50 Most Influential Musicians

Dave Lewis

Lewis was the leader of Seattle’s first significant African American 1950s rock and roll band, touring the region as the opening act for dances headlined by Bill Haley and His Comets in 1956. In 1957, the Dave Lewis Combo scored the plum gig as house band at the town’s hottest R & B nightclub, the Birdland, where they were likely the first area band to begin playing what would eventually become the region’s signature song, “Louie Louie.” At that time, Seattle’s twin musician unions were still racially segregated, but the Dave Lewis Combo’s growing popularity was such that the ballroom fought the white union by booking him. The Combo’s regular jam sessions at the Birdland attracted many an ambitious local player—including a teenager then known as “Jimmy” Hendrix—but in 1962 Lewis traded his quintet for a trio and his piano for an organ. That’s when his radio hits began flowing, with 1963’s “David’s Mood (Part 2)” and 1964’s “Little Green Thing” being among the best—tunes that white Northwest bands (the Kingsmen, Dynamics, Viceroys, Counts, and others) would soon adopt and cover. —PB

Because of him… Seattle’s 1950s entertainment scene started on the path to desegregation.
Now hear this: The History of Northwest Rock, Vol. 1 includes the 
Dave Lewis Trio’s radio hit, “David’s Mood (Part 2)”—an organ-led, 
pop instrumental whose secret weapon is its addictive “Louie 
Louie”–like groove.

Eyvind Kang

Legend has it that the city of Yelm, Washington, gets its name from a Salish term that describes the effect that occurs when heat from the sun hits the moisture of the prairie, resulting in a shimmering cloud. Kang, who lives on Vashon Island and plays all things stringed (and even tuba), employs that pastoral image to great effect as a jumping-off point on his newest release The Yelm Sessions. Kang’s sonic adventures can’t be contained by any category and often leave the realm of music entirely for the densest regions of philosophy and spirituality. He’s as comfortable in the forest of dark heavy metal—accompanying the oddly named Sunn O)))—as he is in the ornate music of Persia that he explored with Amir Koushkani on In the Path of Love. And as indispensable session musician he can be heard on Seattleite Bill Frisell ’s recent History, Mystery. —RR

Because of him… Jazz exploded its boundaries.
Now hear this: “The Circle of Fair Karma Part 2” from The Story of Iceland starts out as a simple music exercise written for trumpet and violin but climbs to a symphonic height.

Photo: Courtesy Tendai Maraire

Dumisani Maraire

Abraham Dumisani Maraire—“Dumi” to his friends and students—brought the music of the Zimbabwean mbira (a thumb piano featuring metal “tongues”) and marimba (a xylophone-like percussion instrument with hard wooden keys) to Seattle in 1968 as a visiting artist in the University of Washington’s ethnomusicology program. The music he introduced uses a western scale comparable to the white keys on a piano—with an extra F-sharp thrown in for good measure—and rhythms that are exotic yet approachable. He encouraged others to build their own instruments and form their own groups. A typical marimba ensemble might include eight or more instruments, ranging from a three-foot-long soprano to a bass that can be eight feet long. The infectious sound of a marimba ensemble is now common at dances, concerts, festivals, and street fairs in Seattle. —JR

Because of him… Hundreds of American and Canadian marimba and mbira groups trace their origins to Seattle.
Now hear this: “Mai Nozipo” (Mother Nozipo), Maraire’s own composition, features on the Kronos Quartet’s Pieces of Africa with Maraire himself as one of the musicians.

Pages:1234567891011121314

Published: December 2008