Mel Lewis

Though he rarely sought opportunities to solo, Mel Lewis stood among the foremost big band drummers, a player who thrived most when powering a full orchestra yet could also deliver strong performances in smaller groups. He launched his professional career at age 15, appearing with the large ensembles of Boyd Raeburn in 1948 as well as those led by Alvino Rey, Ray Anthony, and Tex Beneke. His profile rose sharply through his tenure with Stan Kenton from 1954 to 1957, during which he lent robust swing to the expansive ensemble. After relocating to Los Angeles in 1957 he worked extensively as a studio musician and performed with the orchestras of Terry Gibbs and Gerald Wilson. He moved to New York in 1960 to join Gerry Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band, then traveled through Europe with Dizzy Gillespie in 1961 and across the Soviet Union with Benny Goodman in 1962. In 1965 he co-founded a New York orchestra with Thad Jones that soon ranked among jazz’s leading large ensembles. Following Jones’s abrupt move to Europe in 1979, Lewis assumed sole leadership and maintained a steady schedule of Monday-night performances at the Village Vanguard until his death. As a leader he recorded in the 1950s for San Francisco Jazz Records, Mode (later reissued on V.S.O.P.), and Andex; after Jones departed the orchestra he documented sessions for Atlantic, Telarc, and Music Masters.