Mitchell "Mitch" Lewis (born September 30, 1954, in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist who has been continuously active in the music industry in a variety of genres since 1974.

Career

Lewis' career began in 1974 when a fellow musician paid for his union entrance to have him play on his record. Since then, he has performed or recorded with hundreds of musicians from all over the world and travels extensively for both. As a youth he played with jazz flautist

Jane Bunnett Mary Jane Bunnett, (born October 22, 1956) is a Canadian musician and educator. A soprano saxophonist, flautist and bandleader, she is especially known for performing Afro-Cuban jazz. She travels regularly to Cuba to perform with Cuban musicians. ...

, and more recently, has performed with jazz pianist

Robi Botos Robi Botos is a Hungarian-Canadian jazz pianist. He has recorded several albums as a leader and was the winner of the Concours de Jazz, TD Grand Jazz Award at the 2012 Montreal International Jazz Festival. In 2016, Botos won the JUNO Award for Bes ...

. A shortlist of musicians he has performed or recorded with includes: John Hammond Jr.,

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed "Cleanhead" after an incident in which his hair was ...

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Eric Andersen Eric Andersen (born February 14, 1943) is an American folk music singer-songwriter, who has written songs recorded by Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt, the Grateful Dead, Rick Nelson, and many others. Early in his career, ...

, David Rea,

Murray McLauchlan Murray Edward McLauchlan, (born 30 June 1948) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and harmonica player. He is best known for his Canadian hits "The Farmer's Song," "Whispering Rain," and "Down by the Henry Moore". Early life ...

Sylvia Tyson Sylvia Tyson, (''née'' Fricker; born 19 September 1940) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician and broadcaster. She is best known as part of the folk duo Ian & Sylvia, with Ian Tyson. Since 1993, she has been a member of the all-female folk ...

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, Jackie Washington and

Harry Manx Harry Manx (born 1955) is a Canadian musician who blends blues, folk music, and Hindustani classical music. His official website describes his music as being a "blend Indian folk melodies with slide guitar blues, add a sprinkle of gospel and ...

. For film, he was hired to do guitar arrangements for ''

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'', starring

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, and has worked for

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. He coached

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on guitar for The Vow, and Jessica Chastain on bass for

Mama Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Maternal uncle, in some parts of South Asia Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlement in the Mam ...

. Lewis was also house drummer and multi-instrumentalist for London Home County Music Fest for over eight years, played drums on a tour of Japan with Little Jimmy Bowskill and played guitar with

Jon Lord John Douglas "Jon" Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English keyboardist and composer. In 1968, Lord co-founded the hard rock band Deep Purple. Lord performed on most of the band's most popular songs; he and drummer Ian Paice were the only ...

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Discography

As session musician

* Ron Nigrini: "Above the Noise" OA1201 – "Songs From Turtle Island", OA1202 – "Recordings 1975/1976" (no number) * Rachel Kane: "Groundwire", RK0001 – "All in a Dream", RK0002 * Emigre: Self-titled, Attic Records LAT 1066, 1979. * Mark Haines and Tom Leighton: ''Optimists'', Jig HL0297 – "Hand to Hand", BCD136 – "Foot to Floor", HL1292 * Tom Leighton: ''Leighton Tendencies'' (no number) * Sophia Perlman and The Vipers: "Once Smitten", SPV07 – "The Vipers", (no number) *

Chuck Jackson Charles Benjamin Jackson (July 22, 1937 – February 16, 2023) was an American R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He performed with moderate success starting in 1961. Hi ...

's Big Bad Blues Band: ''A Cup of Joe: A Tribute to Big Joe Turner'', LINUS 270147, 2012 * Caitlin Hanford: ''Bluer Skies'', CAN9027 *

Raffi Raffi Cavoukian (, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the mononym Raffi, is an Armenian-Canadian singer-lyricist and author born in Egypt best known for his children's music. In 1992, ''The Washington Post'' called him "the most p ...

: ''Raffi in Concert with the Rise and Shine Band'', MCAD10035 * The Canadian Aces: ''Live at Alberts Hall'', PACE 058 * Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne: ''88th and Jump St.'', Electro-Fi 3371 * Doc Fingers and his Real Gone Rhythm: "In The Pink", DF006 * Friskey Brown: "Sweet and Slow" * Handsome Dewey and the Swag: "Diamonds and Gasoline" * ''Live at the Reservoir Lounge'' (Compilation) * 2B3: ''The Toronto Sessions'', 2004 * Danny Brooks: ''Soulsville – Souled Out 'n Sanctified'', HIS House Records, 2004 * Michal Hasek and Sundog: "Naja", (recorded 1974)

References

External links

Mitch Lewis' YouTube channel
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Mitch 1954 births Living people Canadian session musicians Canadian jazz musicians Canadian rhythm and blues musicians Canadian children's musicians Canadian guitarists 20th-century Canadian drummers Canadian male drummers Canadian film score composers Canadian male film score composers Musicians from Toronto Canadian male guitarists Canadian male jazz musicians 21st-century Canadian folk musicians 20th-century Canadian folk musicians 21st-century Canadian drummers