Melvin Sokoloff (May 10, 1929 – February 2, 1990), 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
- Mellifluous (Gatemouth, 1981)
Mel Lewis and the Orchestra
- Naturally (Telarc, 1979)
- Live in Montreux: Mel Lewis Plays Herbie Hancock (MPS, 1980))
- Live at the Village Vanguard...Featuring the Music of Bob Brookmeyer (1980)
- Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra (Finesse, 1982)
- 20 Years at the Village Vanguard (Atlantic, 1985)
- The Definitive Thad Jones, Live from the Village Vangard (Nimbus, 1988)
- Definitive Thad Jones, Vol. 1 (MusicMasters, 1988)
- Definitive Thad Jones, Vol. 2 (MusicMasters, 1988)
- Soft Lights and Hot Music (MusicMasters, 1988)
- To You: A Tribute to Mel Lewis (MusicMasters, 1990)
Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra
- Opening Night (recorded 1966, released Alan Grant Presents, 2000)
- Presenting Thad Jones / Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra (Solid State, 1966)
- Presenting Joe Williams and Thad Jones / Mel Lewis, The Jazz Orchestra (Solid State, 1966)
- Live at the Village Vanguard (Solid State, 1967)
- The Big Band Sound of Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Featuring Miss Ruth Brown (Solid State, 1968)
- Monday Night (Solid State, 1968)
- Central Park North (Solid State, 1969)
- Basle, 1969 (recorded 1969, released TCB, 1996)
- Consummation (Blue Note, 1970)
- Live in Tokyo (Denon, 1974)
- Potpourri (Philadelphia International, 1974)
- Thad Jones / Mel Lewis and Manuel De Sica (Pausa, 1974)
- Suite for Pops (A&M, 1975)
- New Life: Dedicated to Max Gordon (A&M, 1975)
- Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra With Rhoda Scott aka Rhoda Scott in New York with... (1976)
- Live in Munich (A&M, 1976)
- It Only Happens Every Time (1977) EMI – with Monica Zetterlund
- Body and Soul aka Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra in Europe (1978) West Wind – Live in Berlin
- A Touch of Class (West Wind, 1978) – Live in Warsaw
Thad Jones Mel Lewis Quartet
- The Thad Jones Mel Lewis Quartet (Artists House, 1978)
Mel Lewis
- Mel Lewis Sextet (Mode Records, 1957)
- Mel Lewis and Friends (A&M, 1977)
Video
- Jazz Casual – Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra... (recorded 1968) – a 1968 television appearance
Compilations
- The Blue Note Reissue Series: Thad Jones / Mel Lewis (Blue Note, recorded 1966 – 1970)
- The Complete Solid State Recordings of the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra (recorded 1966 – 1970, Blue Note, 1994)
- In Europe (ITM, 2007)
- The Complete (Live in) Poland Concerts 1976 & 1978 (Gambit, 2009)
Jones and Lewis as guests with other orchestras
- Greetings and Salutations (1975) Town Crier – Jones, Lewis and Jon Faddis with the Swedish Radio Jazz Group, Stockholm
- Thad Jones, Mel Lewis and UMO (1977) RCA Records – Jones and Lewis with the UMO Jazz Orchestra, Helsinki
As sideman
Filmography
Concert performances
- 1999: Jazz at the Smithsonian (Kultur Video)
- 2003: Jazz Casual – Thad Jones & Mel Lewis and Woody Herman (Jazz Casual)
- 2005: Jazz Masters Series – Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra (Shanachie)
- 2007: Mel Lewis and His Big Band (VIEW)
Film
- 1958: Kings Go Forth - Jazz Musician: Drums (uncredited)
Sources
External links
- Allmusic.com – Biography by Scott Yanow
- Falzerano, Chet (1995). Gretsch Drums: The Legacy of That Great Gretsch Sound. Publisher: Centerstream Publications. ISBN 0-931759-98-6
- Mel Lewis at Drummerworld
- Mel Lewis at The Percussive Arts Society
- The Mel Lewis Collection at the Miller Nichols Library of the University of Missouri–Kansas City
- History of Jazz Drumming interview recordings
