Photos by Dino Perrucci

Bill Evans’ Soulgrass kicked off his six-night run at New York’s Blue Note last night. Evans will perform two shows a night throughout the run, with a variety of guests sitting in throughout the residency.

Last night, John Medeski and Eric Krasno performed with Soulgrass throughout both of their Blue Note shows. The rest of Evans’ band consisted of banjo player Ryan Cavanaugh, bassist Etienne Mbappe, guitarist Mitch Stein and former ulu drummer/singer Josh Dion. The musicians offered selections recorded throughout Evans’ career, including material from his new Dragonfly release

Blues Traveler frontman John Popper was also slated to appear last night but was unable to make it to the show due to recent gallbladder surgery. Evans broke the news to fans after telling a different funny story each show. During the first set, Evans said Popper was attacked by a bear in the woods and second set he mentioned that he was injured while trying to escape a shark during a recent scuba-diving trip. The saxophonist mentioned that Popper may be able to join the ensemble this evening or later this week.

Evans’ run continues through Sunday night. Since Butch Trucks mentioned that Evans would be his pick as new member of The Allman Brothers Band, it is entirely possible that he will also sit in with the group at the Beacon in the coming days.