“Evan Christopher’s band, Django à la Créole is a band like no other. To begin with the music fostered by Mr. Christopher and his band pays homage to his roots—New Orleans. Now there are many bands that pay tribute to New Orleans, some better than others. But truly, there is no ensemble like Evan Christopher’s. (…) This is the third of the group’s recordings, and seven years down the road the band sounds just as effervescent and creative and inventive as the day the music of New Orleans was born. Sounding old—in a sense—and brand new and contemporary is no mean achievement. And yet it is not just notionally named after Django Reinhardt, because that Gypsy legend was as much a part of the history of Jazz and New Orleans as anyone else. And so the clarinet of Mr. Christopher meets the guitars of the two Dave’s—Blenkhorn and Kelbie—who return his every phrase with vivacity and sensuous abandon as well as with a risqué move or two. Evan Christopher is in a class of his own. His burnished woody tone is melded with the primeval whelp of early musicians. Albert Nicholas comes to mind, but Mr. Christopher is a singular voice. His lines are sophisticated and crafted with great intellect. And yet he has a visceral energy that comes from sliding through the New Orleans grassroots. Mr. Christopher can also create brilliant inversions in his mighty soli, sometimes drawing the guitar of Mr. Blenkhorn and the bass of Mr. Girardot in its wake. And he is a master of beginning a solo improvisation in the middle of a melodic phrase, as if the melody came from in his pocket. His own soli are sensuous; almost sexually inviting and if the other instruments were women, then they are most certainly seduced. Just listen to “Douce Ambience.” And listen to when he steps in the shadows and Dave Blenkhorn steps into the limelight… It is almost as if he were preening himself at such a seduction. The record is full of performances such as these and it is almost a shame to stop at mentioning just one of them. But there are also great performances by the other band-members. For instance Sebastian Girardot has an astounding solo in “Riverboat Shuffle.” And of course Mr. Kelbie is the backbone and the anchor of the ensemble sitting in for a drummer as much as he does for a rhythm guitarist. He is, quite simply, the best rhythm guitarist in the world. Just as Django à la Créole is one of the best bands in the world playing any kind of repertoire.”
By Raul DA GAMMA – JAZZ DA GAMA
By Raul DA GAMMA – JAZZ DA GAMA
