December 1997

Brandon Evans Quartet
Elliptical Transfiguration
CIMP Recordings

By John Murph

Reedist Brandon Evans is a relative newcomer whose daring sense of improvisation, compositional wit and technical agility belies his tender age. On Elliptical Transfiguration, Evan leads an supple quartet through three arresting compositions that evokes spirits of early Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor. From the fleeting freedom swing excursion "Triptych," that finds Evans conversing with trumpet Chris Matthay in the classic fashion of Coleman and Cherry, to the highly complex "Ellipsis," where the ensemble yields wonderfully controlled mayhem, this adventurous outing mines the fertile soil of free jazz with great aplomb.