For anyone looking to map the frontiers of what is possible on the trumpet, BOP STOP was the place to be last June*. There, with the Dan Weiss Quartet, Peter Evans laid out all the landmarks: Olympic-level feats of circular breathing, splatters of 16th notes (or were they 32nds?) in a register beyond the Kuiper Belt, even playing rhythms by placing the microphone in the bell of his instrument and blowing unpitched thuds.
It was eye-popping, yet it was all in a day’s work for Evans, who returns to the Hingetown club Thursday for a solo set in the final presentation of the 2025 season of concerts presented by New Ghosts.
The expeditionary imperative emerged when, after studies at Oberlin Conservatory, Evans plunged into the competitive New York scene—or more accurately—scenes.
“In New York, if you want to freelance, there’s like a bunch of different kinds of markets or different scenes you can freelance in,” Evans said on a video call, “and they all take a lot of tenacity and ass kissing and patience to even get the gigs because the territory is very limited.”
The contemporary classical scene seemed like a good choice. “A lot of groups were forming around that time–Alarm Will Sound, International Contemporary Ensemble. You had Wet Ink–and there was a lot of work. especially if you were really enthusiastic about that kind of music, which I was, and I am. At that time in the classical music world, doing new music was kind of like free jazz. It was a bit pejorative. It kind of meant there was a little bit of a stink on it, like you couldn’t play.”
At the same time, Evans was making noise with jazz provocateurs Mostly Other People Do the Killing, a jazz quartet formed in 2003 with his Oberlin classmate Moppa Elliot.
“The last thing you wanted in [the classical world was for people to know that you were doing improvisation or jazz,” Evans said. “I would like deliberately not tell people that I was doing that; it was not an asset at all. And, honestly, in the classical world, that’s still pretty much true.”
Yet in the intervening 20 years, the classical and jazz scenes have been converging—at least in New York, where a new school has emerged that the pianist Vijay Iyer, who counts himself as a member, has called New Brooklyn Complexity.
When I mentioned the label, Evans was startled. “Wait! What is that? That’s a thing?” he asked, incredulous. “Whatever the complexity thing is, I don’t sign up for that. But yeah, for sure the ‘contemporary.’”
Evans acknowledges that something has changed recently, and he’s here for it. In the first decade of the century, Evans said, “The music was so difficult that players were chasing the most difficult thing. And I think that the technical level of playing in contemporary music has actually gotten so high that it’s sort of superseded the level of complexity of the actual composition.”
That could imply a sort of dead end for players. Yet there is a way out. “I think a lot of these players, like Josh Modney or Mariel Roberts, they’re looking for the next challenge. Creativity and making your own stuff is a natural place to go–especially when you’re in New York [and] we’re already collaborating with each other and seeing each other’s work,” Evans said.
It’s a path that Evans, among others, blazed two decades ago, and it leads to some of the most exciting music being made anywhere—in any genre—today.
“It’s shifting the paradigms and shifting the expectation levels and the aesthetic playing field. It’s nice. It’s something I was waiting for to happen for a long time, because I definitely didn’t feel like I belonged in either one.”
*I reviewed the June performance for All About Jazz. You can read it here.
Peter Evans Thursday., Dec. 11, 8 p.m., BOP STOP, 2920 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, tickets $20 available here
Trading Fours
There’s never a bad time to get out and commune in the same room with creative musicians. Below are four musical events of interest in the coming week that you might want to check out.
“Waiting for Santa” with Olivia Van Goor
Wednesday, Dec. 10, 8 p.m.
BLU Jazz+, 47 E. Market St. Akron, tickets
“Everybody’s waiting for the man with the bag,” vocalist Kay Starr sang on one of the biggest hits of 1950. That includes Hudson native Olivia Van Goor who returns home for the holidays from her new digs in Michigan. She may or may not sing that number at BLU Jazz+, but she won’t be waiting alone. An able trio of Joe Leaman, Ian Kinnaman and Brad Billmaier will swing her into the season.
Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker with Mr. Sun
Friday, Dec. 12, 8 p.m.
G.A.R. Hall, 1785 Main St., Peninsula, tickets
If ol’ Pete Tchaikovsky were alive today, he’d have carpal tunnel syndrome from endorsing all the checks for residuals from “The Nutcracker,” a piece that’s been adapted every which way for decades. One of the most effective reimaginings was by the genius Duke Ellington. American string band Mr. Sun has gone Duke one better by adapting his adaptation for a concert at the most magical possible setting. This might be the one time this month when you’ll want to pray for a picturesque snowfall.
“A Jolly Holiday With The American Songbook” with Barbara Rosene
Sunday, Dec. 14, 2 p.m.
Wadsworth Public Library, 132 Broad St. Wadsworth, free
A cynic might call December a full-employment program for singers, but there will be no Grinchery in these pages–not when Barbara Rosene shares the chestnuts of the Great American Songbook in a free concert. With or without the open fire, Rosene and her frequent collaborator Rock Wehrmann will be cooking, and the library’s policy of silence will be thankfully ignored.
Ghost-Note
Sunday, Dec. 14, 2 p.m.
Grog Shop, 2785 Euclid Hts. Blvd., Cleveland Heights, tickets
And finally, what would a holiday music preview be without a mention of the Grog? That’s where Ghost-Note, the groove-intensive spinoff project led by Snarky Puppy’s Robert “Sput” Searight and Nate Werth make a Cleveland appearance on the tour backing their latest release, Mustard n’Onions (Mack Avenue Music Group/Artistry Music). The Nate Yingling Electric Trio, with Darren Frate and Chris Walker, opens
For the most complete listing of jazz and jazz-adjacent events., look to Jim Szabo’s essential, weekly Northeast Ohio jazz calendar.
