Evan Wood ’24 breaks into New York City jazz scene

Throughout his seven semesters at Eastern, jazz drummer Evan Wood ’24 performed regularly in Connecticut and Massachusetts. In his final semester in fall 2023, however, he started breaking into the New York City music scene, a world-renowned destination for jazz musicians. 

Starting with a show at Fiction, a jazz lounge in Brooklyn, Wood has continued to perform at several clubs and lounges throughout the city, expanding his network and familiarity with the scene. Wood performs with variations of his namesake band, the Evan Wood Group, as well as Stattic, a rhythmic jazz group he’s been part of for years. He also has a private music instruction business. 

The Evan Wood Group plays modernized jazz standards with a flexible lineup typically consisting of guitar, upright bass, drums and trumpet. Modern jazz standards, according to Wood, leave “more room to be expressive” than their predecessors, especially for drummers: “Our role is more involved.”  

Wood explained some of the challenges of being a modern musician in the age of social media. “Having a social media presence is like a resume to the world,” he said. “If I’m not posting actively, then it looks like I’m not playing much, and then it looks like, ‘oh, maybe this guy’s not serious about what he’s doing.’”  

Wood credits Eastern with helping him develop a strong network, which he says is critical for the music industry. “I’ve met people who are important to my developing career,” he said of his mentor and music lecturer Matt Bronson. In addition to helping him get gigs, Bronson introduced Wood to other professionals in the industry, such as recording drummer and bandleader Jonathan Barber, who is now Wood’s drum instructor. 

Much like his work, Wood views his education as something to be worked for rather than handed to him. “What you put in is what you get out,” he said. To Wood, music students should use their education to answer the questions, “How are you going to work as a musician, and what are the skills that are necessary to make that happen?” 

To Wood, performing in New York is about creating future opportunities. “I think it’s important for me to perform in a setting where the standard is a little bit higher,” he said. “As much as I feel at home in Connecticut, I’d like to eventually feel at home in New York City, too.”