George Lewis

• Genre: Traditional Jazz/Dixieland
• Hometown: New Orleans

About

Clarinetist George Lewis, not to be confused with the avant-garde trombone player by the same name, stuck to the bubbly, bouncy collective improvisations of Dixieland his entire career, while his peers moved on to Swing and then to Bop. Lewis's clarinet dipped and soared over the ensemble, embellishing every melody with sustained high notes and darting arpeggios. His repertoire consisted largely of standard New Orleans tunes such as "Basin St. Blues" and "Bugle Call Rag." Lewis enjoyed considerable fame during the New Orleans revival of the 1950s, touring the United States, Europe, and Japan.

- Noah Enelow