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- Born: October 18, 1904, Lawrence, KS
- Died: August 29, 1928, Douglas, KS
- Genres: Jazz
- Instrument: Sax (Soprano), Sax (Alto)
Biography
This resident of the jazz city of Evansville is sometimes confused with the cornetist Doc Evans, real name Paul Wesley Evans. Yet the Paul Evans who picked up the nickname of Stump Evans and is credited thusly on most of his sides came along about a decade earlier than Doc Evans, who also pretty much laid off the reed instruments after his high school band days. Not so Stump Evans, who brandished a full array of saxophones through his many band jobs, even getting in a few licks on the justifiably obscure C-Melody saxophone.He was largely taught music by his father, an alto horn player named Clarence Evans.
Son started out on the same instrument, stretching into trombone for a position in the Lawrence High School Band. Switching to alto saxophone not too far into his professional career, Evans soon became known as one of the better baritone sax players on the scene. He moved to Chicago and gigged with a variety of groups including King Oliver's Original Creole Orchestra and Erskine Tate. He had to quit the latter band due to tuberculosis; while his nickname originated in his petite size, it also could have been coined to summarize the truncated nature of his career. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide
