Last year, the longstanding Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra kicked off the search for a new artistic director for the first time in 30 years. Shortly after, Philadelphia pianist-composer Orrin Evans was on the phone with his close friend and musical collaborator Thomas Marriott, a trumpeter and founder of the Seattle Jazz Fellowship.
Marriott, perhaps considering Evans’ homebase in Philadelphia and vibrant career as a touring artist, jokingly suggested that Evans apply for the role.
“The way he said it, he didn't think I was going to do it,” Evans said, chuckling.
But Evans did apply, and after a months-long process, SRJO announced he got the job. With the upcoming season, which runs November through May, Evans will take the reins of the 17-piece ensemble, which performs for 5,000-7,000 jazz fans each season, in November. Musician Michael Brockman has led the ensemble for three decades as the founding artistic director.
"Orrin Evans represents exactly the kind of artistic vision and human commitment that SRJO needs as we move into our next chapter," said Susan Colligan, chair of the SRJO Board of Directors, in a press release.
Evans is nationally renown in jazz music. He is a three-time Grammy nominee and recipient of top rankings in DownBeat critics polls. His career spans a variety of jazz styles and notable groups, including his Captain Black Big Band, a sprawling large ensemble project with more than 30 musicians; Tarbaby, a trio with bassist Eric Revis and drummer Nasheet Waits; and Eubanks Evans Experience, a duo with guitarist Kevin Eubanks.
He has also created musical works for major institutions like Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and he has taught actively at jazz workshops and in Philadelphia public schools.
SRJO spent their 2025-2026 season testing out three guest directors, including Evans. Each one was responsible for putting together a selection of music for the band, rehearsing the musicians, and leading them in two performances.
In mid-April, Evans presented the music of Sun Ra with SRJO at Benaroya Hall. His guest director shows featured rousing renditions of the five-part intergalactic Sun Ra Suite, as well as a few songs Evans had performed with the Captain Black Big Band. It was an energetic and immediate performance that had the band and the audience singing and grooving in their seats.
Evans said he made a point to go into the guest conductor gig fresh, without any preconceived notions about the band or its audience.
“That also allows me over the next however many years to create an SRJO sound that is indicative of everyone and their true spirit, rather than trying to sound like what…everyone wants us to sound like,” Evans said.
From now on, SRJO won’t sound like they did. That’s like hoping a TV show will be the same after a new lead is cast, Evans said. He noted that this moment is similar to when he took over Ethan Iverson’s piano seat in jazz group The Bad Plus in 2017.
“People really have a way of identifying that sound, and then saying, ‘Okay, wait a minute, this is a different sound, it's a different person, but we trust The Bad Plus, we trust the SRJO, and we're going to ride this ride as we continue and evolve,’” Evans said.
Evans, who is ecstatic to be leading this group of “beautiful musicians,” has no immediate plans to change the makeup of SRJO, which pays its members. But he said personnel may evolve as the music does.
“The music comes first. So, if there are situations that may suit someone else, you know, that's a reality,” he said.
Ultimately, Evans wants to use his position as SRJO artistic director to break down barriers and strengthen community through music. He hopes the local audience will trust his respect for the legacy and integrity of SRJO, while he also establishes his own artistic vision.
“I'm not a fan of the melting pot, but I am a big fan of a salad bowl where you could be a tomato, I could be a cucumber, you could be an onion, and we can all exist in the same world,” he said.
While he isn’t selling his house in Philly anytime soon, Evans does plan to live in Seattle part-time to deepen his relationship to the city and to SRJO. Now that the decision is final, the first thing Evans plans to do, besides finding an apartment in Seattle's competitive market, is have a cookout with the band.
“Turning every situation I’m in into a family is really important,” he said.
On May 30 and 31, Brockman will make way for Evans and lead his final concerts as SRJO artistic director with special guest Christian McBride.
