Meade Lux Lewis › Similar Artists

Pete Johnson - 100% match to Meade Lux Lewis

25 March 1904, Kansas City, Missouri, USA, d. 23 March 1967, Buffalo, New York, USA. After playing drums when a teenager, Johnson switched to piano in 1926 and swiftly became a leading exponent of the blues. He was also an excellent accompanist to blues singers; especially Joe Turner, with whom he established a partnership that lasted for the rest of his life. In 1936 the ub Read more

Cow Cow Davenport - 80% match to Meade Lux Lewis

Charles Edward Davenport, 23 April 1894, Anniston, Alabama, USA, d. 3 December 1955, Cleveland, Ohio, USA. One of the most distinctive themes utilized in boogie-woogie is the train imitation ‘Cow Cow Blues’ from which this consummate performer derived his nickname. Davenport’s father, a preacher, wanted to see his son follow him to a career in the church but i Read more

Albert Ammons - 77% match to Meade Lux Lewis

23 September 1907, Chicago, Illinois, USA, d. 2 December 1949, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Ammons began playing piano as a small child and worked in Chicago clubs while still a youth. In the late 20s and early 30s he played in a number of small bands but his real forte was as a soloist. After establishing himself as an important blues piano player in Chicago in the mid-30s, a pe Read more

Jimmy Yancey - 71% match to Meade Lux Lewis

James Edward Yancey, 20 February 1898, Chicago, Illinois, USA, d. 17 September 1951, Chicago, Illinois, USA. While still a small child Yancey appeared in vaudeville as a tap dancer and singer. After touring the USA and Europe he abandoned this career and, just turned 20, settled in Chicago where he taught himself to play piano. He began to appear at rent parties and informal Read more

James P. Johnson - 42% match to Meade Lux Lewis

James Price Johnson, 1 February 1894, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, d. 17 November 1955, New York City, New York, USA. Taught piano by his mother, Johnson assimilated a wide range of musical styles. In the years following his family’s relocation to New York, he continued his studies and by his late teens was working in clubs in the Hell’s Kitchen district. Johnso Read more

Willie "The Lion" Smith - 27% match to Meade Lux Lewis

William Henry Joseph Bonaparte Bertholoff Smith, 25 November 1897, Goshen, New York, USA, d. 18 April 1973, New York City, New York, USA. Smith began playing piano at the age of six, encouraged by his mother. He continued with his informal musical education and by his mid-teenage years had established a formidable reputation in New York as a ragtime pianist. During World War Read more

Bob Zurke - 26% match to Meade Lux Lewis

Robert Allen Zurke, 17 January 1912, Detroit, Michigan, USA, d. 17 February 1944, Los Angeles, California, USA. Learning piano as a child, Zurke displayed a remarkable talent and by his teenage years was playing semi-professionally. He worked regularly in and around Philadelphia in the late 20s and 30s, playing in numerous small bands and also as a single. In 1937 he joined Read more

Original Dixieland Jazz Band - 22% match to Meade Lux Lewis

In May 1916 several young white New Orleans musicians were working in Chicago, often appearing in the same bands. After a few changes the musicians settled down as a permanent band, with the personnel comprising Nick LaRocca (Dominic James LaRocca, 11 April 1889, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, d. 22 February 1961, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; cornet) Eddie Edwards (b. 22 May 1 Read more

Jelly Roll Morton - 21% match to Meade Lux Lewis

Ferdinand Joseph Lemott, 20 October 1890, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, d. 10 July 1941, Los Angeles, California, USA. A gifted musician, Morton played various instruments before deciding to concentrate on piano. In the early years of the twentieth century he was a popular figure on the seamier side of New Orleans night life. He played in brothels, hustled pool and generally Read more

Eubie Blake - 20% match to Meade Lux Lewis

James Hubert Blake, 7 February 1883, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, d. 12 February 1983, New York City, New York, USA. Eubie Blake grew up to the sounds of ragtime music, and before the turn of the century was playing piano in sporting houses and other similar establishments. He was a composer too, and in 1915 joined forces with Noble Sissle; they played in vaudeville as a double Read more

Little Brother Montgomery - 19% match to Meade Lux Lewis

Eurreal Wilford Montgomery, 18 April 1906, Kentwood, Louisiana, USA, d. 6 September 1985, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Impressed by the piano players who visited his parents’ house, including Jelly Roll Morton and Cooney Vaughan, Montgomery began playing at the age of five. At the age of 11 he ran away, and worked as a musician for the rest of his life. He played the southe Read more

Earl Hines - 17% match to Meade Lux Lewis

Johnny Dodds - 17% match to Meade Lux Lewis

12 April 1892, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, d. 8 August 1940, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Dodds did not begin playing clarinet until he was aged 17, but in taking lessons from Lorenzo Tio ensured that his late start did not hamper his career. In the years before World War I he played with Kid Ory and Fate Marable, mostly in his home town, and also worked with a minstrel show whe Read more

Fletcher Henderson - 15% match to Meade Lux Lewis

Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, 18 December 1897, Cuthbert, Georgia, USA, d. 28 December 1952, New York City, New York, USA. One of the most important figures in the development of big band music, in the early 30s Henderson set the standards by which early big band jazz was measured. He did this through a combination of selecting leading jazz players for his band and, together Read more

Katie Webster - 15% match to Meade Lux Lewis

Kathryn Jewel Thorne, 9 January 1939, Houston, Texas, USA, 5 September 1999, League City, Texas, USA. Webster learned to play the piano as a child, playing hymn tunes when her mother was within earshot and Fats Domino and Chuck Berry tunes when she was not. She developed, in her words, ‘A funky left hand and a rollin’ right’, which talent led to her becoming Read more