Don Ewell

Don Ewell stood out as a major yet underrecognized stride pianist whose playing drew primary influence from Jelly Roll Morton and Earl Hines while also capturing the distinctive stride approach of Fats Waller. He began fronting his own trios in Baltimore during the mid-1930s and took part in the New Orleans jazz revival that got underway in the mid-1940s, appearing alongside Bunk Johnson, Muggsy Spanier, Sidney Bechet, and Kid Ory in 1953. Between 1957 and 1964 he performed regularly with Jack Teagarden. During the late 1960s Ewell occasionally partnered in duets with the declining Willie "the Lion" Smith before relocating to New Orleans, where steady work occupied his final years. His recording sessions appeared on Good Time Jazz, including three 1956-1957 dates later reissued on CD, as well as GHB/Audiophile/Jazzology, Delmark, Fat Cat's Jazz, and Chiaroscuro, while Stomp Off and Pumpkin brought out previously unreleased material after his death.