Ed Lewis

Ed Lewis had a rather odd career. In his early days he was considered a strong soloist and yet, because of his excellent reading skills and a wide range, he rarely soloed after the early 1930s. Lewis outlived most of his contemporaries and had long periods where he worked very steadily, but strangely enough, his technical skills doomed him to obscurity. Early on he played baritone horn with Jerry Westbrook's band in Kansas City in 1924, but the following year he wisely switched to trumpet. After brief stints with the groups of Paul Banks and Laura Rucker, Lewis was a key player with the Bennie Moten Orchestra (1926-1932) where he was the main trumpet soloist (a bit influenced by Bix Beiderbecke), at least until Hot Lips Page joined the band. After leaving Moten, Lewis was a member of big bands led by Thamon Hayes (1932-1934), Harlan Leonard (1934-1937) and Jay McShann (1937). Lewis worked with Count Basie's Orchestra for a long stretch (1937-1948), appearing on many records but taking virtually no solos; his one main contribution (other than his stability) was writing "It's Sand, Man!" When the Basie years ended, Lewis worked for a time as a cab driver but from the mid-'50s on, he generally led his own low-profile band in New York. Ed Lewis (who never led his own record date) did emerge a little bit near the end of his life when he toured Europe with the Countsmen in 1984, but he deserved many more opportunities decades earlier to display his talents. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi