Brent Jarvis trio plays the music of Bill Evans

Fri. May 3rd 2024 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM doors at 5:30 PM (All Ages)
Livestream + In Person $25 plus fees/tax, walk-ins welcome
Presented by: Arts On View Society
Bill Evans was known for his lyrical and introspective approach to the piano as well as his rhythmic and harmonic complexity. After recording on Miles Davis’ 1959 album: Kind of Blue, Bill Evans went on to lead his own iconic trios, release groundbreaking solo piano albums, and collaborate with Stan Getz, Tony Bennett, Art Farmer, Nat Adderley, Oliver Nelson, and others.

In the 1986 documentary: Piano Legends, Chick Corea, in introducing Bill Evans, states that:
“the player with the skills and sensitivity to master its incredible expressiveness can personalize a piano to such an extent that it seems that it was built for him and him alone.”

Brent Jarvis piano
Ken Lister Bass
Kelby MacNayr
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Brent Jarvis lives in Victoria BC and teaches (and is Chair of Music) at Vancouver Island University. In 2002 Brent completed a Jazz Performance degree at the University of Toronto and in 2022 a Master’s Degree in Musicology at the University of Victoria.

Brent aims to continue a lineage of lyrical piano playing that explores the harmonic and rhythmic potential of jazz performance and composition. By having closely studied the music of Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Phineas Newborn, Mulgrew Miller, Chick Corea, John Taylor, and others; Brent builds on a legacy of musical expression and exploration.

In 2019 Brent began a recording project entitled Dragonfly, this album combines contemporary jazz music with Cuban rhythm. This most recent work draws on the immense musical talent existing on the west coast of Canada and features Miguelito Valdes, Monik Nordine, Ben Henriques, Jose Sanchez, and Steve MacDonald.

Brent’s previous album entitled the Medium was loosely based on the work of Canadian philosopher and media theorist Marshall MacLuhan. Released in 2015, the Medium combines traditional Cuban rhythm, bebop, standard jazz repertoire, new compositions, and arrangements for a ten piece band. The title track from this album was named a favourite on Toronto’s Jazz FM91’s annual retrospective. Jazz FM91 host Laura Fernandes referred to the Medium as: “captivating … a collaboration between the sensual and the intellectual … music that sparks the senses and transcends genres.”

Other recordings include Brent’s 2005 debut Sequences and a 2006 solo piano album. Both were released on Roadhouse Records (a now defunct record label run by Canadian jazz icons Pat Coleman and Colin Lazzerini). Sequences was named “Best Jazz Album of 2005” by CJAM FM (Windsor-Detroit). In 2009 Brent released an album entitled Daedalus that set to music the poetry of Canadian poet Dorothy Livesay.

Accolades of Brent’s work include: “romantic but never cloying … a beautifully balanced quartet” (Katie Malloch, CBC Jazz Beat), “exciting, harmonically advanced … original jazz that is based on the music’s 100 year tradition but stakes out new ground with daring and masterful technique” (Joseph Blake, Victoria Times Colonist), “expressive and lyrical, not to mention technically brilliant … generates uncommon excitement and suspense in his playing” (Rick Gibbs, islandjazz.ca), and “[Brent] brings a constantly shifting brilliance to both the standard repertoire and his own compositions” (Barry Miller, AV Times).