Victor Lewis
A major drummer since the 1980s who is capable of swinging hard in a variety of modern settings, Victor Lewis has been a strong asset on a countless number of sessions. His parents were musicians who toured with territory bands. Lewis studied cello, piano (he had four years of classical lessons), and then drums. Born in Omaha, NE, Lewis had his first local gigs when he was 15, and after graduating from high school he was a music major at the University of Nebraska. After his band opened for the Herbie Hancock Sextet in 1972, Lewis was encouraged by Buster Williams and Billy Hart to move to New York. After a brief stay in Minnesota, Lewis did relocate to N.Y.C. in 1974, and soon he was in great demand. He performed with many top artists including Woody Shaw, Carla Bley, David Sanborn, and Dexter Gordon; between 1980 and 1991 he was a member of Stan Getz's quartet, which also included pianist Kenny Barron and bassist Rufus Reid. For a period in the 1990s he was well featured with Horizon (a group he co-led with Bobby Watson). In addition to his playing abilities, Lewis is well known for encouraging young talent, while his compositional skills have resulted in some of his songs being recorded by other jazz musicians. Lewis has led sessions of his own for Red, AudioQuest, and Enja. In 2007 he was reunited with his former Getz quartet rhythm section mates Barron and Reid to record We Used to Dance (with session leader Joel Frahm on tenor sax).
© Scott Yanow /TiVo
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Discography
10 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Looking For The Light
George Cables, Victor Lewis, Peter Washington
Jazz - Released by Musefx Records on 1 Oct 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Eeeyyess!
Jazz - Released by ENJA RECORDS Matthias Winckelmann on 1 Jan 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vision Quest
Ron Carter, Stephen Scott, Steve Kroon, Victor Lewis
Jazz - Released by ENJA RECORDS Matthias Winckelmann on 5 Aug 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mojave (Jazz Therapy, Vol. 3)
Roni Ben Hur, Nilson Matta, Victor Lewis, Cafe
Jazz - Released by Motema on 10 May 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ease On
Jeff Palmer, John Ambercrombie, Arthur Blythe, Victor Lewis
Jazz - Released by Sledgehammer Blues on 31 Aug 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
El Gaucho
Jeanfrançois Prins, Joris Teepe, Victor Lewis
Jazz - Released by Challenge Records on 27 Mar 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Within
Guido Manusardi, Victor Lewis, Jerry Bergonzi, Dave Santoro
Jazz - Released by Soul Note on 1 Jan 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Song of Light
John Clark, Ron McClure, Michael Cochrane, Victor Lewis
Jazz - Released by Composers Concordance Records on 1 Apr 1980
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Family Portrait
Jazz - Released by Sledgehammer Blues on 1 Jul 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Drowsy Graces
Electronic - Released by Downtown Musics on 5 May 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo