Music
Press
Kate Evans has had her fair share of musical training. She grew up with gospel and bluegrass music in Manhattan, Kansas and attended Juilliard and Rutgers. Her voice is gentle, but has some power behind it - reminiscent of Paula Cole, Suzanne Vega, Ani DiFranco and Sade.
Evans broke away from her band, isoe, in 1996 and "Release" is her first CD.
The lyrics are inspiring, the voice is one-of-a-kind and the overall sound is as beautiful as music gets. It is evident that Evans loves music as she pours her heart into these inspiring songs. The lyrics piqued my interest
on the first track and it stayed piqued throughout the CD.
Type of music: folksy, pop-py, gentle, inspiring music with the emphasis on Evans' vocals
Hometown: New York City
Notable: Evans' mom, the church organist, used to let her sit up in the balconies and listen to her play instead of attending Sunday school...apparently, it paid off.
Highs: Evans proves her strong songwriting ability on every track. In "Beautiful," Evans' voice is backed up with only a little percussion and piano as she carries the listener through a "beautiful" ballad about life's choices.
("Sometimes you just have to choose the left fork or the right/and hope the chain reaction brings you somewhere that you like.") In "Trading Apology for Apology," Evans shows her soulful side, while she pulls out her hip and trendy side on "Blind" with electric percussion and her charged voice. "Ice Storm" tells an intriguing story about past love and how she has moved on ("Some man sent me flowers today/I'd forgotten people do that.") Evans then shows her harder, more electric side with the charged "Dangerous Woman," which rounds out the CD. Evans has the way of expressing feelings like that one that many people have probably thought, but not been able to say.
Lows: I spent 10 minutes trying to come up with some low points, but to no avail.
Fans: If you like Sarah McLaughlan, Ani DiFranco, Paula Cole, Shown Colvin or Suzanne Vega, Kate Evans will rock your la femme-music world.
Cheers to Kate Evans for putting herself out there with her tell-all lyrics that are so easy to relate to and for combining a soothing percussion, bass and piano sound that complements her amazing voice. Evans' "Release" will take you away to another world - enjoy!
Maureen Kelly - indie-music.com
- indie-music.com
Sometimes she's funny, sometimes she makes Joni Mitchell's "Blue" sound like They Might Be Giants, but she can really sing those beautiful melodies she writes. Spare and a little chilling, maybe. Look for it. Carefully. Soon.
PJ Rieder - Idiot's Delight Digest - Idiot's Delight Digest
She is part classical, part jazz, part folk, and all original. Her punchy lyrics have the spirit of Dar Williams and the wit of Ani DiFranco at times, as she sings, "The bird breathes, the air is fine. He limps on one leg but he lives in a gold mine," in "The Gold Around You."
The theme is predominantly lost love but she also tackles politics and the environment. "Francis of the Landfill" is a pretty, poignant song where she points out that, "nothing's forever except god and a styrofoam cup." She experiments with vocal techniques including some percussive acapella sounds on the fast-moving "Blind."
Kate wanders back and forth between slow, sweet ballads imparting just her voice and the piano, and more driving, layered songs. "Me as an Amputee" is a perfect sad, passionate ballad. Contrast this with "Would You Mind?" which is a catchy, light-hearted jazz number about lust. She croons, "My leg wasn't touching yours at that movie 'cause I didn't have enough room."
She ends with "Dangerous Woman," an empowered song where she asserts her independence at last. Marty Beller drives the song with his drum work and Marc Schmied integrates a bass line. This song is a fitting end to a well-produced, fun album.
Elizabeth Nitz - Femmusic.com - Femmusic.com
Sometimes she's funny, sometimes she makes Joni Mitchell's "Blue" sound like They Might Be Giants, but she can really sing those beautiful melodies she writes. Spare and a little chilling, maybe. Look for it. Carefully. Soon.
PJ Rieder - Idiot's Delight Digest - Idiot's Delight Digest
Discography
2002: Would You Mind? (Jazz EP)
2001: Release (full-length original recording)
1997: Manhattan Lullaby (full-length original with band ISOE)
1996: Room for the New (full-length original with band ISOE)
1996: Nice Garden (EP with band All Gods’ Children)
1996: Schoolhouse Rock Rocks! (with band Ween)
1992: Zapata and Other Love Songs (full-length original with band All Gods’ Children)
1992: Harlem Renaissance (with Benny Carter Big Band, Grammy-winning recording)
1991: Guatemalan Suite (with band All Gods’ Children)
Photos
Bio
If a child of Billie Holiday and Randy Newman were raised by Ani DiFranco and schooled by Mahalia Jackson, she might grow up to sound something like Kate Evans. Provocative, cerebral, gorgeous, her music goes straight to the heart.
Evans is a veteran performer who began working professionally as a classical flutist at age 16. While studying music at Rutgers University, she developed a deep interest in jazz and began studying improvisation and composition with jazz greats Kenny Barron, Ted Dunbar, and JoAnne Brackeen. At the same time, she was cutting her teeth in the pop music scene as singer and flutist in the New Brunswick world music big band All Gods' Children, which she performed and toured with for six years. Kate also performed and recorded with a wide variety of groups ranging from the Benny Carter Big Band (on the Grammy Award–winning “Harlem Renaissance”) to the alt-rock band Ween. In 1995, Evans began performing her original songs with her own band, ISOE.
ISOE's CD, "Manhattan Lullaby," charted on dozens of regional college radio stations, in the top 10 on many, and was highly praised by critics. Robert Makin of the Gannett Courier-News and The Aquarian named Evans "best female artist" and "best songwriter" in his annual independent music awards, and named "Manhattan Lullaby" album of the year. ISOE's music eluded categorization, but drew comparisons to that of Suzanne Vega, Ani DiFranco, Sade, and Tori Amos. Other significant influences include Randy Newman, Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin, Tom Waits, and Abbey Lincoln.
Evans put out her first solo CD, “Release,” in 2001 and has since promoted the album by touring locally. Maureen Keller of indie-music.com described the album by saying, “The lyrics are inspiring, the voice is one-of-a-kind, and the overall sound is as beautiful as music gets. It is evident that Evans loves music as she pours her heart into these inspiring songs.”
Evans, who grew up in rural Kansas, grew up surrounded by music. Her mother was a professional classical musician and her father an amateur bluegrass musician and radio DJ.
In a recent song, “Come Fly With Me,” Evans wrote:
You should come
Come right now
Break me in
Break me out
Come and fly with me
I’m going nowhere
Come and go nowhere with me
One thing is for sure: listening to the music of Kate Evans will transport you somewhere... somewhere deep, sometimes dark, and always passionate and beautiful. Come fly with her, indeed.
--
Kate has played venues including:
The Mercury Lounge, NYC
Outpost In the Burbs, NJ
Rockwood Music Hall, NYC
CBGB and CBGB's Gallery, NYC
Cafe Sin-e, NYC
The Living Room, NYC
The Triad, NYC
Meow Mix, NYC
The Wetlands, NYC
Maxwell's, NJ
Luna Stage, NJ
North Star Bar, Philadelphia
The Court Tavern, NJ
Rutgers University, NJ
Eastern Connecticut State University, CT
Drew University, NJ
Bard College, NY
Links
