Samuel "Sticks" Evans (5 February 1923 – 11 April 1994) was an American drummer, percussionist, music teacher, arranger and musical director. He was credited variously as Sammy "Stick" Evans, Samie Evans, Sammy Evans, Sammie Evans, Stick Evans, Sticks Evans, and Belton Evans.

Biography

In 1950, he recorded with the Milt Buckner Orchestra backing

Wynonie Harris Wynonie Harris (August 24, 1915 – June 14, 1969) was an American blues shouter and rhythm-and-blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. He had fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952. Harris is attributed by ma ...

, and in 1952-3 he was playing and recording with Milt Buckner's Organ Trio. He left the trio in February 1953, and in 1954 he was with the Teddy Wilson Trio with

Milt Hinton Milton John Hinton (June 23, 1910 – December 19, 2000) was an American double bassist and photographer. Regarded as the Dean of American jazz bass players, his nicknames included "Sporty" from his years in Chicago, "Fump" from his time on the ...

. 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 Curtis Jones may refer to: * Curtis Jones (pianist) (1906–1971), American blues pianist * Curtis Jones (singer) or Green Velvet (born 1968), American singer, record producer, and DJ * Curtis Jones (minister) (born 1986), American minister conv ...

, Sunnyland Slim,

Sonny Terry Saunders Terrell (October 24, 1911 – March 11, 1986), known as Sonny Terry, was an American Piedmont blues and folk musician, who was known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers and oc ...

Big John Greer John Marshall "Big John" Greer (November 21, 1923 – May 12, 1972)
- accessed September 2011 was an American LaVern Baker Delores LaVern Baker (November 11, 1929 – March 10, 1997) was an American R&B singer who had several hit records on the pop chart in the 1950s and early 1960s. Her most successful records were "Tweedle Dee" (1955), " Jim Dandy" (1956), and "I ...

, and King Curtis. He appears on John Lewis’ ''

Jazz Abstractions ''Jazz Abstractions'' (subtitled ''John Lewis Presents Contemporary Music: Compositions by Gunther Schuller and Jim Hall'') is a third stream album combining elements of jazz and classical music recorded in late 1960 for the Atlantic label.

'' album (1961), with

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gai ...

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...

and Jim Hall, among others. That same year he was a member of the Ray Bryant Combo backing

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

on her second album, '' Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo''. His pupils included

Bernard Purdie Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie (born June 11, 1939) is an American drummer, and an influential R&B, soul and funk musician. He is known for his precise musical time keeping and his signature use of triplets against a half-time backbeat: the "Purdie ...

, Max Neuhaus, and Terry Burrus. Evans died of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

, in New York City, in 1994.

Discography

*1959: ''The Wildest Guitar'' -

Mickey Baker MacHouston "Mickey" Baker (October 15, 1925 – November 27, 2012) was an American guitarist, best known for his work as a studio musician and as part of the recording duo Mickey & Sylvia. Early life Baker was born in Louisville, Kentucky. His m ...

*1960: ''Slim's Shout'' - Sunnyland Slim *1960: '' Buck Jumpin''', ''

The Al Casey Quartet ''The Al Casey Quartet'' is an album by guitarist Al Casey which was recorded in 1960 and released on the Moodsville label.Edwards, D. & Callahan, MMoodsville Label Discography accessed November 20, 2018 Track listing # "Blue Moon" (Richard Rod ...

'' - Al Casey *1960: ''

Sonny's Story ''Sonny's Story'' is an album by blues musician Sonny Terry recorded in 1960 and released on the Bluesville label.Sonny Terry Saunders Terrell (October 24, 1911 – March 11, 1986), known as Sonny Terry, was an American Piedmont blues and folk musician, who was known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers and oc ...

*1960: ''

Slim's Shout ''Slim's Shout'' is an album by blues musician Sunnyland Slim recorded in 1960 and released on the Bluesville label the following year.

'' – Sunnyland Slim *1960: ''

The Honeydripper "The Honeydripper (Parts 1 and 2)" is an R&B song by Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers which topped the US Billboard R&B chart (at that time called the "Race Records" chart) for 18 weeks, from September 1945 to January 1946. History Liggins cla ...

'' -

Roosevelt Sykes Roosevelt Sykes (January 31, 1906July 17, 1983) was an American blues musician, also known as "the Honeydripper". Career Sykes was born the son of a musician in Elmar, Arkansas. "Just a little old sawmill town", Sykes said of his birthplace. The ...

*1960: ''

Sonny Is King ''Sonny Is King'' is an album by blues musician Sonny Terry recorded and sessions in 1960 and 1962 and released on the Bluesville label.Lightnin''' - Lightnin' Hopkins *1960: ''

Trouble Blues "Trouble Blues" is a 1949 single by The Charles Brown Trio. The single was the most successful of the trio's career and peaked at number one on the R&B chart for fifteen weeks. At fifteen weeks on the R&B Best Sellers chart, "Trouble Blues" was ...

'' -

*1960: ''Pre Bird'' (later re-released as ''

Mingus Revisited ''Pre-Bird'' (later re-released as ''Mingus Revisited'') is an album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus consisting of music that was composed before Mingus first heard Charlie Parker, hence the title ''Pre-Bird''. It was released on M ...

'') -

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...

*1961: ''

Beauty is a Rare Thing ''Beauty Is a Rare Thing'' is a compilation box set collecting all the master recordings made for Atlantic Records between 1959 and 1961 by the American jazz composer and saxophonist Ornette Coleman.

'' -

*1961: '' Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo'' -

*1964: ''

Sam Cooke at the Copa ''Sam Cooke at the Copa'' is a live album by American singer-songwriter Sam Cooke. The album was released in 1964 in the United States by RCA Victor. It was Cooke's only live album to be released during his lifetime; ''Live at the Harlem Square C ...

'' -

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

*1964: '' Ya! Ya!'' - Budd Johnson

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Sticks 1923 births 1994 deaths Jazz drummers American jazz drummers 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians