Sandy Evans

Australian jazz composer, saxophonist, and teacher

Sandy Evans OAM
Origin	Australia
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Composer, instrumentalist, teacher
Instruments	Tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute
Years active	1982–present

Website	sandyevans.com.au

Musical artist

Sandy Evans is an Australian jazz composer,^[1] saxophonist,^[2] and teacher. Recognition of her work^[3] has included receiving an Order of Australia Medal in 2010 for services to music.^[4]^[5]

Career

In the early 1980s Evans played in Great White Noise with Michael Sheridan^[6] and formed the group Women and Children First.^[7] which included Jamie Fielding, Steve Elphick, Indra Lesmana and Tony Buck.^[8] Later she formed Clarion Fracture Zone and was a member of the Sydney band Ten Part Invention^[9] and the Australian Art Orchestra.

Evans composed the music for the 1999 radio drama Testimony: The Legend of Charlie Parker, which showcased the poetry of Yusef Komunyakaa, and was broadcast on ABC's Soundstage FM.^[10]

In 2008 she delivered the 10th Annual Peggy Glanville-Hicks Address. At the APRA Music Awards of 2013, her composition Meetings at the Table of Time performed by members of the Australian Art Orchestra and the Sruthi Laya Ensemble won Performance of the Year and was nominated for Work of the Year – Jazz.^[11]^[12]

In 2014 she was awarded a PhD from Macquarie University, Australia, for practice-based research in Carnatic Jazz Intercultural music. She also received a Churchill Fellowship to visit India in 2014 and began to collaborate with Aneesh Pradhan and Shubha Mudgal. She is currently a lecturer in Jazz at the University of New South Wales. ^[13]

Recordings

Sandy Evans has performed on more than 30 albums.^[4]

Blue Shift (1990) with Clarion Fracture Zone.
Zones On Parade (1993) with Clarion Fracture Zone.
What This Love Can Do (1994) with Clarion Fracture Zone.
Less Stable Elements (1996) with Clarion Fracture Zone.
Unidentified Spaces (2000) with Ten Part Invention ^[9]
Not in the Mood (2002) Sandy Evans Trio.
Canticle (2002) with Clarion Fracture Zone and featuring Paul Cutlan and Martenitsa Choir.
The Edge of Pleasure (2009) Sandy Evans Trio.
When the Sky Cries Rainbows (2011) ^[14]
Cosmic Waves (2012) Sandy Evans and Friends with Guru Kaaraikkudi Mani and Sruthi Laya.^[15]
Yonder (2013) with The Catholics ^[16]
Kapture (2015) with Bobby Singh, Brett Hirst, Toby Hall and Saragan Sriranganathan.
What She Sees (2018) Silke Eberhard and Sandy Evans, Rufus Records.
Bridge of Dreams (2018) Sandy Evans in collaboration with Sirens Big Band, Shubha Mudgal, Aneesh Pradhan, Sudhir Nayak and Bobby Singh. Developed over several years and recorded across two continents from Mumbai to Sydney.^[17]
Postcards from the Anthropocene (2020) Sandy Evans / Adam Hulbert / Hamish Stuart, Eupcaccia Records.

Awards

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.


Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
AIR Awards of 2011^[18]^[19]	When the Sky Cries Rainbows	Best Independent Jazz Album	Won

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Sandy Evans won two awards in that time.^[20]


Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result (wins only)
1992	Sandy Evans	Female Jazz Instrumental Performer of the Year	Won
1995	Sandy Evans	Jazz Instrumental Performer of the Year	Won

References

^ Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. (1 March 2009). Britannica Book of the Year 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. pp. 275–. ISBN 978-1-59339-232-1.
^ Chris Gibson (11 June 2014). Creativity in Peripheral Places: Redefining the Creative Industries. Routledge. pp. 107–. ISBN 978-1-317-97778-0.
^ Stephen Pleskun (28 March 2014). A CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN COMPOSERS AND THEIR COMPOSITIONS - Vol. 4 1999-2013. Xlibris Corporation. pp. 395–. ISBN 978-1-4931-3537-0.
^ ^a ^b "Saxophonist puts tragedy on record". John McBeath. The Australian 06 October 2011
^ "Ms Sandy Evans". It's An Honour. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
^ "Great White Noise - Great White Noise". Discogs. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
^ Roger Dean; Hazel Smith (5 November 2013). Improvisation Hypermedia and the Arts Since 1945. Routledge. pp. 81–. ISBN 978-1-134-37606-3.
^ "Women And Children First". Discogs. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Jazz Masterpiece: Ten Part Invention - Unidentified Spaces', 2001". The Monthly. John Clare.
^ Andrew Crisell (2006). More Than a Music Box: Radio Cultures and Communities in a Multi-Media World. Berghahn Books. pp. 220–. ISBN 978-1-84545-046-5.
^ "Work of the Year – Jazz". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australian Music Centre (AMC). 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
^ "Performance of the Year". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australian Music Centre (AMC). 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
^ "Dr Sandy Evans - Arts & Social Sciences - UNSW Australia". UNSW. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
^ "REVIEW: Sandy Evans – When the Sky Cries Rainbows". The Orange Press.
^ "Cosmic Waves: Sandy Evans and Friends". The Australian. (subscription required).
^ "JAZZ: The Catholics' Yonder." Sydney Morning Herald.
^ Myers, Eric (29 December 2018). "Bridge of Dreams Review". The Australian.
^ "Independent Music Awards Nominees Announced". tonedeaf. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
^ "History Wins". Australian Independent Record Labels Association. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
^ "MO Award Winners". Mo Awards. Retrieved 16 March 2022.

External links

Official website
Sandy Evans at the Australian Music Centre
Evans, Sandy (Sandra Janette) profile in Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians at jazz.com
Sandy Evans to present the 10th Peggy Glanville-Hicks address