George Lewis (clarinetist)
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Photograph by William P. Gottlieb .
George Lewis Francis Zeno (born July 13, 1900 in New Orleans ; † December 31, 1968 there ) was one of the most important American clarinetists of New Orleans jazz .
Live and act
As one of the few musicians who did not leave New Orleans for New York or Chicago in the 1920s, he played in smaller ensembles and the Eureka Brass Band - at times alongside a full-time job as a dock worker in the 1930s ( Great Depression 1929 -1941). With the rediscovery of New Orleans Jazz in 1942 - at the end of the swing era - he played in the band of trumpeter Bunk Johnson in 1945 and 1946 in New York . Between 1959 and 1967 he visited Europe and Japan several times with his own band, which also included Kid Howard , and impressed Ken Colyer , Chris Barber and others at the Dixieland Revival . a. In Hamburg, in 1959 and 1961, Lewis played together with the jailhouse jazzmen of the trumpeter Abbi Hübner after his big performances in the Ernst Merckhalle in the Mummekeller and in the Jailhouse Taverne. In the 1950s in Europe he influenced a large number of clarinetists of traditional jazz with his harmoniously simple and folk music-like style .
literature
- Tom Bethell: George Lewis: A Jazzman from New Orleans , University of California Press, Berkeley, 1977
Discography (selection)
George Lewis And His New Orleans Stompers:
- Careless Love , Two Jim Blues (May 15, 1943)
- Climax Rag, Just A Closer Walk With Thee, Dauphine Street Blues, Milenberg Joys, Fidgety Feet, Deep Bayou Blues, Just A Little While To Stay Here, Don't Go 'Way Nobody (May 16, 1943)
- Burgundy Street Blues (July 27, 1944)
- Ice Cream, Sanjacinto Blues, High Society (August 5, 1944)
- Hindustan (May 17, 1945)
- Winin 'Boy Blues (December 26, 1945)
- New Orleans Hula, This Love Of Mine, St. Philip Street Breakdown, Over The Waves (May 21, 1945)
- Bugle Boy March / 'Taint Nobody's Biz-ness If I Do (February 26, 1946)
- Salutation March / If I Ever Cease To Love (February 26, 1946)
- Savoy Blues, Nobody Knows The Way I Feel This Morning (April 8, 1955)
- I Can't Escape From You, Lord, Lord You Sure Been Good To Me, High Society, Heebie Jeebies (April 11, 1955)
collection
- The Complete Blue Note Recordings of George Lewis - 1943–55 - ( Mosaic - 1990) 10 LPs or 3 CDs with Jim Robinson , Lawrence Marrero , Sidney "Little Jim" Brown tuba, Edgar Mosley dm, Kid Howard , Chester Zardis b, Alton Purnell , Alcide Pavageau , Joe Watkins dm, George Guesnon bjo
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lewis, George |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Zeno, George Lewis Francis (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 13, 1900 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New Orleans |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 31, 1968 |
| Place of death | New Orleans |