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Willie Lewis 1905

10/6/2020

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Clarinettista, sassofonista, cantante e direttore d’orchestra statunitense (Cleburne, Texas, 10.6.1905 – New York, 13.1.1971).

Impara a suonare il clarinetto nell’orchestra della scuola della sua città natale (1917-18). Dopo aver svolto qualche lavoretto nei cinema di Dallas, comincia a studiare al New England Conservatory di Boston (1921) e successivamente, trovandosi fra musicisti neri “colti” dell’Est, lavora con Will Marion Cook e Sam Wooding (1922-25).

Con quest’ultimo si esibisce praticamente in tutti i paesi del vecchio continente compresa l’Unione Sovietica (1925-31). Dopo parecchi andirivieni fra l’Europa e gli Stati Uniti, si stabilisce a Parigi, esibendosi con la sua formazione in Belgio, nei Paesi Bassi e anche in Egitto. Nel 1940 si rifugia col suo gruppo in Svizzera, nel 1941 passa in Portogallo e da qui si imbarca per gli Stati Uniti. Da allora abbandona a poco a poco la musica, limitandosi a qualche rara apparizione (in particolare tra il 1951 e il 1953) nei club newyorkesi.
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Crooner di una certa abilità, clarinettista e sassofonista dignitoso ma privo di vocazione solista, Willie Lewis viene ricordato in Europa soprattutto come direttore d’orchestra. I puristi, spesso sordi quanto ingiusti, rimproverano alla sua orchestra del periodo 1935-40 di essere scialba rispetto a quelle di Jimmie Lunceford o di Duke Ellington, misconoscendo così l’eleganza delle orchestrazioni e dei solisti messi insieme da un uomo di gusto (Benny Carter, Bill Coleman, Arthur Briggs, Herman Chittison, per citarne alcuni) e ignorando il ruolo storico svolto, accanto ai pionieri (Louis Mitchell, Sam Wooding) e i grandi solisti (Louis Armstrong, Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins), da questa bella formazione che animava le serate al Florence di Parigi.
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[I.D.]
American clarinet player, saxophonist, singer, and conductor (Cleburne, Texas, 10.6.1905 - New York, 13.1.1971).

Learn to play the clarinet in the orchestra of his hometown school (1917-18). After doing some jobs in the Dallas cinemas, he began studying at the New England Conservatory in Boston (1921) and, subsequently, finding himself among "educated" black musicians from the East, he worked with Will Marion Cook and Sam Wooding (1922-25).

With the latter, he performs practically in all the countries of the old continent, including the Soviet Union (1925-31). After several comings and goings between Europe and the United States, he settled in Paris. Performing with his training in Belgium, the Netherlands, and also in Egypt. In 1940 he took refuge with his group in Switzerland. In 1941 he moved to Portugal, and from there, he embarked for the United States. Since then, he has gradually abandoned music, limiting himself to a few rare appearances (particularly between 1951 and 1953) in New York clubs.
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A talented Crooner, a dignified clarinetist, and saxophonist but devoid of a solo vacation, Willie Lewis is remembered in Europe above all as a conductor. Purists, often as deaf as unfair, reproach his orchestra from 1935-40 for being lackluster compared to those of Jimmie Lunceford or Duke Ellington, thus failing to recognize the elegance of orchestrations and soloists put together by a man of taste: Benny Carter, Bill Coleman, Arthur Briggs, Herman Chittison, to name a few. And he was ignoring the historical role played, alongside the pioneers (Louis Mitchell, Sam Wooding) and the great soloists (Louis Armstrong, Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins), from this beautiful formation that animated the evenings at the Florence in Paris.
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[I.D.]
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