Evan Jagels

Evan Jagels is a versatile upright and electric bassist.  He has a Masters Degree in Music Performance from the City University of New York, Queens College, where he received the Michael Feinstein Award and has studied bass with Ron Carter, Buster Williams, Nilson Matta, Yoshio Aomori, Tomoya Aomori, and Franz Pillinger.  Jagels has performed with such jazz luminaries as Ray Vega, Gerry Weldon, Antonio Hart, Michael Mossman, Ray Anderson, John Stowell, and Chuck Lamb.  Other performance highlights include Carnegie Hall, Flushing Town Hall, the Plaza Hotel, the Record Archive, the Blue Note in Germany and the UniJazz Festival in the Czech Republic. He has recorded with Arlen Roth (Ry Cooder, Levon Helm, John Prine), Martin Bisi (Swans, Sonic Youth, Herbie Hancock), and for Antonio DeVivo’s Vientos de Medara. 

He is a sought-after freelance jazz bassist in New York’s Capital District, a member of the Blake Fleming Trio (The Mars Volta, Laddio Bollocko, Sean Lennon) which plays progressive improvised music and regularly works with Elvanelle Music, a time-defying curation of vaudeville, hot jazz, folk, cabaret and contemporary music. Jagels has performed throughout Germany with Paul Berberich (Zur Schönen Aussicht, CONtrust Jazz Orchestra) and recently released “Night Service”, a duo album of improvised music with Andreas “Scotty” Böttcher of Dresden, Germany. A diverse musician, he is also a member of the rockabilly/psychobilly band The Mopar Cams.  

During the pandemic, Jagels created an improvised music form which he called “Improvignettes”.  An improvignette is a complete musical idea which is improvised and takes place in one minute or less.  These are done via the internet and are duos.  Jagels collaborated with musicians from all over the world and it was in this form that he and Brancato began their collaborations.