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Information about Mel Lewis



Mel Lewis (May 10, 1929 - February 2, 1990) was a drummer, jazz musician and band leader. He was born in Buffalo, New York to Russian immigrant parents. His birth name was Melvin Sokoloff.

He started playing professionally as a teen, eventually joining Stan Kenton in 1954. His musical career brought him to Los Angeles in 1957 and New York in 1963.

In 1966 in New York, he teamed up with Thad Jones to lead the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band. The group started as informal jam sessions with the top studio and jazz musicians of the city, but eventually began performing regularly on Monday nights at the famed Village Vanguard. In 1979 the band won a Grammy for their album Live in Munich. Like all of the musicians in the band, it was only a side line. In 1976, he released an album titled "Mel Lewis and Friends" that featured him leading a smaller sextet that allowed freedom and improvisation.

The band became the Mel Lewis and The Jazz Orchestra in 1978, when Thad moved to Denmark. Lewis continued to lead the band, recording and performing every Monday night at the Village Vanguard until shortly before his death from cancer at age 60. The band still performs on most Monday nights at the Village Vanguard; today it's known as The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and has released several CDs.

Lewis's cymbal work was unique and added qualities to his groups that are hard to describe, but that are recognized immediately and virtually impossible to emulate (Buddy Rich once said that "Mel Lewis doesn't sound like anybody except himself"). He insisted on playing genuine Turkish-made cymbals, switching from the Zildjian brand later in his career to the Istanbul brand. His setup included a 20-inch ride on his right, an 18-inch crash-ride on his left, and his signature sound, a 22-inch swish "knocker" with rivets on his far right. The dark, overtone-rich sound of these rather lightweight cymbals, combined with the rich, warm sound of his wood-shell drums (he almost exclusively played Gretsch drums) equipped with natural calfskin heads (again, Lewis was a purist) exuded a veritable treasure trove of sound. Lewis once described his playing philosophy of not "pushing or pulling" but "supporting." "If you watch me, it doesn't look like I'm doing much," he said in an interview, describing his subtle but highly musical style. He could play at a break-neck tempo for lengthy periods and hardly break a sweat. He wasn't flashy or loud—just tasteful, and highly musical.

He had fourteen Grammy nominations, authored a drumming book, and taught at the William Patterson State College in New Jersey.

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Year 1929 (MCMXXIX
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February 2 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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  • 672 - Death of Saint Chad, whose feast day this is.

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Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar).
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drummer is a musician who plays the drums, particularly the drum kit, marching percussion, or hand drums or cow bell.

The term percussionist means a player on any percussion instrument, but usually refers to a person who plays classical or Latin percussion.
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This is a list of jazz musicians on whom Wikipedia has articles.

Some of the most notable jazz musicians

  • Louis Armstrong (1901–1971)
  • Ornette Coleman (born 1930)
  • John Coltrane (1926–1967)
  • Count Basie (1904–1984)

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A bandleader is the director of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays either a popular music dance band or a big band, such as one which plays swing music.

Most bandleaders also were performers with their own band.
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Buffalo, New York

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Nickname: City of Good Neighbors, The Queen City, Nickel City, Queen City of the Lakes, City of Light
Location of Buffalo in New York State
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Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) (pianist) led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator.
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City of Los Angeles

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Nickname: The City of Angels, L.A.
Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California
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City of New York
New York City at sunset

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Nickname: The Big Apple, Gotham, The City that Never Sleeps
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Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 21, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader.

He was born in Pontiac, Michigan to a musical family of ten (an older brother was pianist Hank Jones and a younger brother was drummer Elvin Jones).
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The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band was a Jazz Big band formed by trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis around 1965.

The group, also known as the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, started out as a bunch of all-star studio musicians getting together for midnight practice
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The 21st Grammy Awards were held in 1979, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1978.

Award winners:

  • Record of the Year

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Motto
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(Royal motto: Guds hjælp, Folkets kærlighed, Danmarks styrke
"The Help of God, the Love of the People, the Strength of Denmark" )
Anthem
Der er et yndigt land  (national)
Kong Christian
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Village Vanguard is a jazz club, located at 178 Seventh Avenue South (just below West 11th St.) in New York City, which has been around since 1935, and has featured all the big names in jazz. It was founded by Max Gordon (died 1989) and is now run by his wife, Lorraine Gordon.
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Cymbals (Fr. cymbales; Ger. Becken; Ital. piatti or cinelli; Por. pratos), are a modern percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various cymbal alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their
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