Sticks Evans

In 1950, he recorded with the Milt Buckner Orchestra backing Wynonie Harris, and in 1952-3 he was playing and recording with Milt Buckner's Organ Trio. He left the trio in February 1953,[2] and in 1954 he was with the Teddy Wilson Trio with Milt Hinton.[3]

In the early 1960s, he was recording on the Prestige label, credited as Belton Evans, and accompanied on bass by Leonard Gaskin, for blues artists such as Curtis Jones, Sunnyland Slim,[4] Sonny Terry,[5] Big John Greer, LaVern Baker,[6] and King Curtis.[7]

He appears on John Lewis’ Jazz Abstractions album (1961), with Bill Evans, Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman and Jim Hall, among others.[8] That same year he was a member of the Ray Bryant Combo backing Aretha Franklin on her second album, Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo.

His pupils included Bernard Purdie,[9] Max Neuhaus,[10] and Terry Burrus.[11] Evans died of a stroke, in New York City, in 1994.[12]

• 1959: The Wildest Guitar – Mickey Baker
• 1960: Slim's Shout – Sunnyland Slim
• 1960: Buck Jumpin', The Al Casey Quartet – Al Casey
• 1960: Sonny's Story – Sonny Terry
• 1960: Slim's Shout – Sunnyland Slim
• 1960: The Honeydripper – Roosevelt Sykes
• 1960: Sonny Is King – Sonny Terry
• 1960: Lightnin' – Lightnin' Hopkins
• 1960: Trouble Blues – Curtis Jones
• 1960: Pre Bird (later re-released as Mingus Revisited) – Charles Mingus
• 1961: Beauty is a Rare Thing – Ornette Coleman
• 1961: Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo – Aretha Franklin
• 1964: Sam Cooke at the Copa – Sam Cooke
• 1964: Ya! Ya! – Budd Johnson