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Gypsy Fever: Let It Be Connie Evingson |
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Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor
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Tuesday, 25 January 2005 |
 "The jazz vocal scene right now is littered with
overproduced and over-marketed jazz vocalists whose main agenda is to
sell records first. It's refreshing to touch upon a singer whose real
objective seems to be making beautiful music. If dedication and
commitment are the barometers of success, then she is already a big
star." -- Leonel Escota (Songbirds)
One of
the most distinctive voices among local jazz artists, Connie Evingson
may be best known as a long-time member of the acclaimed vocal quartet,
Moore By Four. In addition to her nearly 20-year stint with the popular
ensemble, however, Evingson has established a remarkable career as a
solo performer and recording artist. Her talents will be displayed in
two very different settings this week, with the Parisota Hot Club in
the Atrium of uptown Minneapolis' Calhoun Square as part of the new
KBEM Wednesday Night Commotion (January 26), and as the featured
performer (with the Clearwater Hot Club) for the Twin Cities Jazz
Society "J to Z" Concert at the Lakeville Arts Center on Saturday night
(January 29). And next month, Evingson and the Parisota Hot Club will
bring their "Gypsy Soul" to the Dakota, February 11-12.
A native
of Hibbing in northern Minnesota's Iron Range, Connie Evingson grew up
listening to her father's records of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Ella
Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Williams, Tony Bennett, Lambert,
Hendricks and Ross, and later Peggy Lee and Shirley Horn. She was just
five when she first performed publicly in her church and school choirs.
Says Evingson, "I spent most of my childhood dreaming of the day when
I'd be either singing and dancing on the theatrical stage—or swinging
with a band in a smokey jazz club." After receiving a B.A. in
anthropology and music from the University of Minnesota, Evingson's
first club gig was at the old Night Train in St. Paul.
She also did a brief stint with the Minnesota Vocal Jazz Ensemble
before joining Moore By Four in 1986. With Moore By Four, Evingson has
toured the U.S., Europe, and Japan; appeared on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion; and opened for Harry Connick, Jr., Joe Williams, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, and Dizzy Gillespie.
As
a solo artist, Connie Evingson has appeared on concert and club stages
around the world, has been a guest soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra
and the Toronto Symphony conducted by Doc Severinsen, and sang with the
Vocalessence Music Series with Bobby McFerrin. Her voice is often heard
on TV and radio commercials for clients such as Target, Chili's,
Andersen Windows, and Slumberland; with Arne Fogel, she hosts the
weekly Singers and Standards on KBEM radio. In 1998, she was chosen by Jazziz
magazine as "one of the top unsigned vocal talents in the country," was
among the top 15 contestants in the 1998 Thelonious Monk Vocal
Competition, and received the McKnight Artist Fellowship Award in 2000.
She was featured on the Smithsonian's Jazz Singers radio series, on Jazziz Magazine's recording, Vocals on Fire, and on Sharper Image's new compilation disc, New Sirens of Song, which features a track from her recording, Fever - A Tribute to Peggy Lee, along with tracks by Diana Krall, Norah Jones, Stacy Kent, and others.
One of Connie Evingson's most popular and highly acclaimed projects was her original stage production, Fever: A Tribute to Peggy Lee,
which she has performed extensively throughout the Twin Cities, around
the country, and in excerpted form at New York's Town Hall. The
recording Fever (1999) quickly followed. Her interest in
Peggy Lee was sparked some eight years earlier when three people in a
span of three weeks told her that her approach reminded them of Lee.
Curious, she researched Lee's recordings and life, discovering they
shared somewhat similar backgrounds - Scandinavian heritage, small-town
Midwestern upbringing. (Lee was born Norma Deloris Egstrom in
Jamestown, North Dakota.) Noted Leonel Escota (Songbirds), "With
a voice that has been described as ‘iceberg velvet,' Evingson sings in
a style reminiscent of Lee's, yet with attentive listening, it is
obvious that the style is certainly her own... Her arrangements, though
similar to the original versions, are fused with a modern touch that
would appeal to both puritanical and more adventurous listeners."
Evingson has released five recordings for Minnehaha Music. Her debut disc, I Have Dreamed (1995), is her tribute to the Broadway shows that inspired her as youngster. Following Fever (1999), Evingson rounded up a who's who list of artists for Some Cats Know
(2000), a tribute to the elders of jazz (including Ray Brown, Von
Freeman, Doc Severinson, Toots Thielmans, and Jack McDuff). Dave Nathan
(All Music Guide) described the recording as "an exhilarating,
entertaining exposition of Evingson's considerable vocal skills
accentuated by the presence of great veteran jazz players." Perhaps
drawing on her college studies, Evingson also provided lyrics for the
Charlie Parker track, "Anthropology." The Secret of Christmas (2002) was named by Jazziz as one of the "Twelve Discs of Christmas" for 2003; Jim Santella (All About Jazz) noted that "Every time of the year is right for this kind of genuine performance." Next came Let It Be Jazz (2003),
Evingson's tribute to the Beatles, which hit the Top 50 charts for 8
weeks in the U.S. and Canada. According to Lee Prosser (JazzReview.com),
this recording was "among the finest Beatles interpretations by a jazz
vocalist in recent years... Evingson's phrasing and style is perfect...
she brings a sense of verve and adventure to songs each of us know so
well."
 Connie Evingson has now turned her talents to the music of Django Reinhardt with her new release, Gypsy in My Soul.
First encountering the work of Pearl Django a few years ago, she was
inspired by the gypsy influence and sought to translate vocally what is
typically performed as instrumental music. Soon she was testing out the
repertoire with the Minnesota-based Parisota Hot Club and Clearwater
Hot Club. With Pearl Django, the three ensembles recorded with
Evingson, and the results were as one would expect—outstanding. Noted
Rick Mason of City Pages, "With her own delicious sense of
swing, silken phrasing and sense of adventure, Evingson really nails
Django's spirit on 'Gypsy', rummaging through his songbook (often with
added lyrics) and other tunes that fit the mood..." Even tunes that
don't seem on the surface to lend themselves to "hot club" arrangements
are freshly interpreted and warmed up with Evingson's buttery
alto—"Nature Boy," "I Cover the Waterfront," "Caravan," and Sting's
"Until."
This week, catch the gypsy in your
soul—swing with Connie Evingson and the Parisota Hot Club on Wednesday
(January 26), 6:30-8:30 pm in the Atrium of Calhoun Square, at the
weekly Wednesday Night Commotion, a free double set sponsored by KBEM
radio and broadcast live on 88.5 FM. On Saturday night (January 29),
Evingson appears with the Clearwater Hot Club in the Twin Cities Jazz
Society Jazz J to Z concert series; you can opt for dinner and the
show, or just the show, at the Lakeville Area Arts Center.
Calhoun
Square is located in Uptown Minneapolis, at Lake and Hennepin. Come
early and grab a table. The Lakeville Area Arts Center is located at
20965 Holyoke Ave in downtown Lakeville, south of the Twin Cities.
Dinner and concert, 6:30 PM ($30); concert 7:30 PM ($15); discount for
Twin Cities Jazz Society members. Tickets: Prickly Pear Gallery, call
(952) 469-8460; Arts Center, call (952) 985-4640; also visit www.tcjs.org. Next month, Connie Evingson and the Parisota Hot Club perform at the Dakota, February 11-12 (see www.dakotacooks.com). Visit Connie Evingson's website at www.connieevingson.com
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 Saturday, 05 July 2008
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