Herbie Lewis (bassist)

Les McCann , Herbie Lewis & Ron Jefferson (1962)

Herbie Lewis (born February 17, 1941 in Pasadena , † May 18, 2007 in Minneapolis , Minnesota ) was an American hard bop jazz bassist .

Live and act

Herbie Lewis has played and recorded with many prominent jazz musicians, including Cannonball Adderley , Bobby Hutcherson , Freddie Hubbard , Harold Land , Jackie McLean , John Coltrane , Archie Shepp , and McCoy Tyner . Although he was a good bass player and a strong accompanist, Herbie Lewis was never a star or band leader himself, but merely a reliable contributor to music sessions and the occasional soloist.

Lewis lived in the neighborhood of Bobby Hutcherson and was allegedly responsible for making him switch to vibraphone. He was an amazing talent with a rich, lively sound on bass. Lewis recorded with Lennie McBrowne , Harold Land, and Les McCann in the late 1950s and early 1960s . Land's record Grooveyard made his recording debut in 1958 - when he was only 17 years old. The acclaimed follow-up album The Fox cemented its reputation. Now and then he played with Shirley Scott and the Art Farmer / Benny Golson Jazztet. In 1961 he moved to New York and played with and recorded with Les Mcann again. Lewis recorded with Dave Pike , Stanley Turrentine and Jackie McLean before returning to California. With McLean he recorded the milestone Let Freedom Ring in 1962 . From then on he was part of the Blue Note - "team". He recorded That's Where It's At with Stanley Turrentine and My Hour of Need with singer Dodo Greene for the label. With Clifford Scott as band leader, he re-recorded with McCann and in the mid-sixties Lewis worked with Gerald Wilson . In the late 1960s he moved back to New York, where he recorded with Sam Rivers and Freddie Hubbard. He also worked with Bobby Hutcherson again and took part in the Stick Up! and Now! part. He played in Cannonball Adderley's Ensemble in 1966 and played and recorded with McCoy Tyner from 1967 to 1970, including Tender Moments and Time for Tyner . During the 70s and 80s, Lewis recorded with Tete Montoliu , Chico Freeman , Gary Bartz , Bobby Hutcherson and Archie Shepp, among others . Just a Lucky So and So is his first album as a leader and his last ever. He recorded this CD with an " Eminence Portable Upright Bass ", an acoustic bass with an extremely flat sound body (7.62 cm) and possibly a detachable neck.

Herbie Lewis founded the jazz study program at the New College of California in San Francisco in 1977 and taught there for 25 years. In 2002 he retired from this position.

Lewis died of cancer on May 18, 2007.

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1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} All Music Guide
2. ↑ http://www.startribune.com/466/story/1200621.html  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Star Tribune obituary  

Web links

• Herbie Lewis dies at 66 . Obituary from JazzPolice.com.
• Video by Herbie Lewis from 2003