Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Yve Evans was born in El Paso, Texas on July 20, 1950 into an Army family and was around music while growing up as her mother was a gospel singer. When she was three years old she made her first recording of The Lord’s Prayer acapella. In addition to the church music, she began singing and memorizing songs from the radio including all the cartoon favorites like the Mickey Mouse Club.

She learned to play the piano at the age of nine while rehabilitating from injuries she sustained after being struck by a car. The family followed her dad to Germany at age 12 and she began taking lessons from piano virtuoso Frau Anna Benkel, who introduced her to her love of classical piano. In 1964 Yve was hit by a truck and told she would never walk again or have children. The doctors were wrong and while bedridden at home she would still sit up to practive her piano lessons, take a correspondence course in behavioral psychology plus her regular homework.

Yve eventually walked again and began producing in addition to performing and pursuing the art of storytelling while living in Germany. She spent her summers from age13 to 16 playing in a big band, light opera productions and touring Germany with choral groups. At 16 after moving back to America a teacher attempted to discourage her to not rely on a career in music. She continued in the high school and University choral, mentored and encouraged by Carmen Dragon and Jester Harriston.

Evans cites Sarah Vaughn, Ernie Andrews, Joe Williams, Ella Fitzgerald, June Christie, Della Reese, Bobby Darin and Rosemary Clooney as her main influences. As a pianist, she has leaned over the shoulders of, swapped chord changes with and stolen licks from Dorothy Donegan, Bill Evans, Erroll Garner, George Gafney, Carmen McCrae and Shirley Horn.

Vocalist and pianist Yve Evans, who has seven live recordings and is a Grammy nominated artist, continues to tell stories through her music, sing on the local jazz scene and perform around the world at festivals.

More Posts: bandleader,history,instrumental,jazz,music,vocal