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Orrin Evans' Captain Black Big Band delivers ahome run performanceSponsored by the "We Always Swing" Jazz series and The State Historical Society of Missouri,Orrin Evans' Captain Black Big Band received a standing ovation after its performance onThursday at the Missouri Theatre

BEN LANDIS FEB 5, 2016

Photo courtesy of Gene Jackson/Flickr

Guests adorned in jackets and hats trickled in from the cold and windy Thursday night air intothe Missouri Theatre where they were greeted by the sound of warm and soothing jazz musicplayed over multiple speakers. Inside the red and gold decorated theatre and underneath anintricately designed towering arch, a stage housed six empty chairs, a drum set, a wooden stringbass and a glistening black piano. As murmured conversations and greetings from the guestsstarted to conclude, the lights dimmed. A black leather piano bench sat as if it were waiting forsomeone.

It was waiting for the leader of the Captain Black Big Band, two-time Grammy award nominee,and Pew Fellow Orrin Evans.

After a mildly tearful introduction, Orrin Evans, Todd Bashore, Troy Roberts, Joshua Evans, JoshLawrence, David Gibson, Stafford Hunter, Madison Rast and Anwar M. Marshal took their seatsand began the performance dedicated to the Missouri painter Thomas Hart Bentonand sponsored by the "We Always Swing" Jazz Series and The State Historical Society ofMissouri.

WHO IS THOMAS HART BENTON?

Black History Month began on Feb. 1, and MU's Black History Month Committee along withmany other departments around the university organized multiple events that will span throughthe month. It started off with the mural painter Thomas Hart Benton and one of his paintings asa point of focus.

One of Benton's murals, A Social History of the State of Missouri, hangs in the Missouri StateCapitol Building in Jefferson City. The piece is immense and depicts many aspects of daily life.After all, The State Historical Society's website says, "His paintings are famous for showingordinary people doing common things." He was commissioned to do the mural in 1935, and hecompleted it in 1937.

In the work, Benton depicts part of the African-American experience in Missouri with his imagesthat are representative of the ill treatment of slaves or slavery. He is also famous for works suchas The Negro Soldier; Cotton Pickers, Georgia and Trail Riders.

Many of his pieces could be described as flowing, vibrant and colorful. That description couldalso be attributed to the performance of Orrin Evans' Captain Black Big Band.

SET ONE: SHOWTIME

As the applause settled, Evans sat at the piano and organized the music along with hisbandmates. Then, with a few quick snaps of the fingers to set the beat up, the roaring of theglimmering brass instruments blared through the theatre. The performance opened with anenergy. The audience applauded after a solo during the first of six uninterrupted jazz songs. Thatchanged as the concert moved into the second piece. The vibe in the room became more calm asthe music had a swing to it. The changing of emotion, tempos, rhythms and sounds was apersistent characteristic of the entire first set. If it were any different, it wouldn't be jazz.

The band members appeared as if they were having fun with what they were doing. Evans, whosat on stage right, occasionally looked across the way at his bandmates and smiles were shared.As the concert went on, Evans gave his crew recognition by naming them along with theirrespective instruments.

A vocalist, Joanna Pascale, appeared about midway through the first set and caressed theaudience with her lullaby-esque voice. The calmness once achieved during the second part of theset was trumped by her sultry voice.

For an unexperienced ear, the eclectic sounds that characterized the music of the band were hardto understand, but that wasn't the point. To jazz enthusiasts, the music may have made had adifferent level of appeal than that of the amateur or first-time listener. Still, the fact remains thatregardless of knowledge, in regards to jazz, the quality that came to Missouri theatre wasastounding.

SET TWO: A SPECIAL TREAT WITH THE HARLEM SUITE

Take two. The sophomoric debut of JoshLawrence's Harlem Suite was part of the celebration. Itwas five movements of nonstop jazz that did notdisappoint. The only other time that the arrangement hadbeen performed was when it was originally commissionedby the Metropolitan Museum of Art last year. The Suitecontinued to carry the up-and-down mantra that had beenpresent throughout the 10-person band's performance.

One of the movements was solely ballads, and then theenergy returned to conclude the piece. Again, solosbounced off of the walls and carried to the back of thetheatre. Evans' theatrical movements and intensity on thekeys was a show, but perhaps the greatest treat of the

Orinn Evans' Captain Black Big Band

A DV E RT I S E M E NT

Ben Landis

evening was knowing that Columbia was given theopportunity to hear the unique and quality jazz music fromthe talented musicians of the Captain Black Big Band.

The performance concluded and the audience raised from the seats, but the applause eventuallybrought the musicians back onto the stage to play one last song. They closed with a song,"Stardust," composed by jazz musician Hoagy Carmichael and sang by many other jazzmusicians.

discusses the intricacies and themotivations behind the Harlem Suite onstage in the Missouri Theatre. It was onlythe second time that the work has everbeen played for a live audience.

BEN LANDIS/VOX

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