Paul Wesley "Doc" Evans (June 20, 1907 – January 10, 1977) was an American jazz

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

ist. Evans was born in Spring Valley, Minnesota. the son of a Methodist minister. He learned piano and drums as a child, and played saxophone in high school. He graduated from

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. Founded in 1866, it had 2,105 undergraduate students and 269 faculty members in fall 2016. The 200-acre main campus is between Northfield and the 800-acre Cowling ...

with a B.A. in English, and played with the Carleton Collegians dance band there. He gave up saxophone in the late 1920s for cornet, and played Dixieland jazz regularly in Minneapolis at that time. Evans continued to play through the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, turning down offers to play outside of the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

. In 1947, he led the band that played for the opening of Chicago's

Jazz, Ltd. Jazz, Ltd. was a Dixieland jazz band, nightclub and a record label in Chicago. The band was active from June 1947 to April 1978 and was led and managed by Bill Reinhardt. The nightclub was active from June 1947 to February 1972 and was managed b ...

club upon being persuaded by clarinetist

Bill Reinhardt William (Bill) Julius Theodore Reinhardt (September 21, 1908 – January 23, 2001) was an American clarinetist, bandleader and the owner of Jazz, Ltd.—the first Jazz club run by a musician in Chicago and one of the longest running Dixieland jazz ...

. He worked in Chicago until 1952, and then embarked on nationwide tours, recording frequently along the way. Evans recorded as a leader for Disc Records in 1947, and for Joco Records, based in Northfield, Minnesota, in 1949-1950. In August, 1953, Evans gave a series of concerts at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. These concerts were recorded, and issued on LP by Soma Recording Company, based in Minneapolis. Evans also recorded extensively for Audiophile Records. He returned to Minneapolis and continued playing jazz up until his last recordings in 1975. He also founded the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra and conducted it until his death, in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. In 1999, a yearly Doc Evans Jazz Festival was founded in Minnesota that ran for nine years. A website
docevans.com
is maintained by his son, Allan Evans.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Doc 1907 births 1977 deaths American jazz cornetists 20th-century American musicians People from Spring Valley, Minnesota Jazz musicians from Minnesota Tempo Records (US) artists