CAPE MAY — With bebop-rooted living legends such as drummer Roy Haynes, saxophonist Sonny Rollins and pianist Herbie Hancock in their 80s and 90s, the spring edition of the Exit Zero Jazz Festival has a focus on artists 50 and younger and those whose careers started in the 1990s or more recently.
The lineup for this weekend’s festival features a mix of regulars who are familiar faces in Atlantic and Cape May counties, such as pianist Orrin Evans, who plays with his band Tarbaby, and relative newcomers such as tenor saxophonist Camille Thurman, who is making her third South Jersey appearance in the past four years.
Evans, 49, who grew up in Trenton, has performed at least nine times in Atlantic City, Somers Point and Cape May since 2009. He even played the predecessor to Exit Zero, the Cape May Jazz Festival, in 1999.
Thirty years ago, Evans recorded his debut album, “The Trio,” but it was released in August 1995, he said.
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Evans appears at Exit Zero this spring after his Captain Black Big Band featuring Dianne Reeves performed in November during the fall edition of the festival. This time, he has been booked with his trio Tarbaby, with bassist Eric Revis and drummer Nasheet Waits, from 2:15 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday on the main stage at Convention Hall.
Revis is a longtime collaborator with saxophonist, composer and bandleader Branford Marsalis. Waits is the son of jazz legend Freddie Waits and is a key member of pianist and composer Jason Moran’s The Bandwagon trio.
“Ninety percent of a good festival is based on vibe and energy. ... Exit Zero, they know how to have fun and how to provide good energy,” Evans said. “There is a place for everyone at Exit Zero.”
Besides Tarbaby, Evans adds his piano playing to other groups such as the Eubanks, Evans Experience, Captain Black Big Band, Luvpark and his solo albums.
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Evans has released four full-length Tarbaby albums, “Tarbaby” in 2009, “The End of Fear” in 2010, “The Ballad of Sam Langford” in 2013 and “Dance of the Evil Toys” in 2022 by Tarbaby featuring Oliver Lake.
While many people may know the term tarbaby only as a slur against Black people, Evans named his band using the term in its original context as a metaphor for a sticky situation based on the classic trickster folk tale of Bre’r Rabbitt and Bre’r Fox.
Evans said he uses the term to convey that he and his group will be sticking to the jazz tradition that was established by the artists that came before them such as the late multi-instrumentalist and composer Jaki Byard, the late drummer and composer Max Roach, the late organist Shirley Scott and the late pianist and composer Mary Lou Williams.
“We’ve never recorded for a major label. Maybe the name is a problem,” Evans said. “We would love to do 200 dates a year. ... The only place we have toured has been in Europe.”
Revis has described Tarbaby as a “three-headed monster,” Evans said. The trio will meet the day before the gig to decide what to play at Exit Zero and whether it will only be from their newest album, “Dance of the Evil Toys.”
“I’ve got some ideas,” said Evans, who did not elaborate.
Queens, New York, native Thurman, 37, started her jazz career in 2008. She performed with the Darrell Green Quartet last spring at Exit Zero and at the Cap Jazz Festival in 2021 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.
Thurman returns with her husband and drummer, Green, and other band members to play from 6 to 7:15 p.m. Friday at Convention Hall.
The three-weekend North to Shore Festival starts in Asbury Park June 10 to 16 before coming to Atlantic City June 17 to 23 and finishing in Newark June 24 to 30.
Thurman also is this year’s David O. Clemans Music Connects Artist in Residence.
Last month and this month, Thurman has been in residence with high school-aged music students from Lower and Middle townships and Ocean City. She will lead and perform with the David O. Clemans Big Band in its performance at 11 a.m. Sunday on the Exit Zero Jazz Festival Philadelphia Mortgage Advisors’ main stage.
Besides playing the saxophone, Thurman plays flute and sings.
“Each of them are tools in expressing myself. They help each other,” Thurman said.
Thurman was the runner up for the 2013 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. The winner was singer and songwriter Jazzmeia Horn, who went on to become a two-time Grammy Award nominee with three albums released under her name.
Some people may recognize Thurman from when she performed with the house band during her guest appearances on “Late Night with Stephen Colbert,” when Grammy-winning musician Jon Batiste was the bandleader.
“It was great. Jon is a wonderfully musical player and singer,” said Thurman, who added she appeared on the show several times from 2015 to 2022.