Composers You Should Know: George Lewis
George Lewis, American Composer
BORN: JULY 14, 1952RAISED: CHICAGO, ILLINOISGeorge Lewis has been a major force in the development of computer and electronic music, all while enjoying a successful career as a trombonist. His talent for improvisation earned him recognition in the free jazz scene, and early on, he joined the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. This gave him a platform to explore and innovate new techniques in jazz.
Early Life
George Lewis was born in Chicago, Illinois, to George Thomas Lewis, a postal worker, and Cornelia Griffith Lewis, both avid listeners of jazz, blues, soul, and R&B. Early on, he faced a form of segregation, attending school only half days until he transferred to the University of Chicago Laboratory School at age nine. During his childhood, he learned the trombone and played in various school orchestras and bands, including a jazz band led by Frank Tirro and Dean Hey. Ray Anderson, a fellow student, once took Lewis to see saxophonist Fred Anderson perform for the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, a moment that would influence his future in jazz.
Education
After graduating from the University of Chicago Laboratory School in 1969, Lewis attended Yale to study prelaw though he maintained his strong interest in music, taking music theory classes alongside his major. In 1971, Lewis met and began to play alongside musicians such as Muhal Richard Abrams, Steve Galloway, Pete Cosey, Steve McCall and countless other significant jazz musicians. He was encouraged to join the AACM which was founded by Abrams and McCall, alongside Jodie Christian and Phil Cohran in 1965 and so he applied and was accepted. While he attended Yale, the university was visited by musicians such as Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and many others.
Musical Styles and Innovation
George Lewis' music has its roots in avant-garde jazz, heavily influenced by his work with the AACM, where musicians were encouraged to innovate through improvisation and composition. In 1982, he began studying at the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM) in Paris, alongside composers like Kaija Saariaho and Luciano Berio. At IRCAM, Lewis worked to revolutionize music with electronics, developing one of his major projects, the computer program Voyager, which could listen to musicians and improvise in response.
George Lewis, 1999. Photo by Ian Cummings.
George Lewis, published in New Music America Program Book, 1979.
Major Works
Rainbow Family (1993)
Rainbow Family is a live album and one of Lewis' most significant projects during his time at IRCAM in Paris. It features six performances utilizing his program, which responds to and improvises with the musicians. Each performance features a different ensemble, creating a dynamic dialogue between the performers and the computer. This album showcases Lewis' groundbreaking work with electronics and his ability to foster interaction between human and machine in music.
Ikons (1994)
Ikons exemplifies Lewis' innovative use of electronic effects to shape his music. In this piece, computer-modified instruments create a layered sonic landscape. It blends improvisation with structured composition, allowing performers to influence the piece uniquely with each performance.
Influence and Legacy
Lewis' work played a key role in advancing the use of electronic music in both jazz and chamber music. His groundbreaking computer programs, such as Voyager, laid the foundation for integrating AI in music. Additionally, he contributed to the AACM's efforts to push jazz forward, promoting improvisation as an essential element alongside traditional composition. Currently a professor of American Music at Columbia University, Lewis has received numerous prestigious awards, including the MacArthur Fellowship (2002) and the Guggenheim Fellowship (2015).
George Lewis' groundbreaking work with electronics made him a pioneer of a new musical form, and, building on his remarkable skills as a jazz trombonist, he evolved into a truly unique composer. The New Yorker describes him as "one of the most formidable figures in modern music: a composer of international renown, a legendary improvising trombonist, a computer-music pioneer, a professor at Columbia, and a stalwart of the Black avant-garde collective known as the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians." His influence on improvisation and technology in music continues to resonate today.
Learn More:
Lifting the Cone of Silence from Black Composers article written by George Lewis on the New York Times
George E. Lewis, Professor Profile – Department of Music at Columbia University
Decolonizing the Concert Hall with George Lewis – Chamber Music America
George Lewis on Spotify
