Herschel "Tex" Evans was born on March 9, 1909, and passed away on February 9, 1939. He was an American tenor saxophonist who played in the Count Basie Orchestra. He also performed with Lionel Hampton and Buck Clayton. He was the cousin of Joe McQueen.

Life and career

Evans was born in Denton, Texas, but lived part of his childhood in Kansas City, Kansas, where his cousin Eddie Durham played the trombone and guitar. Durham encouraged Evans to switch from the alto saxophone to the tenor saxophone, the instrument that helped Evans gain fame. After practicing and improving his skills in jazz jam sessions in the area between Twelfth and Eighteenth streets in Kansas City, Evans returned to Texas in the 1920s. In 1929, he joined the Troy Floyd orchestra in San Antonio. He remained with this group until it ended in 1932. Evans later performed with Lionel Hampton and Buck Clayton in Los Angeles. In the mid-1930s, he returned to Kansas City to become a lead soloist in Count Basie’s big band.

For the next three years, Evans was most well-known as a tenor saxophonist. He played musical duels with his bandmate Lester Young. Count Basie’s song "One O’Clock Jump" showed the different styles of Evans and Young, earning praise from critics and the public. Evans’s most famous solo was on Basie’s hit song "Blue and Sentimental." A recently found recording of "Blue and Sentimental" by Basie’s orchestra at the Famous Door includes Evans on tenor saxophone and a vocal by Helen Humes.

Evans recorded music with jazz artists such as Harry James, Teddy Wilson, and Lionel Hampton. He is credited with influencing other tenor saxophonists, including Buddy Tate, who joined Basie’s band in 1939 after Evans died. Evans also influenced Illinois Jacquet and Arnett Cobb. Though he did not write many songs, Evans composed "Texas Shuffle" and "Doggin’ Around," among others.

Evans was a member of the Basie Orchestra from September 1936 until his death.

Evans became sick while performing with Basie at the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C., sometime between January 13 and January 19, 1939. He was too ill to participate in a Basie band recording session with Decca on February 3, 1939, and Chu Berry took his place. Evans collapsed during a performance with the Basie band on February 6, 1939, at the Crystal Ballroom in Hartford, Connecticut. He was taken to Wadsworth Hospital in New York City at 629 West 185th Street.

Evans died on February 9, 1939, in New York City at the age of 29 from heart disease while the Basie band was performing in Toledo, Ohio. His body was moved to Los Angeles and buried on February 14, Valentine’s Day, at Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery.

Basie’s final recording session with Decca in New York on January 5, 1939, was Evans’s last recording.

Orchestra memberships

Evans was a member of these orchestras:

• Smith Brothers Orchestra
• Trent's Number Two — Evans performed with TNT in 1927
• St. Louis Merrymakers — Evans performed with them around 1928
• Edgar Battle
• Terrence Holder
• George Corley
• Troy Floyd (1901–1953) and His Shadowland Orchestra, San Antonio — Evans performed with Floyd from 1929 to 1932
• Lee Palmer
• Mamie Smith (1883–1946)
• Durham Brothers Orchestra

Family members of Evans include:
1. Joseph Durham Jr. (brother), director, played double bass and tuba
2. Earl Durham (brother)
3. Roosevelt Durham (brother)
4. Eddie Durham (1906–1987) (brother)
5. Myrtle Durham (sister), played piano
6. Allen Durham (cousin), played trombone
7. Clyde Durham (cousin)

Other orchestras and musicians Evans performed with include:
• Ed Bailey Orchestra
• Charles Echoles (born Charles Richard Echols; 1901–1957)
• Bennie Moten — Evans performed with Moten from 1933 to 1935
• Lionel Hampton — Evans performed with Hampton in 1936
• Buck Clayton — Evans performed with Clayton in 1936
• Count Basie — Evans performed with Basie from 1937 until Basie's death

Selected compositions

• "Doggin' Around"

• "Texas Shuffle"

In 1952, Edgar Battle filed a lawsuit against Lewis Publishing Company because they did not promote the songs he published with the company enough.