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, 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, 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 Herman "Ivory" Chittison (October 15, 1908 – March 8, 1967) was an American jazz pianist. He was born in Flemingsburg, Kentucky, United States. Chittison began his career in Zack Whyte's territory band in Ohio in 1928. In the early 1930s, he ...

, Benny Carter, Bill Coleman,

Garnet Clark Garnet Clark, sometimes credited as Garnett Clark (February 16, 1917 – November 30, 1938), was an American jazz pianist. Clark began playing professionally in his birthplace of Washington, D.C., United States, at age 16 in Tommy Myles's band. ...

Bobby Martin Bobby Martin may refer to: *Bobby Martin (American football) (1987–2020), American football player *Bobby Martin (musician) (1903–2001), jazz trumpeter *Bobby Martin, bass player for Canadian country group the James Barker Band *Bobby Martin (p ...

, 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 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

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