Saxophonist Egbert Evans, an Alpha Boys School graduate who worked with performers such as Freddie McGregor and Burning Spear, has died.

Evans, 56, died at the University Hospital of the West Indies on July 2. He was taken there shortly after collapsing in August Town, St Andrew.

Known as 'Eggie', Evans was a diabetic who had lost his right leg this year. In April, several of his colleagues in the music business staged a benefit concert for him at The Deck club in St Andrew.

The event raised funds to assist with Evans' medical bills.

Saxophonist Tony Greene, another Alpha graduate, knew Evans for 30 years. He described him as a "serious musician".

"Eggie was a good player who never got the chance to record regularly and that was unfortunate," Greene said.

Great musician

Like many Jamaican musicians, Evans attended the Alpha school in Kingston which also produced noted hornmen like trombonist Don Drummond, and saxophonists Tommy McCook and Lester Sterling, who were all members of the famed Skatalites band.

Evans went on to play with the In Crowd and Boris Gardiner Happening bands during the 1970s. Later, he toured with McGregor, Burning Spear and, most recently, the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari.

An autopsy will be performed on Evans on July 21.

- Howard Campbell