Steve Lewis (March 19, 1896 - c. 1941?) was a jazz pianist and composer.
Lewis was born in New Orleans. In 1910, he began his career as a member of the Silver Leaf Orchestra. He joined the Olympia Orchestra and toured with Bill and Mary Mack in 1917. When he returned to New Orleans, he spent the next ten years in bands with Armand J. Piron. During the 1920s, he taught piano to such students as Luis Russell. He worked as a bandleader and a freelance musician. His last days were spent in a mental institution in Louisiana.[1]
Lewis was an eccentric character. He drove a Ford Model T which he had custom painted in bright multicolored polka-dots. He played the piano without using either of his middle fingers; these he kept extended straight while playing (in the manner of the rude gesture known as Shooting the Bird).
He was influenced by the piano stylings of Tony Jackson and Jelly Roll Morton, and became the premier pianist in Storyville after those two older musicians left town.
References
^Chadbourne, Eugene. "Steve Lewis". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
steve, lewis, musician, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, steve, lewis, musician, news, newspapers, bo. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Steve Lewis musician news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Steve Lewis March 19 1896 c 1941 was a jazz pianist and composer Lewis was born in New Orleans In 1910 he began his career as a member of the Silver Leaf Orchestra He joined the Olympia Orchestra and toured with Bill and Mary Mack in 1917 When he returned to New Orleans he spent the next ten years in bands with Armand J Piron During the 1920s he taught piano to such students as Luis Russell He worked as a bandleader and a freelance musician His last days were spent in a mental institution in Louisiana 1 Lewis was an eccentric character He drove a Ford Model T which he had custom painted in bright multicolored polka dots He played the piano without using either of his middle fingers these he kept extended straight while playing in the manner of the rude gesture known as Shooting the Bird He was influenced by the piano stylings of Tony Jackson and Jelly Roll Morton and became the premier pianist in Storyville after those two older musicians left town References Edit Chadbourne Eugene Steve Lewis AllMusic Retrieved 19 October 2018 External links EditSteve Lewis at the Internet Broadway Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Steve Lewis musician amp oldid 1124229451, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
