William T. Lewis ''(né'' Willie Meria Tawlton Lewis; 10 June 1905 – 13 January 1971)
was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
clarinetist and bandleader.
Career
Lewis was born
Cleburne, Texas
Cleburne is a city in and the county seat of Johnson County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 29,337. The city is named in honor of Patrick Cleburne, a Confederate general. Lake Pat Cleburne, the reservoir that pro ...
, United States.
He grew up in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
and played in
variety show
Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...
s as a teen. He attended the
New England Conservatory of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...
, then played in
Will Marion Cook
William Mercer Cook (January 27, 1869 – July 19, 1944), better known as Will Marion Cook, was an American composer, violinist, and choral director.Riis, Thomas (2007–2011)Cook, Will Marion ''Grove Music Online.'' Oxford Music Online. Retrieved ...
's orchestra.
When Cook's band was taken over by
Sam Wooding
Samuel David Wooding (17 June 1895 – 1 August 1985) was an American jazz pianist, arranger and bandleader living and performing in Europe and the United States.
Career
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, between 1921 and 1 ...
, Lewis traveled with him on his tours of Europe, South America, and North Africa, remaining until Wooding disbanded the orchestra in 1931.
Following this Lewis set up his own band, Willie Lewis and His Entertainers, which featured some of Wooding's old players and played to great success in Europe.
Among those who played under Lewis were
Herman Chittison,
Benny Carter
Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...
,
Bill Coleman,
Garnet Clark,
Bobby Martin, and
June Cole
June Lawrence Cole (1903, Springfield, Ohio – October 10, 1960, New York City) was an American jazz bassist, tubist, and singer.
Cole's first major employment in music was with the Synco Jazz Band in Ohio; this group later became McKinney ...
. Lewis's Entertainers recorded for French label Disques Swing.
In 1941, Lewis disbanded the Entertainers and returned to New York City.
He played sparsely after this;
he found some work as an actor, but took up
bartending
A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but a ...
as his fortunes declined. He died in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, aged 65.
References
General
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Willie Lewis
William T. Lewis ''(né'' Willie Meria Tawlton Lewis; 10 June 1905 – 13 January 1971) was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader.
Career
Lewis was born Cleburne, Texas, United States. He grew up in Dallas and played in variety shows as ...
at AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
Inline
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Willie
1905 births
1971 deaths
People from Cleburne, Texas
American jazz clarinetists
American jazz bandleaders
20th-century American musicians
Jazz musicians from Texas