Evan Christopher (born August 31, 1969) is an American jazz

clarinetist The clarinet is a single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The clarinet family is the largest woodw ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Biography

Background

His first musical training was at the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts. After high school, he studied saxophone at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

and graduated from

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...

at Long Beach, where he studied clarinet. Early mentors include clarinetists Kenny Davern,

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was a British film director and producer. He made his theatrical film debut with ''The Hunger (1983 film), The Hunger'' (1983) and went on to direct highly successful action and t ...

and soprano saxophonist George Probert.

Career

Tours with singer-songwriter A. J. Croce in the early 1990s brought Christopher to

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. He moved to Crescent City in 1994 and enjoyed varied work before leaving to join the Jim Cullum Jazz Band in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, Texas in 1996. For nearly three years, he appeared nightly as their featured clarinetist and recorded episodes of the syndicated radio program '' Riverwalk Jazz''. He returned to New Orleans but was forced to leave in 2005 when the federal levees failed because of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

. He traveled continuously and lived briefly in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

at the invitation of the city of Paris. During this residency, he formed the Jazz Traditions Project and Django à la Créole. The latter fused

Gypsy jazz Gypsy jazz (also known as sinti jazz, gypsy swing, jazz manouche or hot club-style jazz) is a musical idiom inspired by the Romani people, Romani jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910–1953), in conjunction with the Fr ...

with New Orleans grooves. Tours with Irvin Mayfield's New Orleans Jazz Orchestra made it possible for Christopher to return to New Orleans. He is a charter member of jazz composer guild, NOLA ArtHouse Music, and the Seahawk Modern Jazz Orchestra in southern California. Christopher published research on the New Orleans style of clarinet. In 2002 he began pursuing a degree in musicology at

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

. From 2008 to 2009, he taught part-time at the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a Public university, public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. First opened in 1958 as Louisiana State University in New Orleans, it is the largest public university and one of t ...

and taught an ensemble that performed with

Lucien Barbarin Lucien Barbarin (July 17, 1956 – January 30, 2020) was an American trombone player. Barbarin toured internationally with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and with Harry Connick Jr. He made his debut at the age of six, playing drums in the Onwar ...

and

Marcus Roberts Marthaniel "Marcus" Roberts (born August 7, 1963) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and teacher. Early life Roberts was born in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. His mother was a gospel singer who had gone blind a ...

. In July 2010, he debuted the "Treat It Gentle Suite", a concerto for clarinet and jazz band with the

Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Th ...

Discography

As leader

* ''This Side of Evan'' (Meridien, 1998) * ''New Orleans Rendezvous'' (G.H.B., 1999) * ''Danza'' with Tom McDermott (STR 2002) * ''Clarinet Road Vol. I: The Road to New Orleans'' (STR, 2003) * ''Clarinet Road Vol. II: The Road to New Orleans'' (STR, 2005) * ''Introduction: Live at the Meridien'' (ClassicJazz, 2007) * ''Delta Bound'' (Arbors, 2007) * ''Django a la Creole'' (Fremeaux, 2008) * ''The Remembering Song'' (Arbors, 2010) * ''Django a la Creole: Live!'' (Fremeaux, 2014) * ''Clarinet Road Vol. III: In Sidney's Footsteps'' (STR, 2016)

As sideman

* A. J. Croce, ''A.J. Croce'' (Private Music, 1993) * Jim Cullum, ''American Love Songs'' (Riverwalk, 1997) * Jim Cullum, ''Chasin' the Blues'' (Riverwalk, 2005) * Lars Edegran, ''Lars Edegran and His New Orleans All Stars'' (G.H.B., 2000) * Lars Edegran, ''Triolian String Band'' (G.H.B., 2011) *

Lionel Ferbos Lionel Charles Ferbos (July 17, 1911 – July 19, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was from New Orleans, Louisiana. At 103, Ferbos was the oldest jazz musician in New Orleans. A native New Orleanian whose career centered almost exclusive ...

, ''Lionel Ferbos with Lars Edegran's New Orleans Band'' (G.H.B., 1995) *

Mark Isham Mark Ware Isham (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician and composer. A trumpeter and keyboardist, Isham works in a variety of genres, including jazz and electronic music, electronic. He is also a prolific and acclaimed composer of Film ...

, ''Romeo Is Bleeding'' (Verve, 1994) * Tom McDermott, ''Bamboula'' (Minky 2013) * Irvin Mayfield, ''Book One'' (World Village, 2009) * Arnold McCuller, ''Exception to the Rule'' (Coyote, 1994) * Trevor Richards, ''City of the Blues'' (Jazzology, 1999) * Trevor Richards, ''35 Years 1965–2000 Blame It On the Blues!'' (New Orleans Jazz, 2000) *

Terry Waldo Terry Waldo (born November 26, 1944) is an American pianist, composer, and historian of early jazz, blues, and stride music, and is best known for his contribution to ragtime and his role in reviving interest in this form, starting in the 1970 ...

, ''Presents the Jazz Entertainers Vol. 1 Let It Shine'' (Stomp Off, 2003)

References

External links

Official site
* Le Show interview: {{DEFAULTSORT:Christopher, Evan 1969 births Living people 21st-century American clarinetists American jazz clarinetists Dixieland clarinetists Dixieland revivalist clarinetists Arbors Records artists