Victor Lewis
Victor Lewis (born May 20, 1950) is an American jazz drummer, composer, and educator.
In 1974 Lewis moved to Manhattan, Victor’s first gig there was a night at Boomer’s with bassist Buster Williams, where he met trumpeter Woody Shaw. Lewis joined the trumpeter’s band, becoming a steady member, and a just a few months later he made his recording debut on Shaw’s classic, The Moontrane. In the early seventies, the fusion and pop-jazz scenes were becoming popular. Quickly adapting, the drummer was soon recording with Joe Farrell, Earl Klugh, Hubert Laws, Carla Bley and David Sanborn. On his first outing with Sanborn, Lewis recorded his own compositions, “Seventh Avenue” and “Sophisticated Squaw” (a/k/a “Agaya”) and later “The Legend of the Cheops.”
In 1980, Lewis left Shaw’s group to join Stan Getz, in a long collaboration that lasted until the saxophonist’s death in 1991. Throughout the eighties, Lewis was one of jazz’s busiest freelancers, touring and recording with, among others, Kenny Barron, Art Farmer, J.J. Johnson, Mike Stern, John Stubblefield, Grover Washington Jr., The Manhattan Jazz Quintet, Bobby Hutcherson and Bobby Watson.