Stump Evans

Paul Anderson " Stump " Evans ( born October 18, 1904 in Lawrence, Kansas; † August 29, 1928 in Douglas, Kansas) was an American saxophonist of the Chicago jazz.

Life and work

Evans received first lessons on the alto horn by his father, the horn player Clarence Evans. He switched to the trumpet, played in high school band in Lawrence and then went to Chicago as a saxophonist. After Digby Fairweather he was considered a brilliant soloist who could play from the sheet. He first worked in Erskine Tate's Vendome Orchestra alongside Louis Armstrong and Ruben Reeves, in the original Creole Orchestra of King Oliver, Jimmy Wade and entered in Carroll Dickerson's orchestra at the Sunset Cafe on there again with Armstrong and with Earl Hines. This meant: " Stumpy Evans played a beautiful tenor; everyone wanted to reach him ." Evans was involved in LP recordings of Oliver, Dickerson, Jelly Roll Morton, Lil Hardin Armstrong and Jimmy Blythe; for some time he was the musical director at the Moulin Rouge club. However, he contracted tuberculosis, went back to Kansas, where he died at only 24 years. Coleman Hawkins described it later as one of his idols.