George Lewis - The Complete Blue Note Recordings Of George Lewis [1990] (3 x CDs)

 

JAZZ SUNDAY

GEORGE LEWIS

George Lewis - The Complete Blue Note Recordings Of George Lewis [1990] (3xCDs)

George Lewis never tried to be a virtuoso soloist. He loved to play melodic ensembles where his distinctive clarinet was free to improvise as simply as he desired. When Lewis was inspired and in tune, he could hold his own with any of his contemporaries in New Orleans and he always sounded beautiful playing his “Burgundy Street Blues.” To everyone’s surprise (including himself), he became one of the most popular figures of the New Orleans revival movement of the 1950s.

It took Lewis a long time to achieve fame. He taught himself clarinet when he was 18 and worked in the ’20s with the Black Eagle Band, Buddy Petit, the Eureka Brass Band, Chris Kelly, Kid Ory, the Olympia Orchestra, and other New Orleans groups. He played with Bunk Johnson in Evan Thomas’ group in the early ’30s but had a day job throughout most of the decade. When Bunk was discovered in 1942, Lewis became part of his band, playing with him Johnson, however, was difficult to get along with and a homesick Lewis returned to New Orleans by 1946. He played locally with his own group (featuring trombonist Jim Robinson) and in 1950 was portrayed in an article for Look. That exposure led to him recording regularly, and by 1952, Lewis was in such great demand that he was soon working before crowds in California and touring Europe and Japan. In addition to Robinson, Lewis’ band in its prime years often featured trumpeter Kid Howard, pianist Alton Purnell, banjoist Lawrence Marrero, bassist Alcide “Slow Drag” Pavageau, and drummer Joe Watkins. George Lewis, who recorded for many labels (a Mosaic box set of his Blue Note sessions is one of the best reissues), became a symbol of what was right and wrong about the New Orleans revival movement, overpraised by his fans and overcritized by his detractors. At his best he was well worth hearing. (Scott Yanow / bluenote.com)

A centerpiece for the dedicated New Orleans collector, this begins with Lewis' "Climax Rag" session in 1943 and ranges through a variety of studio and concert performances ending 12 years later -- definitely some of the clarinetist's best work (1943-1944, 1954-1955). (AllMusic review by Bruce Boyd Raeburn)

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Track list

CD1

01 George Lewis Climax Rag 3:11

02 George Lewis New Orleans Hula 2:44

03 George Lewis Don't Go 'way Nobody 4:20

04 George Lewis Two Jim Blues 4:41

05 George Lewis Climax Rag 4:25

06 George Lewis Climax Rag 4:27

07 George Lewis Just A Closer Walk With Thee 4:18

08 George Lewis Just A Closer Walk With Thee 4:29

09 George Lewis Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None Of This Jelly Roll 3:31

10 George Lewis Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None Of This Jelly Roll 3:24

11 George Lewis Careless Love 3:38

12 George Lewis Careless Love 3:37

13 George Lewis Dauphine Street Blues 3:32

14 George Lewis Just A Little While To Stay Here 3:39

15 George Lewis Just A Little While To Stay Here 4:17

16 George Lewis Just A Closer Walk With Thee 3:47

17 George Lewis Milenberg Joys 4:03

18 George Lewis Milenberg Joys 4:12

19 George Lewis Fidgety Feet 4:10

CD2

01 George Lewis Fidgety Feet 4:58

02 George Lewis Don't Go 'way Nobody 3:21

03 George Lewis Don't Go 'way Nobody 4:04

04 George Lewis Deep Bayou Blues 4:08

05 George Lewis Whenever You're Lonesome, Just Telephone Me 1:56

06 George Lewis Just A Closer Walk With Thee 4:20

07 George Lewis Gettysburg March 2:57

08 George Lewis Bill Bailey 3:02

09 George Lewis Burgundy Street Blues 3:18

10 George Lewis Ol' Man Mose 2:25

11 George Lewis Walking With The King 2:55

12 George Lewis George Lewis' Spoken Introduction 0:33

13 George Lewis Over The Waves 6:12

14 George Lewis Canal Street Blues 3:22

15 George Lewis Red Wing 4:14

16 George Lewis Just A Closer Walk With Thee 9:47

17 George Lewis Ice Cream 5:51

18 George Lewis Mama Don't Allow It 4:39

CD3

01 George Lewis When You Wore A Tulip (Alternate Version) 3:07

02 George Lewis Gettysburg March (Alternate Take) 3:32

03 George Lewis Walking With The King 3:45

04 George Lewis Gettysburg March 4:05

05 George Lewis Savoy Blues 4:39

06 George Lewis Nobody Knows The Way I Feel This Morning 3:40

07 George Lewis Bucket's Got A Hole In It 3:26

08 George Lewis I Can't Escape From You 4:00

09 George Lewis Mahogany Hall Stomp 3:46

10 George Lewis Move The Body Over 4:05

11 George Lewis Lord, Lord, Lord, You Sure Been Good To Me 3:44

12 George Lewis Gettysburg March 4:31

13 George Lewis High Society 4:30

14 George Lewis See See Rider 5:09

15 George Lewis Heebie Jeebies 3:16

16 George Lewis When You Wore A Tulip 3:18

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