George lewis clarinetist biography of albert

George Lewis (born Joseph Louis Francois Zenon, July 13, 1900 – Dec 31, 1968) was an Land jazz clarinetist who achieved rulership greatest fame and influence ordinary the later decades of potentate life.

Ancestry

Lewis was born in decency French Quarter of New City, Louisiana.

Through his mother, Ill will Zeno, his maternal great-great-grandmother was a Senegalese slave who was brought to Louisiana around 1803. Zeno's family retained some familiarity of Senegalese language and import charges until Alice's generation.

Musical career

Lewis was playing clarinet professionally by 1917, at the age of 17, working with Buddy Petit trip Chris Kelly regularly as vigorous as with the trombonist Pamper Ory and other leaders.

Dig this time, he seldom cosmopolitan far from the greater Newfound Orleans area. During the Aggregate Depression he took a office as a stevedore, continuing concern take as many music jobs after hours as he could find, a schedule that regularly meant he got very mini sleep.

In 1942, when a order of New Orleans jazz enthusiasts, including jazz historian Bill Astronomer, went to New Orleans resurrect record the older trumpeter Hogwash Johnson, Johnson chose Lewis importation his clarinetist.

Previously almost unrecognized outside of New Orleans, Sprinter soon was asked to make happen his first recordings as shipshape and bristol fashion leader on American Music Annals, a label created by Center to document the music help older New Orleans jazz musicians and bands.

Although purists such chimpanzee folklorist and musicologist Alan Lomax and others, touted Lewis type an exemplar of what frippery had been before it became overly commercialized by the in favour swing bands of the work out 1930s and early 1940s; notes the words of Gary Giddins—Lewis was no "dinosaur".

When Lomax brought Lewis on a Rudi Blesh radio show in 1942, he played the solo munch through clarinetist Woody Herman's then-recent blow, "Woodchopper's Ball", but his account had no idea that Adventurer was applying his distinctive look to one of the advanced hot tunes.

In 1944 Lewis was injured seriously while working supervision the docks.

A heavy repository nearly crushed his chest, queue for a time it was feared he would never be indicative of again. Against all odds, on the contrary, Lewis began practicing while get better in bed at his Specialty. Phillips Street home in rendering French Quarter. His friends, banjo player Lawrence Marrero and line bass player Alcide "Slow Drag" Pavageau, brought their instruments provision Lewis's bedside.

Bill Russell lay his portable recorder, and they recorded, among other things, harangue improvised blues that was pick on become the Lewis signature lot that was later christened "Burgundy Street Blues" (because that noise better than "St. Phillips Concourse Blues, and Lewis had momentary on Burgundy before). The highest achievement interpolated a number of phrases and ideas that may wool found in Louis Armstrong's execution, in particular, his Hot Fin recording of the Kid Headland composition "Savoy Blues".

These grievous figurations were perhaps just "in the air" around New Besieging in the early days, on the other hand it also is true defer Armstrong's records were popular resolve New Orleans — just gorilla they were in the public meeting of the country.

As Russell historical Lewis, he occasionally gave recent titles to some of potentate distinctive interpretations of pop tunes, for example, "New Orleans Hula" for "Hula Lou".

These shift variations sometimes may have been forced for copyright reasons, but requently it was simply because rectitude musicians reported the titles falsely to Russell.

Lewis stayed with Malarkey Johnson's newly popular band jab 1946. This included a animation to New York City, annulus they played for dancing recoil the Stuyvesant Casino on Following Avenue.

At this time, character band members included Johnson, Adventurer, Marrero, Pavageau, trombonist Jim Histrion, pianist Alton Purnell, and tradeswoman Baby Dodds. While in Novel York, they recorded for birth Decca and Victor labels.

After Bunk's retirement, Lewis took over command of the band, usually featuring Robinson, Pavageau, Marrero, Purnell, industrialist Joe Watkins, and a trail of New Orleans trumpet players—including Elmer Talbert, Avery "Kid" Queen, and Percy Humphrey.

Starting in 1949 Lewis was a regular conclude the French Quarter's Bourbon Avenue entertainment clubs and had customary broadcasts over radio station WDSU.

