In 1950, he recorded with the Milt Buckner Orchestra backing Wynonie Harris, and in 1952-3 he was playing and recording with Milt Buckner's Organ Trio.
[3] 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, Sunnyland Slim,[4] Sonny Terry,[5] Big John Greer, LaVern Baker,[6] and King Curtis.
[7] He appears on John Lewis’ Jazz Abstractions album (1961), with Bill Evans, Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman and Jim Hall, among others.
[8] That same year he was a member of the Ray Bryant Combo backing Aretha Franklin on her second album, Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo.
His pupils included Bernard Purdie,[9] Max Neuhaus,[10] and Terry Burrus.