BIO
Oscar Evans is a multi-instrumental jazz musician hailing from a musical family in Kingston, Ontario. He was immersed in music from a young age, his father also being a musician. Oscar consistently pushes his own boundaries to create interesting new music. He has played professional gigs in and around the Kingston area since he was a teenager, and has led his own groups and participated in many different projects over the years playing genres ranging from traditional and modern jazz to rock and roll, funk and pop.
Oscar pursued his passion for jazz at Humber College where he specialized in trumpet. In the past few years, he been composing, recording, and performing his own music all around Kingston. Oscar is constantly pushing himself to create new music and gain a deeper understanding of his chosen instruments, which include upright bass and trumpet. Blinded in his adolescence, Oscar has gravitated toward learning multiple instruments as a medium for understanding music theory and musicianship.
Oscar’s first releases were two distinct albums of jazz standards in 2025. Library Sessions features him on trumpet, while on Live at Hotel Wolfe Island Oscar plays bass. His Gotta Start Somewhere EP, released December 2025, features four original compositions and is available on Bandcamp, CD, and streaming services. In 2026, he will release a free improvised solo record titled Sound Permutations on which he plays bass, drums, and trumpet. He will also be recording and releasing an album of original compositions titled Vibration Society, made possible by support from the Ontario Arts Council Project Recording Grant.
Oscar played at the 2025 Ottawa Jazz Festival with Miranda Ceara and the Odd Fellows Orchestra. In the same year, he played Kingston’s Skeleton Park Arts Fest with the Goat Steppers band. He also led his own ensemble, the Oscar Evans Group, as part of CFRC’s Airwave YGK Musicians in Residence Capstone Concert.
Oscar was one of six applicants selected for the Isabel Bader Centre’s 2025-2026 IMAGINE Arts Incubator Program. In fall 2026, he will be recording free improvised music with a group of eclectic musicians whom he has selected to participate in this project.
