James "Mingo" Lewis (born 8 December 1953) is an American percussionist and drummer who played with

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer * Sailboat designs by W. D. Schock Corp ** Santana 20 ** Santan ...

Al Di Meola Albert Laurence Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American guitarist. Known for his work in jazz fusion and world music, his breakthrough came after joining Chick Corea's Return to Forever group in 1974. He launched, from 1976 afterwards, a s ...

(he was a band member for Di Meola's first five albums),

Return to Forever Return to Forever was an American jazz fusion band that was founded by pianist Chick Corea in 1972. The band has had many members, with the only consistent bandmate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke. Along with Weather Report, The Headhun ...

, and

The Tubes The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their self-titled 1975 debut album included the single " White Punks on Dope", while their 1983 single " She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the ear ...

Playing

Lewis plays

congas The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are stave (wood), staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (drum), quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), an ...

bongos Bongos (Spanish language, Spanish: ''bongó'') are an Afro-Cubans, Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger ''hembra'' () and the smaller ''macho'' ...

timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfic ...

vibraslap The vibraslap is a percussion instrument consisting of a piece of stiff wire (bent into a U-shape) connecting a wooden ball to a hollow box of wood with metal "teeth" inside. The percussionist holds the metal wire in one hand and strikes the ba ...

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, bells,

güiro The güiro () is a percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines (see photo) along the notches to produce a ratchet sound. The güiro is commonly ...

gong A gongFrom Indonesian language, Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and ...

, Syndrum, bata,

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell (instrument), bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. ...

and assorted percussion.

Writing

Lewis is credited with composition of one song on four of the first five Di Meola albums: "The Wizard" on ''Land of the Midnight Sun'', "Flight Over Rio" on ''Elegant Gypsy'', and "Chasin' The Voodoo" on ''Casino'' (retitled from his composition ''Frankinsence'' on his 1976 album ''Flight Never Ending''). For The Tubes album Now Lewis wrote "God-Bird-Change", which he reprised on Di Meola's Electric Rendezvous

Selected discography

As Band Leader

* ''Flight Never Ending'' (1976)

As session player

* Santana - ''

Caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...

'' (1972) * '' Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles! Live!'' (1972) * Return To Forever - '' Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy'' (1973) * Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin - '' Love Devotion Surrender'' (1973) * Billy Joel - '' Turnstiles'' (1976) * Todd Rundgren - '' Nearly Human'' (1982) *

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (vocals, guitars) and Colin Moulding (vocals, bass), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing ...

- '' Skylarking'' (1986)

With Al Di Meola

* '' Land of the Midnight Sun'' (1976) * ''

Elegant Gypsy ''Elegant Gypsy'' is the second album by American jazz fusion guitarist Al Di Meola. It was released in 1977 by Columbia Records. Background ''Elegant Gypsy'' was a follow-up album to Di Meola's debut release, '' Land of the Midnight Sun''. The ...

'' (1977) * ''

Casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

'' (1978) * '' Splendido Hotel'' (1980) * '' Electric Rendezvous'' (1982)

With The Tubes

* '' Now'' (1977) * '' What Do You Want from Live'' (1978) * ''

Remote Control A remote control, also known colloquially as a remote or clicker, is an consumer electronics, electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operat ...

'' (1979) * '' T.R.A.S.H. (Tubes Rarities and Smash Hits)'' (1981)

References

1950 births 20th-century American composers 20th-century American drummers American jazz drummers American jazz keyboardists American jazz percussionists American male drummers Batá drummers Bongo players Castanets players Jazz musicians from New York (state) Living people Maracas players Santana (band) members Timbaleros American male jazz musicians Conga players Synth-pop albums by British artists Synth-pop albums by American artists Al Di Meola albums Chick Corea albums Return to Forever albums XTC albums Brian Eno albums David Byrne albums The Tubes members The Tubes albums Drummers from New York City {{Percussionist-stub