Although not famous nationally, Yve Evans is an expressive, sometimes very humorous singer/pianist who has earned a small following playing around her adopted home of Los Angeles in the 1980s and 1990s. A native of EL Paso, TX, Evans was exposed to classical, gospel and pre-rock pop as a child and studied classical piano for 12 years while growing up. It wasn't until late adolescence that she seriously got into jazz and R&B. Evans has cited Sarah Vaughn, Carmen McRae, Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald, June Christie and Ethel Waters as some of her main influences, and she has also expressed great admiration for such R&B favorites as Ruth Brown, Roberta Flack, Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle. In fact, both gospel and the soul music of the 1960s and 1970s have had an impact on her full-bodied style of jazz singing. One of Evans' strong points has been her wild sense of humor -- in fact, she can be downright goofy at times. But as much clowning as Evans has done on stage and in the studio, she can also be a very moving, sensitive and poignant interpreter of lyrics. Though primarily a vocalist, Evans is also an appealing, melodic pianist and has named Bill Evans, Dorothy Donegan, Erroll Garner and George Shearing as influences. CDs that Evans has released on her own Note-Worthy label include For Jaz C Me (1990), In A Sentimental Mood (1994) and the gospel-oriented The Gospel According To...Yve (1995). ~ Alex Henderson