Grammy-nominated pianist, composer, arranger and band leader Orrin Evans is now the musical arranger of a wonderful new project.
A powerful musical drama No Cowards in Our Band tells the story of an aging and contemplative abolitionist and social reformer Frederick Douglass. It debuts November 2 at Hudson Hall at the historic Hudson Opera House in New York.
No Cowards in Our Band is based on a libretto by Anthony Knight Jr. and interwoven with spirituals. Orrin Evans is the project's musical arranger.
"I came about this project through the good people at Hudson Hall. I've performed there three times, once with Sean Jones and twice with my own trio. When they called and asked if I would be into this, it just felt so right because theater is where I come from. My father was a playwright and my mother was an opera singer. This involves opera singers with different monologues that Anthony Knight wrote where you get to hear some inner thoughts of Frederick Douglass. It was inspired by a record Anthony was listening to. So, the spirituals are intertwined in the piece."
During a very personal interview, Orrin talks about his latest album with the Captain Black Big Band titled Walk a Mile in my Shoe. Evans opened up about why he selected that title and his health struggles.
"It's about people really understanding where I come from. Even with my walking stick, there were assumptions about when I have it. It also has to do with the emergency of why I do things. I wasn't supposed to walk when I was born. I played a few sports and had a few surgeries on my foot. In third grade I was able to wear regular shoes. But as I got older I'm dealing with major arthritis and the effects of the deformity that I had on my foot. I may have to have total reconstructive surgery. I may have to get an amputation. These are all things that are possibly going to happen in the next five years, which I'm prepared for, but at the same time the urgency of doing what I want to do, dancing around the bandstand and traveling, there's a different type of urgency that I don't expect record label, booking agent or manager to really understand."
Walk a Mile in My Shoe features appearances by Nicholas Payton and Jesse Fischer and vocal turns by longtime collaborators Bilal, Joanna Pascale and Paul Jost, along with special guest Lisa Fischer.
Orrin and his wife and creative partner, Dawn Warren Evans, founded the label Imani Records in the late 1990s, and after a hiatus, restarted it in 2018 with the goal of supporting the music of younger musicians.
You can SEE Doug Doyle's entire interview with Orrin Evans here.
