November 25th 1939

Lew Woodall meandered a long and winding pathway before finding his way to jazz. After playing rock, top forty, beach, and blues earlier in his career and ceasing to play completely for a period of 12 years; he has recorded 4 jazz CDs since he began playing jazz gigs in 2000. His 2008 and 2009 CDs Simply Cooking and Simply Cooking II, Second Time Around are produced and distributed by Paolo Piangiarelli of Philology Jazz Records. On these two albums, Lew is joined by renowned bebop pianist, Hod O’Brien, bassist, Tom Harbeck, and drummer, Joel Lubliner. In 2006, Lew released Texas Trip which was recorded in Dallas and features old friend, John Bryant (former drummer for Ray Charles) and Dallas/Fort Worth Hammond B3 organ master, Tommy Young. Lew’s first jazz CD, Kiss You Momma was released in 2002. On this album, Lew shares lead guitar honors with renowned jazz player, guitarist, Royce Campbell. They are joined by Matt Kendrick on bass and Lubliner on drums.

Lew’s path to playing jazz may have been winding; but his path to loving jazz was short and direct. He was born in Bassett, Virginia on November 25, 1939. When he was 2 years old, his mother died and he and his sister went to live with grandparents in neighboring Patrick County. Living a farm life without the benefit of indoor plumbing or electricity did not deter Lew from developing an ear for jazz. He remembers, as a 5-year old, scanning the dial of the old dry-cell battery powered radio in search of jazz and Latin stations and listening to Glen Miller and others playing jazz in the forties. Music was a big part of Lew’s childhood. One grandfather played the banjo and the other played the fiddle. He fondly remembers spending summer nights at the tobacco barn with his grandfather and enjoying the impromptu jams as neighbors gathered around with a variety of musical instruments.