CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE - photo credits (L to R): Lenny Gonzales (1), Katerina Evangelista (2&3), Lauren Miyake (4)
Filipino-American guitarist/composer Karl Evangelista (b.1986) ranks among the vanguard of musicians pushing the traditions of jazz and experimental music into the future. Synthesizing the heavy legacy of contemporary improvised music with popular song and 20th century composition, Evangelista explores multicultural concepts with sonic intensity and political fervor. Signal to Noise magazine hails Evangelista as "one of the most original instrumentalists and composers of his generation," and as the creative force behind boundary-breaking group Grex, Evangelista's music has been called an "otherworldly experience" (Eugene Weekly) and "a near-seamless blend of modern jazz, contemporary structuralist composition, indie rock, and blues rock" (Tiny Mix Tapes). Evangelista has explored new realms in sound and intercultural collaboration across a vast spectrum of musical situations. He has worked with or under the direction of Muhal Richard Abrams, Bobby Bradford, Andrew Cyrille, Marc Edwards, Fred Frith, Eddie Gale, Oliver Lake, Louis Moholo-Moholo, Zeena Parkins, Trevor Watts, Michael Zerang, Zoh Amba, Scott Amendola, Steve Berlin, Nava Dunkelman, Jordan Glenn, Ben Goldberg, Alexander Hawkins, Lewis Jordan, Lisa Mezzacappa, John-Carlos Perea, Marcus Shelby, Luke Stewart, and ROVA's Larry Ochs, Bruce Ackley, Jon Raskin, and Steve Adams. He has studied under Myra Melford, Art Ensemble of Chicago co-founder Roscoe Mitchell, and the legendary Milford Graves. Evangelista maintains longstanding ties to the influential Asian Improv aRts organization, having been mentored by master saxophonist Francis Wong. He maintains an active role among the Bay Area's BIPOC and Asian American jazz community, working with the likes of Jon Jang, Lewis Jordan, Mark Izu, and Chicago bassist Tatsu Aoki. Evangelista has presented work at Ars Nova Workshop, the Guelph Jazz Festival, the United States of Asian America Festival, Myra Melford's New Frequencies Festival, the Switchboard Festival, the Sonic Circuits Festival, and the Outsound New Music Summit. He has garnered grant support from the California Arts Council, East Bay Community Foundation, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and the Zellerbach Family Foundation for a range of pieces centered on his Filipino-American heritage, including "Taglish" (2011), "Apura" (2020), "Bukas" (2022), "Auntie + Tebs" (2023), and "Taglish II" (2025). Evangelista's music can be heard on a wide-ranging selection of record labels, including 577 Records, Asian Improv Records, Astral Spirits, Bridge Records, Edgetone Records, Fundacja Sluchaj, and Geomancy Records, winning notices in The Wire, I Care If You Listen, The New York City Jazz Record, and countless other trades. As a bandleader, Evangelista has celebrated progressive causes. As co-leader of Grex, Evangelista organized multiple online Lockdown Festivals in the midst of the 2020-2022 coronavirus outbreak. Proceeds from Grex's work have been directed to numerous causes of conscience, including Milford Graves Memorial Fund, Black Organizing Project, the Shuumi Land Tax, the Alameda County Food bank, and relief efforts for crises in the Philippines, Palestine, and Ukraine. Evangelista holds a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies from UC Berkeley (Summa Cum Laude, '06) and an MFA in Improvised Music from Mills College ('09). His previous teaching experience includes work at the East Bay Center for the Performance Arts, California Jazz Conservatory, and UC Berkeley. He currently lectures in the department of Race & Resistance Studies at San Francisco State University, serves as music coordinator for San Francisco Waldorf High School, and offers private instruction throughout the East Bay.
