George E. Lewis: Celebrating a Musical Afrofuturist Visionary in Chicago Reader
Since 2005, Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) has been using the Secret History of Chicago Music to shed light on deserving artists with ties to Chicago who have been overlooked, underrated, or forgotten.
Every year, the Chicago Jazz Festival pays tribute to recently departed musicians by projecting their names on a screen behind the stage. This year’s list of fallen artists was particularly heartbreaking, including names such as Carla Bley, Calvin Keys, Richard Davis, Eleanor Collins, and David Sanborn. In the midst of honoring those who have passed, it is important to celebrate jazz’s living heroes, one of whom is the avant-garde pioneer and Renaissance man, George E. Lewis.
George E. Lewis is a world-renowned composer, trombonist, academic, and computer music innovator. While his work may not be widely known outside the avant-garde community, Lewis is considered a visionary in the realm of Afrofuturism. He embodies the ethos of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), a vital Black arts organization with which he has been associated since 1971. Lewis maintains a strong connection to the roots of jazz, a quintessentially Black art form, while constantly pushing boundaries with cutting-edge technology, chance-driven elements, and innovative philosophies. His approach is marked by a sense of playfulness that makes his music accessible and engaging.
Born in Chicago on July 14, 1952, George E. Lewis grew up in a household where music was cherished. His father, George Thomas Lewis, was a jazz enthusiast who had studied electronics through the GI Bill, while his mother, Cornelia Griffith Lewis, had a deep love for blues, soul, and R&B. Lewis’s early exposure to music, coupled with his enrollment in the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, where he took up the trombone, set the stage for his future in music.
Lewis’s introduction to the avant-garde came through the AACM, where he became involved in 1971. A chance encounter with members of the organization led to Lewis performing with them and eventually joining the AACM as its secretary. Over the years, Lewis collaborated with renowned musicians such as Muhal Richard Abrams, Fred Anderson, and Anthony Braxton, solidifying his reputation as an adventurous player in the avant-garde scene.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Lewis continued to push boundaries with his music, incorporating electronics, synthesizers, and computers into his compositions. His innovative work caught the attention of the music world, leading to collaborations with artists like Laurie Anderson, Bill Laswell, and Alexander von Schlippenbach. Lewis’s ability to seamlessly blend traditional trombone playing with electronic experimentation set him apart as a groundbreaking musician.
In the 1990s, Lewis’s focus shifted towards composition and education, leading to a successful career as an educator at various institutions, including the University of California San Diego and Columbia University. His commitment to exploring the intersection of improvisation and human experience has resulted in a prolific body of work, including publications on improvisational music and decolonization in music.
Lewis’s influence extends beyond the realm of music, as he has also delved into opera and advocacy for Black composers. His groundbreaking collaborations with artists like Roscoe Mitchell and Vijay Iyer showcase his continued dedication to pushing artistic boundaries and challenging conventional norms.
With a career spanning over five decades, George E. Lewis continues to innovate and inspire audiences with his visionary approach to music. His recent works, including the opera “Afterword: The AACM (as) Opera” and the duo album “Voyage and Homecoming” with Roscoe Mitchell, highlight his enduring impact on the avant-garde music scene. As he continues to explore new frontiers in music and composition, George E. Lewis remains a trailblazer and a true musical visionary.