Peter Evans -trumpets
Joel Ross -vibraphone, percussion
Nick Jozwiak -bass
Michael Ode -drums
Being & Becoming was formed in 2017 by composer and trumpet player Peter Evans. The name of the band, drawn from the writing of Sufi writer and musician Inyat Khan, reflects the group's commitment to the challenge of spontaneous creativity. Evans' compositions for the band draw from a wide variety of sources, traditional and experimental, with a grounding in improvisational idioms, notated concert music and an array of experimental approaches. The band features some of the most virtuosic and forward-thinking young musicians in Jazz and Contemporary music today; vibraphonist Joel Ross (Blue Note recording artist, worked with Immanuel Wilkins, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Marquis Hill) bassist Nick Jozwiak (Ravi Coltrane, Aaron Burnett) and drummer Michael Ode (Theo Croker, Wallace Roney, Gary Bartz). Each of these players are trailblazing artists in their own right, and with Evans’ trumpet and ornate yet organic compositions they achieve a true band sound. Influences for the music range from the work of masters like McCoy Tyner and John Coltrane, traditional musics of Africa and India, 20th Century European modernism and the improvised idioms pioneered by the AACM, the SME and many more. The result is something that feels somehow both new and old at once, an experimentalism grounded in both rigor and a passion for the undiscovered. Being & Becoming's debut album was released to wide acclaim in 2020 on More is More records in both vinyl and digital formats. Their followup release will be available in the Spring of 2023.