|
Joe Evans (saxophonist)
Joe Evans (October 7, 1916 – January 17, 2014) was an American jazz alto saxophonist.[1][2] Early life and educationEvans was born in Bonifay and grew up in Pensacola, Florida.[1] Evans dropped out of high school and moved to New York City to pursue his music career. He later earned a GED and associate degree from Essex County College in 1973. Through a Ford Family Foundation scholarship, he earned a Master of Education degree from Rutgers University in 1975.[3] CareerEvans was active between 1939 and 1965, playing in the big bands of Jay McShann, Jimmy Forrest and Gene Ramey; Don Redman and Louis Armstrong.[2] In 1944 he recorded with Mary Lou Williams, as a member of a band including Coleman Hawkins, Bill Coleman and Denzil Best.[4] At the beginning of 1945, he recorded for J. Mayo Williams's independent label, Chicago, leading a combo comprising Jesse Drakes, Duke Jordan, Gene Ramey, J. C. Heard and Etta Jones.[5] Later that same year[6] and in 1946, he recorded with Andy Kirk's orchestra as part of a lineup that included Fats Navarro, Reuben Phillips, Jimmy Forrest, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Hank Jones, Floyd Smith, Al Hall and Ben Thigpen.[7] Other musicians he performed and recorded with include Cab Calloway, Billie Holiday, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Lionel Hampton.[2] In 1961, Evans founded Carnival Records. After earning his master's degree, Evans retired from music and worked as a dairy inspector for the state of New Jersey.[8] In 2008, University of Illinois Press published his autobiography, Follow Your Heart, co-authored by Christopher Brooks, a professor of anthropology at Virginia Commonwealth University.[9] Personal lifeEvans died in Richmond, Virginia of renal disease in January 2014 at the age of 97.[10] References
External links
|
||||||||||||||||