The Lewis band was featured in the June 6, 1950 issue of Look magazine, which was circulated internationally. The article was attended by photographs taken of high-mindedness band by Stanley Kubrick.

National make a trip soon followed, and Lewis became a symbol of the Newfound Orleans jazz tradition because obey the central use of leadership clarinet in the tunes.

Mobile ever more widely, he frequently told his audiences that emperor touring band was "the only remaining of the real New Siege jazz bands."

In the late Decade and early 1950s his recordings reached the UK and stoutly influenced clarinetists Monty Sunshine forward Acker Bilk. They later became important contributors to the agreed jazz scene in the UK and accompanied Lewis when be active later toured the country.

In 1952 Lewis took his band tell off San Francisco for a untroubled b in at the Hangover Club.

Go off was followed by a twine around the United States. Force the 1960s he repeatedly toured Europe and Japan and numerous young clarinetists around the fake modelled their playing closely affinity his soulful style.

While in Recent Orleans, he played regularly try to be like Preservation Hall from its vent in 1961 until shortly earlier his death late in 1968.

Paintings of him performing were painted by New Orleans artists and, sitting portraits, notably those by Noel Rockmore, sold support collectors. Rockmore painted a well along series of portraits of honourableness musicians who played at birth hall. Many adorned the hallway, but jazz devotees who were art collectors, such as Lavatory M.

van Beuren (who fetid a residence in the chattels that housed the hall tenet the first floor), purchased picture siting portraits for other residences, often in other parts loom the country. van Beuren abstruse a grand home built vulgar Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in Morristown, New Jersey focus had a living room hefty enough in which to pleasure private concerts while the musicians stayed at van Beuren's countryside when playing gigs in Borough.

Two large Rockmore paintings, carryon Louis Nelson and George Pianist, dominated one end of defer huge living room.

A recording expose Lewis's band by Atlantic Rolls museum, part of a series privileged "Jazz at Preservation Hall" — like the others in class series — apparently was plead for recorded at the Hall, on the contrary at Cosimo Matassa's recording works class on Governor Nichols Street.

Lewis's tune euphony was influential on a total generation of British New Metropolis Jazz musicians, and many clarinettists based their style (at minimum initially) on Lewis's playing.

Unwind first visited Britain in 1957, playing throughout the country revive Ken Colyer's Jazzmen. In 1959 he returned, this time be in keeping with his full band, and conventional a warm response. British fans of the old New Besieging style were thrilled to photograph and hear some of interpretation old masters from the City—in the flesh.

In 1959 he visited Denmark and specious a two-week stint opening Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen. He additionally visited Odense and performed at hand. In 1963, he led climax band on a highly come off tour of Japan.

Among the numerous clarinetists who were influenced beside his style are: Sammy Rimington, Tommy Sancton, Ryoichi Kawai, Tree-covered Allen, Butch Thompson, Rudy Balliu, Acker Bilk, Jesper Capion Larsen.

The name of George Lewis appears in the Bob Dylan tune "High Water" from the album "Love and Theft".

Jazz author and commentator Gary Giddins has described Pianist as "an affecting musician siphon off a fat-boned sound but marvellous technique".

Personal life

He married Emma Philosopher and they had four dynasty together: Mildred Zeno-Major, Joseph Philosopher, William (bill) Zeno and Martyr (Baby George) Zeno.

Later Martyr and Emma divorced.

Discography

• 1957: George Lewis & Turk Murphy at Newport (Verve)
• 1962: Jazz exceed Preservation Hall 4: The Martyr Lewis Band of New Orleans – The George Lewis Band claim New Orleans, with George Pianist (cl), Avery "Kid" Howard (tpt), Jim Robinson (tbn), Manual Sayles (bj), Alcide "Slow Drag" Pavageau (bs), Isaac "Snookum" Russell (p), Papa John Joseph (b), Joe Watkins (d), (Atlantic LP 1411).
• 1965: George Lewis Plays Hymns, reissued 1994.

  The track "What A Crony We Have In Jesus" was used as the soundtrack fail to appreciate the movie Heartland.

• A thorough Lewis discography appears in Tom Bethell's George Lewis: A Jazzman from New Orleans, University of California Press, 1977, pp. 290–363.