William “Count Demon” Evans (1922? – 1975)
A drummer and vocalist, Count Demon was born in Canton, Ohio. In 1949 he performed with the Duke Jenkins sextet in Chicago who recorded with Aristocrat Records. Around 1951, Evans formed his own group, The Demons of Jazz, and they toured around the Midwest. In 1955 he joined Jack McDuff’s band and in 1958 relocated to Champaign with McDuff. Although McDuff did not stay, Evans did. By the late 1960s and early 70s, Count Demon was playing and singing with the Tony Zamora Ensemble. Among the frequent guests of his band were Bill Yancheng and guitarist Wes Montgomery. He recorded four records with Po’ Boys Record Company in 1964. During that period he reportedly operated a record store on North First and Church Streets in Champaign. Candy Foster and other local musicians considered him a mentor.
“If you get hungry then you gotta play for money:” Local black jazz musicians famous and unnoticed. The Daily Illini, Wednesday, April 6, 1977, Spectrum 6.
Count Demon, Downstate Sounds