Bowerbird is pleased to present two brass virtuosos: Trumpeter Peter Evans and Trombonist David Taylor in a solo/solo/duo performance at University Lutheran.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Peter Evans is a trumpet player and composer based in New York City since 2003. Evans is part of a broad, hybridized scene of musical experimentation, and his work cuts across a wide range of modern musical practices and traditions. Peter is committed to the simultaneously self-determining and collaborative nature of musical improvisation as a compositional tool, and works with an ever-expanding group of musicians and composers in the creation of new music. His primary groups as a leader are the Peter Evans Ensemble and Being & Becoming (with Joel Ross, Nick Jozwiak, and Savannah Harris). Evans has been exploring solo trumpet music since 2002 and is widely recognized as a leading voice in the field, having released several recordings over the past decade. He is a member of the cooperative groups Pulverize the Sound (with Mike Pride and Tim Dahl) and Rocket Science (with Evan Parker, Craig Taborn, and Sam Pluta) and is constantly experimenting and forming new configurations with like-minded players. As a composer, he has been commissioned by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Wet Ink, Yarn/Wire, the Donaueschingen Musiktage Festival, the Jerome Foundation’s Emerging Artist Program, and the Doris Duke Foundation. Evans has presented and/or performed his works at major festivals worldwide and tours his own groups extensively. He has worked with some of the leading figures in contemporary music: John Zorn, Peter Broetzmann, Pauline Oliveros, Brian Ferneyhough, Kanye West, George Lewis, Anthony Braxton, Mary Halvorson, Ambrose Akinmusere, Weasel Walter, Ingrid Laubrock, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Tyshawn Sorey, Jim Black, Ikue Mori, Steve Schick, and performs with both the ICE and Wet Ink. As an interpreter of notated concert music Evans’ has performed works by Varese, Xenakis, Bach, Stravinsky, Elliott Carter, Marcos Balter, Agusta Read Thomas, Roscoe Mitchell, and many more. Peter Evans has been releasing recordings on his own label, More is More, since 2011.

Receiving B.S. and M.S. degrees from The Julliard School of Music, David Taylor started his playing career as a member of Leopold Stowkowski’s American Symphony Orchestra, and with appearances with the New York Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez. Simultaneously, he was a member of the Thad Jones Mel Lewis jazz band, and recorded with groups ranging from Duke Ellington to The Rolling Stones. He has also recorded numerous solo CDs on the following labels: Koch, New World, ENJA, DMP, Tzadik, CIMP, PAU, and TLB. Mr. His last releases on TLB are: And If All Were Dark, and Atomic Bomb Blues.

Mr. Taylor performs recitals and concerti around the world: from Lincoln Center in NY to the Musikverein in Vienna and Suntory Hall in Japan. In addition to his own compositions, he has been involved in dozens of commissioning projects for solo bass trombone collaborating with composers including Alan Hovhaness, Charles Wuorinen, George Perle, Frederic Rzewski, Lucia Dlugoszchewski, Eric Ewazen, Dave Liebman, and Daniel Schnyder. He has appeared and recorded chamber music with Yo Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, and Wynton Marsalis and performed with the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Orpheus, and the St. Luke’s Chamber Orchestra. Throughout his career, Taylor has appeared and recorded with major jazz and popular artists including Barbara Streisand, Miles Davis,JJ Johnson, Quincy Jones, Frank Sinatra, and Aretha Franklin. Mr. Taylor has won the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Most Valuable Player Award for five consecutive years, and has been awarded the NARAS Most Valuable Player Virtuoso Award, an honor accorded no other bass trombonist. He has been a member of the bands of Gil Evans, Thad Jones-Mel Lewis, Jaco Pastorius, Charles Mingus Big Band, Joe Henderson, George Russell, Michelle Camillo, Bob Mintzer, Dave Matthews, Dave Grusin, Randy Brecker, the Words Within Music Trio with Daniel Schnyder, and Kenny Drew Jr., B3+, Moppa Elliot’s Mostly Other People Do The Killing, and The Sarah Weaver Ensemble. He has performed on numerous GRAMMY Award winning recordings.
David Taylor is on the faculties of the Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College, and NYU.