Willie Lewis

Willie Lewis (born June 10, 1905 in Cleburne , Texas as William T. Lewis , † January 13, 1971 in New York City ) was an American jazz musician ( clarinetist , alto saxophonist , arranger and band leader).

Live and act

Lewis grew up in Dallas and played in various variety shows as a teenager . After studying at the New England Conservatory of Music , he worked in Will Marion Cook's orchestra. After his band was taken over by Sam Wooding , Lewis went on tours with him to Europe, South America and North Africa. He stayed with Wooding until the band broke up in 1931, after which Lewis founded his own formation, Willie Lewis and His Entertainers , in which former colleagues from Wooding's orchestra also played. His entertainers had great success in Europe, among his musicians were u. a. Jerry Blake , Arthur Briggs , Herman Chittison , Benny Carter , Bill Coleman , Garnet Clark , Bobby Martin , Ernst Höllerhagen , Louis Vola , Frank “Big Boy” Goudie , Jack Butler and June Cole . Lewis' entertainers also recorded for the French label Swing . He also recorded various records in Zurich for Brunswick and other labels with musicians such as Henry Mason , Alfred Siegrist and Denis Chapelet.

In 1941 Lewis disbanded his Entertainers Orchestra and returned to New York City . In the next few years he was hardly active as a musician, eventually he found a job as an actor, which was unsuccessful and he then worked as a waiter .

Sam Wooding and his orchestra in Berlin in 1925, Sam Wooding seated in the middle, Willie Lewis seated second from right

Discographic notes

• Willie Lewis & His Entertainers (Swing, 1935-1937)
• Le Jazz en France - Vol. 11: Bill Coleman 1935–1937 (Pathe)

literature

• Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings . 8th edition. Penguin, London 2006, ISBN 0-14-102327-9 .

Web links

• Willie Lewis at Allmusic (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Swiss Jazz Discography - Fonoteca Nazionale Svizzera