PRESS"Karl Evangelista's guitar squawks and sizzles like a Fred Frith and Sonny Sharrock death match." - The Stranger (Dave Segal)
Up-and-Comers of the Year: Karl Evangelista (Guitar), Debuts of the Year: Apura! - The New York City Jazz Record, Best of 2020
"a highly personal body of work combining jazz, Filipino folk melodies, American pop forms and 20th century experimentalism." - SF Gate (Andrew Gilbert)
"Apura! is another modern classic, sure to sit alongside the many records that inspired it, and hopefully the future albums it spawns. (4.5/5 stars)" - Free Jazz Blog, Review of Karl Evangelista's Apura! (Lee Rice Epstein)
"Evangelista wields a swell grouchy guitar tone, Scampavia's pipes are sweet, and when they freak out, they freak out good." The Vinyl District, Review of Grex's Electric Ghost Parade (Joseph Neff)
"All four musicians are master improvisers and since each one has so much creative spirit & ideas to draw from, everyone finds ways to weave so many fascinating streams of interaction and solos. There is a sense of calm at the center here, as if no one is in a rush to go anywhere, just to converse and create. Improv disc of the year?!? No doubt!" - Downtown Music Gallery, Review of Karl Evangelista's Apura!
"[Evangelista] wrings a plethora of sounds from the electric guitar, touching on timbres less commonly heard in this context: soft-edged swells, rock growls, brittle pick-work and soaring feedback... When Evangelista is locked into a moment, he's a big presence." - The Wire, Review of Karl Evangelista's Apura!
"Evangelista is often that guy from the 21st century crashing a circa 1966 ESP-Disk recording session, setting up a lot of intrigue that puts this music in a place all its own." - Something Else! Reviews, Review of Karl Evangelista's Apura (S. Victor Aaron)
"[Though] Grex never stand in one musical place too long... the one true constant is Karl A.D. Evangelista's quite stunning guitar work that itself can take on many 'faces'. An excellent release." Echoes and Dust, Review of Grex's Electric Ghost Parade (Ljubinko Zivkovic)
"...a screaming, guitar-fueled cover of John Coltrane's A Love Supreme. It's true to the spirit of the original in that it's highly improvised. Yet Karl Evangelista's guitar, Rei Scampavia's keys and guest Dan Clucas' cornet channel much more angst in the face of trying to connect with some type of higher power, compared to Coltrane's fervent reverence. In a very hubristic, punk-inspired way, it's a twisted masterpiece." - New York Music Daily, Review of Grex's A Love Supreme (Alan Young)
"Evangelista's work on guitar [is] fascinating, moving from melodic and "in" to the most "out" and producing a surprising variety of effects and subtle nuances." - Doobeedoobeedoo (Dahwoud Kringle)
"[Karl evoked] similar sizzling experiments by such innovators as Ornette Coleman and the late Ronald Shannon Jackson... Evangelista saw no need to spurn melody, and his efforts were stronger and more engaging for having overcome this particular phobia." - San Francisco Classical Voice, Review of SFFCM Music Day (Jeff Kaliss)
Principal Ensembles
Primary: Grex (w/M. Rei Scampavia a.o., 2009-present), Karl Evangelista's Apura (w/Andrew Cyrille, Alexander Hawkins, Lisa Mezzacappa, Louis Moholo-Moholo, Trevor Watts, Francis Wong, etc., 2018-present)
