Saxophone/Clarinet/Vocals
Born into a musical family, Evan got an early start in music. His first instruction in jazz started from the time he was seven years old with his grandfather, Lloyd Arntzen, instructing him on clarinet. Evan started playing tenor at fourteen and by the time he was seventeen, he was working professionally in his grandfather's bands as well as, shortly thereafter, in world class traditional jazz trumpet player Simon Stribling's Society Seven.
Evan spent five years in the jazz program at Capilano College in North Vancouver where he studied privately with renowned saxophone instructor, Stan Karp. He played in the "A" band for all of those 5 years as first tenor, and got to perform with such notables as Cedar Walton, Neenna Freelon, Regina Carter, Seamus Blake, Phil Dwyer, and Jon Faddis.
Over the last few years, Evan has performed, recorded and toured extensively with some of Canada's brightest young jazz talent in bands such as The Amanda Tosoff Quartet, The October Trio, and Bria's Hot 5. The October Trio has an album coming out next year featuring Juno award winning trumpeter, Brad Turner. Last year was an especially exciting year for Evan in which he recieved the Fraser MacPherson Music Scholarship and was selected amongst three other young Canadian jazz artists to take part in a series of concerts produced by CBC entitled "Still Crazy After All That Jazz" in which he got to perform with Canadian jazz legends PJ Perry, Ian McDougal, Oliver Jones, Michel Donato, and Terry Clarke.
Next year is set to be the most exciting yet for Evan. He will perform at the IAJE conference with clarinettist Francois Houle's Octet, at the Canadian National Jazz Awards with the October Trio, and embark on trips to Europe and New York.
