George Lewis showed no aspiration toward virtuoso solo status. He preferred the interplay of melodic ensembles, where his singular clarinet voice could shape improvisations according to his own sense of simplicity. Whenever inspiration and intonation coincided, he matched the level of his New Orleans contemporaries while producing an especially pleasing sound on “Burgundy Street Blues.” Against all expectations, including his own, he rose to become one of the most recognized names in the New Orleans revival of the 1950s.
Recognition came only after many years. Lewis taught himself the clarinet at eighteen and spent the 1920s performing with the Black Eagle Band, Buddy Petit, the Eureka Brass Band, Chris Kelly, Kid Ory, the Olympia Orchestra, and additional New Orleans units. Early in the following decade he worked with Bunk Johnson inside Evan Thomas’ group, yet he held a daytime job through most of the 1930s. After Bunk’s rediscovery in 1942, Lewis joined that band, but friction with Johnson and a longing for home brought him back to New Orleans by 1946. He then led a local group that featured trombonist Jim Robinson; a 1950 profile in Look magazine followed, prompting steady recording work. By 1952 demand had grown so strong that Lewis appeared regularly before California audiences and embarked on tours of Europe and Japan. In those peak years his ensemble also included trumpeter Kid Howard, pianist Alton Purnell, banjoist Lawrence Marrero, bassist Alcide “Slow Drag” Pavageau, and drummer Joe Watkins. Lewis recorded for numerous labels, one of the strongest reissues being the Mosaic box set drawn from his Blue Note sessions. He came to embody both the virtues and the shortcomings of the New Orleans revival, receiving excessive praise from admirers and equally excessive fault-finding from detractors. At his strongest, however, he remained well worth hearing.
