Mel Lewis


Melvin Sokoloff, known professionally as Mel Lewis, was an American jazz drummer, session musician, professor, and author. He received fourteen Grammy Award nominations.

Biography

Early years

Lewis was born in Buffalo, New York, to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents Samuel and Mildred Sokoloff. He started playing professionally as a teen, eventually joining Stan Kenton in 1954. His musical career brought him to Los Angeles in 1957 and New York City in 1963.

Career

In 1966 in New York, he teamed up with Thad Jones to lead the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. The group started as informal jam sessions with the top studio and jazz musicians of the city, but eventually began performing regularly on Monday nights at the famed venue, the Village Vanguard. In 1979, the band won a Grammy for their album Live in Munich. Like all of the musicians in the band, it was only a sideline. In 1976, he released an album titled Mel Lewis and Friends that featured him leading a smaller sextet that allowed freedom and improvisation.
When Jones moved to Denmark in 1978, the band became known as Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra. Lewis continued to lead the band, recording and performing every Monday night at the Village Vanguard until shortly before his death from cancer at age 60. The band still performs on most Monday nights at the club. Today, it is known as the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and has released several CDs.

Playing style and approach

Lewis's cymbal work was considered unique among many musicians. Of his style, drummer Buddy Rich had remarked: "Mel Lewis doesn't sound like anybody else. He sounds like himself."
Lewis insisted on playing genuine Turkish-made cymbals, switching from the Zildjian Company later in his career to the Istanbul brand. His setup included a 21-inch ride on his right, a 19-inch crash-ride on his left, and his signature sound, a 22-inch swish "knocker" with rivets on his far right. The rather lightweight cymbals exuded a dark, overtone-rich sound. Lewis' wood-shell drums were considered warm and rich in their sound. He almost exclusively played a Gretsch drums set, although in later years, played Slingerland drums equipped with natural calfskin top heads. Regular mylar heads were used on the bottom. Lewis described a playing philosophy of not "pushing or pulling" but "supporting." "If you watch me, it doesn't look like I'm doing much," he remarked in an interview.

Declining health and death

In the late 1980s, Lewis was diagnosed with melanoma. It was identified in his arm, then surfaced in his lungs, and ultimately went to his brain. He died on February 2, 1990, just days before his band was to celebrate its 24th anniversary at the Village Vanguard.

Discography

Mel Lewis and the Orchestra

Naturally Live in Montreux: Mel Lewis Plays Herbie Hancock )Live at the Village Vanguard...Featuring the Music of Bob Brookmeyer Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra 20 Years at the Village Vanguard The Definitive Thad Jones, Live from the Village Vangard Definitive Thad Jones, Vol. 1 Definitive Thad Jones, Vol. 2 Soft Lights and Hot Music
  • ''To You: A Tribute to Mel Lewis''

Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra

Opening Night Presenting Thad Jones / Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra Presenting Joe Williams and Thad Jones / Mel Lewis, The Jazz Orchestra Live at the Village Vanguard The Big Band Sound of Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Featuring Miss Ruth Brown Monday Night Central Park North Basle, 1969 Consummation Live in Tokyo Potpourri Thad Jones / Mel Lewis and Manuel De Sica Suite for Pops New Life: Dedicated to Max Gordon Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra With Rhoda Scott aka Rhoda Scott in New York with... Live in Munich It Only Happens Every Time EMI – with Monica ZetterlundBody and Soul aka Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra in Europe West Wind – Live in BerlinA Touch of Class – Live in Warsaw

Thad Jones Mel Lewis Quartet

Mel Lewis

Video

Jazz Casual – Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra... – a 1968 television appearance

Compilations

The Blue Note Reissue Series: Thad Jones / Mel Lewis The Complete Solid State Recordings of the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra In Europe

Jones and Lewis as guests with other orchestras

Greetings and Salutations Town Crier – Jones, Lewis and Jon Faddis with the Swedish Radio Jazz Group, StockholmThad Jones, Mel Lewis and UMO RCA Records – Jones and Lewis with the UMO Jazz Orchestra, Helsinki

As sideman

With Pepper Adams
With Manny Albam
With Frankie Avalon
  • And Now About Mr. Avalon
With Chet Baker
With Tony BennettI've Gotta Be Me
With Bob Brookmeyer
With Kenny Burrell
With Benny Carter
With Buck Clayton
  • A Swingin' Dream
With Al Cohn
With Bob Cooper
With Hank Crawford and Jimmy McGriff
With Eddie Daniels
With Eric Dolphy
With Maynard Ferguson
With Dean FriedmanDean Friedman
With Stan Getz
With Dizzy Gillespie
With Jimmy Hamilton
With Johnny Hodges
With Thad Jones and Pepper Adams Quintet
With Stan Kenton
With Morgana King
With Jimmy Knepper
With Peggy Lee
With Joe Lovano
With Johnny Mandel
With Herbie Mann
With Warne Marsh
With Jack McDuff
With Gary McFarland
With Jimmy McGriff
With MelanieStoneground Words
With Helen Merrill
With James Moody
With Bette Midler
With Gerry Mulligan
With Mark Murphy
With Anita O'Day
With Chico O'Farrill
With Esther Phillips
  • And I Love Him!
With Shorty Rogers
With Pete Rugolo
With Sal Salvador
With Shirley Scott
With Bud Shank
With Frank SinatraThe Concert Sinatra Sinatra's Sinatra Softly, as I Leave You My Kind of Broadway
With Sonny Stitt
With Mel Tormé
With Gerald Wilson
With Jimmy Witherspoon
With Emily Yancy
  • ''Yancy''

Filmography

Concert performances

  • 1999: Jazz at the Smithsonian
  • 2003: Jazz Casual – Thad Jones & Mel Lewis and Woody Herman
  • 2005: Jazz Masters Series – Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra
  • 2007: ''Mel Lewis and His Big Band''

Film