FatJazz präsentiert: PETER EVANS Being & Becoming

Being & Becoming was formed by trumpeter and composer Peter Evans in 2017. The group has become Evans’ primary band and compositional outlet, synthesizing both an enormous range of influences, as well as the incredible stylistic diversity of the band members. The group has released two albums, their eponymous debut in 2020 and the symphonic work Ars Memoria in 2022, both on Evans’ label More is More. 2023 and 24 has seen the group tour consistently in the USA and Europe, now incorporating synths, explicitly groove-oriented compositions, a more considered application of textures from Early Music, 20th Century modernism, all framed with a spirit of exploration and a sound which defies any easy categorization. A new album has been recorded in 2024 at the legendary Rudy Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey, for release in 2025. All four members are recognized as leading virtuosi on their respective instruments, and have individual careers as soloists, bandleaders, producers and composers.

Peter Evans – trumpet, compositions
Peter Evans is a composer, trumpet player, improvisor and bandleader 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. He leads and composes for several different ensembles, primarily Being & Becoming (with Joel Ross, Nick Jozwiak and Michael Ode) and SYMPHONY (with Alice Teyssier, Jozwiak and Levy Lorenzo). He leads the improvisational trio Forever 21 with virtuosi Andy Berman (guitar) and Michael Ode (drums). As well as collaborative projects such as Pulverize the Sound (with Mike Pride and Tim Dahl), Evans continues to work in a variety of new formations, exploring through-composed music, group improvisation, arranging, and electronic music.
As a composer, Evans 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. He has composed works for his own ensembles, soloists, chamber ensembles, and choir. In 2022 Evans was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in Music Composition. In addition to touring and presenting his groups internationally since 2007, Evans has been exploring solo trumpet music since 2002 and is widely recognized as a leading voice in the field, having released 7 albums of solo music since 2006, including the critically claimed “More is More” and “Lifeblood”. He has performed solo concerts in the USA, Europe, Asia, and South America.
As an educator, Evans has given masterclasses and conducted workshops on improvisation, composition, instrumental practice and creativity at the Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, the New School of Social Research, Royal Academy of Music, Trinity College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Hochschule für Musik Köln, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Institute of Sonology, Melbourne University, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, University of Toronto, University of Oregon, Cornish College, Oberlin Conservatory, and Cleveland Institute of Music. Between 2019 and 2022 Evans conducted a series of performance-centered workshops with young musicians in Lisbon, Portugal, a series called Som Crescente. In 2020 he received a grant from the US Embassy in Lisbon to further develop this series, expanding this work to students in the Azores.
Evans has worked with some of the leading figures in contemporary music: John Zorn, Pauline Oliveros, Brian Ferneyhough, Kanye West, George Lewis, Anthony Braxton, Mary Halvorson, Evan Parker, Craig Taborn, Ambrose Akinmusere, Lydia Lunch, Weasel Walter, George Benjamin, Peter Brötzmann, Dave Liebman, Ingrid Laubrock, Jeff „Tain“ Watts, Tyshawn Sorey, Ikue Mori, Steve Schick, and many others. As an interpreter of notated concert music, Evans has performed and recorded works by Varese, Xenakis, J.S. Bach, Stravinsky, Elliott Carter, Marcos Balter, Julio Estrada, Wagner, Ligeti and more. In 2024 Evans recorded the fearsome concerto Abyss and Caress by Lucia Dlugoszewski, after performances with the BBC Scottish Symphony and the WDR Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Ilan Volkov.
Peter Evans has been releasing recordings on his own label, More is More, since 2011 beginning with his quintet‘s critically acclaimed album „Ghosts“. MIM has over 20 releases to date.