How do I know if I’m ready?

The onset of February has made me realize I’ve been downright awful at keeping up with posts here – my apologies!  Rest assured that the recent inactivity of this blog in no way reflects the musical happenings here in Tennessee. 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 …

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The Week That Is

For many years I’ve believed the adage “when it rains, it pours.”  This was of course ALL too true here in Nashville this past May.  On the lighter side of the adage, it is true for my schedule this upcoming week.  Allow me a moment to fill you in on the fun details. 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 …

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Site Updates

Friends, 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.  …

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Flood Relief

Last night Keith Olbermann commented on Countdown that “if there’s anything worse than your community being hit by a disaster, it’s being hit by a disaster while other and bigger disasters unfold.” 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 …

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Jazz Jam Sessions in Nashville

So unfortunately Cafe CoCo’s cancellation of live music on their stage has left Nashville’s only weekly jazz jam session homeless for the time being.  I would very much like to continue the weekly session, but obviously need to find a new venue.  I’ll keep you updated on the status as I try to figure it out. Please let me know if you have any thoughts about the jazz jam’s continuation (or discontinuation) and if you have any ideas about a new location. – evan

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For Eric and Susanne

My friends Susanne and Eric, one time high school sweethearts, are getting married today. 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. Susanne and Eric true to form 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 [audio:http://www.evancobbjazz.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/a-love-that-lasts-melody.mp3] Congrats, guys. – evan

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End of April Update

Summer seemed to arrive here in Nashville in full force this past Thursday, and upon looking at my calendar I realized we’re already 4 months into the year 2009.  Things have been going well for me here in Tennessee – I’ve become quite busy with teaching and gigging. 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. …and I got a chance to wail on the debut of a Jim Williamson tune. Spent …

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‘Crescent City Ditty’ is the Song of the Day

I am very pleased to announce that my tune ‘Crescent City Ditty’ is the featured “Song of the Day” on the website www.jazz.com. This very comprehensive website gives a nice review of the tune, as recorded by Todd Coolman on the album Perfect Strangers. Some of the other recent “Song of the Day” tunes include works by Dave Holland, McCoy Tyner, Joe Lovano, and B.B. King! Link to the ‘Crescent City Ditty’ review below. http://www.jazz.com/music/2008/9/30/todd-coolman-crescent-city-ditty

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A New Saxophone Player In Nashville

With the sudden onset of October, I realized that my summer is over and Nashville has been my home for almost a month now.  So far I’ve really enjoyed acclimating to Music City – there are tons of hip areas (much in walking distance), amazing weather, and the people have been warm and receptive.  It seems like the majority of folks that I have met here are not actually from Nashville or the Tennessee area at all, but are instead transplants like me attracted to the music scene.   The music scene itself has been quite interesting to me so far.  Despite what I’ve been led to think about the massive country music industry down here, I’ve actually seen very little of that around, save for …

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End of Summer Update

This summer, I was privileged to help out with the recording of Todd Coolman’s new CD entitled Perfect Strangers, in which he solicited songs from the general public. In rehearsal and the recording studio, I was able to watch some of the world’s finest musicians at work, including Eric Alexander, Brian Lynch, Jim McNeely, John Riley, and Jon Faddis. The resulting CD is just about to be released through ArtistShare, and will feature my song “Crescent City Ditty.” Perfect Strangers is a terrific collection of tunes, and can be purchased through the record label’s website, www.artistshare.com.   Additionally, some of the members of the ensemble were kind enough to listen to my recent demo (mostly posted on my Music page) and provide me with some …

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