Saxophonist Bill Evans takes jazz out into the country with help from some reputable bluegrass cohorts

With woodwind jam sessions influenced by years of university jazz training, Evans’ approach to music features a fresh amalgamation of the bluegrass sounds from the fiddle, banjo, and dobro, with the high-pitched clamor of the saxophone. Witnessing an energetic performance by Evans is like seeing the invisible boundaries of conventional jazz etiquette being pushed, challenged and redefined right before your eyes.

“Jazz and bluegrass both have a different way of saying things like the differences between someone who speaks French or German. But both are still valid languages,” says Evans as he demonstrates how the goal of any musician should ultimately be to create good music regardless of genre. “Most acoustic instruments sound good together, so when you put the saxophone in with a banjo, fiddle, and dobro it all sounds like they belong together. Most musicians don’t do it for one reason or another, but for me, it’s completely natural.”

Sam Bush

Currently on tour with his band of talented musicians featuring drummer Joel Rosenblatt, fiddler Christian Howes, and banjoist Ryan Cavanaugh, Evans is currently  getting an additional boost from renowned mandolinist Sam Bush’s Newgrass style of finger picking. “We’ve put all these musicians together and played the music that I’ve written, which for the most part has been successful,” Evans says. “But musicians at the top of what they do can make music out of pretty much anything. When you get these instruments together it becomes an interesting thing.” 

With heavy-hitting saxophone improvisations set to the effortless back play of a banjo or mandolin, perhaps it’s Evans’ unbridled confidence and trust in his vision of making a statement which allows him to move freely against the grain. “You have to be willing to buy a one-way ticket and be 100 percent into the music you’re creating. When you believe in it as strongly as you can, then the audience will believe in it too.”

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