Follow Your Heart

“For every Armstrong or Ellington or Charlie Parker, there were countless musicians, their names unknown even to jazz fans, whose skill gave jazz the solid foundation it needed. In Follow Your Heart, jazz journeyman Joe Evans, now in his 90s, presents the story of the sideman, the unsung hero of the golden age of jazz, someone who could read music, learn new tunes quickly, take solos if necessary and swing all the time. . . . Thank you, Mr. Evans, not just for the music you made, but for the man you are.”--The Washington Times

"Saxophonist Joe Evans' uncanny memory of his six-plus decades working alongside the legends and lesser-known heroes of jazz and R&B would be enough to make Follow Your Heart essential reading for serious students of American popular music. But this book does more than collect personal tales from an earlier cultural era. Evans crafts a funny, heartbreaking, and insightful account of living through the violence of Jim Crow segregation, shady business dealings, and the hazards of life on the road."--Aaron Cohen, Associate Editor, DownBeat
"One of the best autobiographies that I have read in many years. Cleverly constructed and extremely well written, this phenomenal book gives a unique perspective into American music history through the challenges, trials, and accomplishments of one of the most underappreciated giants of the American music scene."--Emmett G. Price III, author of Hip Hop Culture
"A personal, first-hand account of the many luminaries of black music whom Evans encountered during his lifetime. Through its thick, invaluable descriptions of jazz culture, Follow Your Heart is loaded with important occurrences in the development of African American music--namely jazz and rhythm and blues--from the 1920s throughout the 1970s."--Cheryl L. Keyes, author of Rap Music and Street Consciousness
"Evans takes us on his musical journey with humor, honesty, and integrity. He emerges as a living symbol of what our nation should regard with pride; his story represents not only the inequalities faced by so many great musicians but also their extraordinary achievements."--From the Foreword by Bill McFarlin, Executive Director, International Association for Jazz Education
"Charming, straightforward autobiography of one of the great, unheralded figures in jazz and R&B. . . . From his youth in the middle-class African-American neighborhoods of Pensacola, Fla., to his gigs in the house bands of New York's Apollo Theater and Savoy Ballroom, to the creation of his own record label in the 1960s, Evans's story serves as a history of American popular music and of the African-American experience during the mid-twentieth century."--Kirkus Reviews
"Memorable . . . tales add up to a story about a life in music well-lived and well-played."--Downbeat
"Even-toned, modest yet imbued with strength of purpose, and a delight to read."--Jazz UK

"The book finds Evans intersecting with the greats of jazz. . . . a refreshing tale that is not already in the history books."--ARSC Journal

"The life story of Joe Evans as voiced in Follow Your Heart will touch your spirit. This moving account of an unsung musician and record company executive who is now in his nineties should be required reading."--From the Foreword by Tavis Sm