Other Bands as Leader or Co-Leader: Karl Evangelista's Song & Dance Trio (w/Cory Wright; Jordan Glenn, 2009-present), Revenant (w/Michael Coleman, Tom Djll, Nava Dunkelman, etc., 2013-present), Ai-Ai (Grex w/Eli Wallce, Bob Ladue, and Jordan Glenn, 2012-2015), Images: The Music of Sun Ra (w/Phillip Greenlief, David Boyce, Dan Clucas, Dominique Leone, Jordan Glenn, et al.), Swarm Intelligence (Grex w/Phillip Greenlief, Cory Wright, Dan Seamans, and Jordan Glenn), Dino Piranha (w/Phillip Greenlief, Noah Phillips, Bill Wolter, and Jordan Glenn, 2011-2012), Host Family (w/Jordan Glenn, and Andrew Conklin or Nathan Clevenger, 2007-2009)
As a Sideman: Francis Wong Unit (2006-present), Lewis Jordan with Music at Large (2010-present), Scott Amendola Trio (2017-present), Jordan Glenn's BEAK (2017-present), New Zombies (Music of Dan Plonsey, 2018-present), Lo Conocen (w/Bruce Ackley, Nava Dunkelman, Jordan Glenn, 2018-present), John-Carlos Perea Trio (2013-present), Cabbages, Captain, and King (w/Eli Wallace, Jon Arkin, 2013-2016), Jordan Glenn's Mindless Thing (2012-present), Shaken Flesh (leader: Jordan Glenn, w/Rent Romus, Michael Coleman, 2012), Bob LaDue Band/DennyDennyBreakfast (2012-present), Papa Snap (leader: Alex Vittum, music of Fela Kuti, 2010-2016), Eddie Gale Now Band (2010-2012)
Discography
Karl Evangelista's Apura with Special Guest Andrew Cyrille: Bukas (577 Records, 2025)
Karl Evangelista feat. Bobby Bradford & William Roper: Solace Angles (Asian Improv Records, 2025)
Karl Evangelista's Apura: In the Fullness of Time (Geomancy, 2024)
Karl Evangelista feat. Alexander Hawkins, Tatsu Aoki, and Michael Zerang: What Else is There? (Fundacja Sluchaj, 2023)
Karl Evangelista's Apura with Special Guest Andrew Cyrille: Ngayon (Astral Spirits, 2023)
Jordan Glenn's BEAK: Garden Variety (2023)
The Dirty Snacks Ensemble: You Would Do Well (Slow & Steady Records, 2023)
Jack O' the Clock: The Warm, Dark Circus (2023)
Grex: Everything You Said Was Wrong (Geomancy, 2020)
Karl Evangelista with Alexander Hawkins, Louis Moholo-Moholo, and Trevor Watts: Apura! (Astral Spirits, 2020)
Lewis Jordan and Music at Large: Keys to the High Way (2020)
Live at the Golden Triangle XXI (with Grex, KFJC Compilation) (KFJC/2019)
Jordan Glenn's BEAK (Geomancy, 2018)
Grex: Electric Ghost Parade (BRUX/Geomancy, 2018)
Lewis Jordan and Music at Large: Face It (2018)
Conure: ...Making Way for the Future (2018)
Karl Evangelista/Grex: A Love Supreme (BRUX, 2017)
Lewis Jordan and Music at Large: This Is Where I Came In... (2017)
Jordan Glenn: BEAK LIVE (Minus Zero, 2017)
Jim Ryan/Jordan Glenn: Mindless Thing (Edgetone Records, 2017)
Instagon: Black Cactus (LEM, 2017)
Instagon: Such Presumptuous Thoughts (TIF)
Marc Edwards & Slipstream Time Travel: Mystic Mountain: Trouble in the Carina Nebula (2016)
UnderCover Presents: A Trbute to Bjork's Homogenic (w/DennyDennyBreakfast, 2016)
Cabbages, Captain, and King (Edgetone Records, 2015)
Reigious Phase: How the Earth Began (2015)
Grex: Monster Music (BRUX, 2014)
Andrew Jamieson: Heaven Down Here (2014)
Jack O' the Clock: Night Loops (2014)
Karl Evangelista/Grex: Taglish (SUA, 2012/2013)
The Roman Conquest: Myriad (2013)
The $100 Guitar Project (Bridge Records, 2013)
Sam Ospovat: PIKI (2012)
Grex: Second Marriage (SUA, 2011)
Wiener Kids: What A Mess (2011)
Dino Piranha: Live at the Makeout Room (2011)
The Eddie Gale Inner Peace Orchestra: The Remake and Beyond of Eddie Gale’s Ghetto Music (2011)
Grex: Live at Trinity Chapel (2011)
Karl Evangelista Trio: Live at Kingman’s Ivy Room (2010)
Jordan Glenn: Mama Long Legs (2010)
Lewis Jordan w/Music at Large (online only, 2010)
Grex: Live at Home (SUA, 2010)
Host Family: Dream Recess (2010)