Don Lewis is an asset tothe vitality of jazz in Milwaukee. As founding director of the Young Urban Jazz Creative Arts Foundation, he nurtures fledgling talents who otherwise may lack the opportunity. He's also a fine trumpet player. Lewis' harmonious hard-bop, along with excursions that touch on funk and fusion, stays on point with tonal richness. It's when he sings, as he does on two of the 10 tracks, that the proceedings get dicey. He's amiable enough, recalling a less-polished Swamp Dogg or Clarence "Blowfly" Reid, but his songsbluesy, '70s R&B celebrations of his hometown and meeting the right womandon't match his proficiency on his main instrument. But when sticking to what he does best, Lewis is superb.
Don Lewis
On the Other Side of Town (L-Town)
