three things:1. a tune you’ve learned and memorized; 2. a blues head that you like; and 3. a Real Book.

1. When you sign up on the jam session sheet or talking to the band leader who’s never heard you, having a tune that you know well enough not to need music gives confidence that you won’t get up and bang on the keys or lay a giant bomb of lame on the bandstand.  That helps everything run smoother and gets you an opportunity quickly.

2. Having a blues head you like is a good idea, because there’s pretty much always at least one blues played at a jazz jam session, and if you do well on your first tune, you’ll surely be asked to play another!  Yes we know you like to play blues in the keys of B-flat and F, but if you don’t know any melodies it suggests that you haven’t done your homework.

3.  Your Real Book is a great reference tool.  While I recommend NOT using it on stage until you’ve got 200 tunes or so in your pocket, it’s great to use while you’re sitting and listening.  A jam session is a great place to learn more about tunes, even the ones you’re not playing on.  If you recognize a tune, or even if you’ve never heard it, follow along with the lead sheet from chorus to chorus – see if you can continue to hear the melody (especially during the drum solo!).  Maybe there are some alternate chord changes being played by the band?  Put a star next to chords you have questions about and go ask the piano player after the session.  This can give you directions on what to go home and practice, and then you expand your repertoire and have a new tune to call at the next jam session.

I hope this was helpful – looking forward to seeing you out there soon!

-evan

Tuesday night I’ll be playing with the Nashville Jazz Orchestra at its weekly spot in East Nashville at the French Quarter Cafe starting at 7pm.

Wednesday night is jazz night at Sportman’s Grille in Hillsboro Village, and this week I’ll be leading a quartet of fine musicians through originals and standards.

This coming Thursday, Friday, and Saturday marks my first service with the Nashville Symphony, and we’ll be playing a fun concert of Gershwin tunes entiteled “Here To Stay”.

Finally this Sunday is the monthly jam session at the Nashville Jazz Workshop, and this month will feature Anthony Belfiglio.  Anthony, a faculty member at Belmont, is a terrific piano player, teacher, and composer.  I’m looking forward to hearing his insights at the jam this week.

Looking forward to seeing you at the gig(s)!

-evan

It’s been a long time coming, but I’ve finally gotten around to updating my website with some pertinent information about the musical universe in Tennessee.  If you have a moment, take a look at a very updated LINKS page.  I’ve also created an TEACHING page to reflect all of the work I’ve been doing in music education.

Also notice that the CALENDAR has a number of new shows out in Perry County.  I’ve been participating in a wonderful summer concert series out there organized by Hugh Waddell.  The series has and continues to feature a slew of wonderful diverse artists from all over the musical map.

Don’t forget to put the next Nashville Jazz Workshop Jam Session on your calendar – Sunday August 15th.  Featured guest to be announced soon!

-evan

Being from the New York area, I’ve been closely following the attempted car bomb plot in Times Square and last night’s resulting arrest.  This past weekend I also happened to be in New Orleans for jazz fest, but news was dominated by the unfurling oil spill disaster in the Gulf, which continues to pose imminent ecological and economic catastrophes.

Anyways, since many of you who read this are from out of the Tennessee area and the national coverage seems to be a bit lacking, I figured I’ll post some information about the latest happenings here about the Nashville Flood.

Let me start out by saying that I’m extremely fortunate – I returned from NOLA yesterday to my apartment which is both dry and with power.  That is not the case however for many folks.  Just a few miles in either direction down the main road off of which I live, large communities are completely flooded.  A number of our iconic landmarks have been affected, including the Schermerhorn (where the Nashville Symphony plays), Opryland Hotel, the Country Music Hall of Fame, Bridgestone Arena, and LP Field, to name a few.

It’s going to take time for much of the communities here to recover.  As this flood was the result of around 20 inches of weekend rain, this event was not foreseen.  MANY people and businesses do not have flood insurance here, as flooding was not seen as any posed threat.

Jazz-wise, everything is canceled for the time being.  The Nashville Jazz Orchestra is not playing tonight at the French Quarter Cafe tonight, and the Nashville Jazz Workshop has canceled classes.

If you wish to get involved with help, here is a link that organizes many of the local organizations.  You can also text ‘REDCROSS’ to 90999 to donate $10 for relief efforts.

I’ll do my best to keep you updated with stories and efforts as they pertain to this blog.

-evan

- evan

Eric and I played in high school jazz band together, among many other musical endeavors we shared.

RHS Jazz Band 1998 – Eric with the alto and yellow tie, EC with the tenor and blue tie

I remember vividly how happy Eric and Susanne were as prom dates a decade ago, and seeing them again this weekend I’ve noticed that same spark.

For their wedding, I wrote Eric and Susanne a song that attempts to embody the feelings they shared then and how they’ve progressed to today.

A Love That Lasts

Download audio file (a-love-that-lasts-melody.mp3)

Congrats, guys.

- evan

I got to play two more concerts with the Nashville Jazz Orchestra: one downtown at the Nashville Convention Center where I covered  alto saxophone and flute, and then tenor saxophone and clarinet at this past Thursday night’s “Writer’s Night” at the Blair School of Music.  The saxophone section had some serious shredding to do in Bruce Dudley’s arrangement of Parisian Thoroughfare.

Sax soli

…and I got a chance to wail on the debut of a Jim Williamson tune.

Cutting changes

Spent a little time doing studio work.  I laid down some oboe and clarinet tracks for the hip local band The New Whole Usuals.  I also recorded a couple of tunes with a jazz quartet for the Generations Jazz Competition.  We didn’t make it to the finals, but an ensemble of my friends Ken Fowser, Behn Gillece, and Adam Cote did.  I was proud of the work my quartet did though – below I posted our version of an original tune of mine.

Don’t Hold Your Breath

Download audio file (dont-hold-your-breath-take-3.mp3)

Jonathan Epley, guitar;  Mike Rinne, bass;  John Alvey, drums

This past month also provided me with a couple surprise last-minute gigs: at Sambuca in the quartet of Ralph Pace Jr, as well as provide horn support to local heart throbs Pico versus the Island Trees at the Mercy Lounge.

I have an array of events coming up in May as well.  On Thursday the 7th I’ll be joining a slew of Nashville’s most talented players in a group titled the Nashville Writers Ensemble at Nashville’s Community Music School: W.O. Smith. The ensemble will feature one of my original tunes and includes Bob Mater, Joe Davidian, and Oscar Utterstrom, among others.

On Sunday May 10th I’ll be leading the Cafe CoCo Jazz Jam Session at 4:30.  If you’re around be sure to stop by and bring an instrument.  I’ve also got some dates coming up with blues man Justin Conn, and even a performance with an ABBA tribute band.

Did I mention that it’s wedding season?  I’ve been playing some events with the Pat Patrick Bands this month, and next month I will be attending the weddings of two old friends.

Hope to see you at the gig/ceremony

-evan

http://www.jazz.com/music/2008/9/30/todd-coolman-crescent-city-ditty