Editing Steve Lewis (musician)

{{short description|American jazz musician (1896-c. 1941)}}

{{more citations needed|date=October 2018}}

'''Steve Lewis''' (March 19, 1896 - c. 1941) was an American [[jazz]] pianist and composer.

Lewis was born in [[New Orleans, Louisiana]]. 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.<ref name="Chadbourne">{{cite web |last1=Chadbourne |first1=Eugene |title=Steve Lewis |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/steve-lewis-mn0001400936 |website=AllMusic |accessdate=19 October 2018}}</ref>

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 ''[[The Finger|Shooting the Bird]]'').

Lewis was influenced by the piano stylings of [[Tony Jackson (jazz musician)|Tony Jackson]] and [[Jelly Roll Morton]], and became the premier pianist in [[Storyville, New Orleans|Storyville]] after those two older musicians left town.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IBDB name|498460}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Steve}}
[[Category:Jazz musicians from New Orleans]]
[[Category:African-American pianists]]
[[Category:American male jazz composers]]
[[Category:American jazz pianists]]
[[Category:American male jazz pianists]]
[[Category:1896 births]]
[[Category:1941 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American pianists]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American jazz composers]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American musicians]]