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Old News
All news posted to the main index page of
EddieLewis.com is archived here for visitors like you. Please
feel free to browse through these postings or click on a different
year to dig even deeper into the past.
Click here for the
2008 News
Archives.
2009 News Archives:
Website Update 8.19.9
Ear Training Links
Ear training is an important part of every music student's
development. We have searched the internet for free ear
training websites and posted links to the two we thought
were most useful for our students. You can find those links
on the lesson " practice
materials" page.
Performance News 7.9.9
Blue Gnus - Trio

Eddie Lewis stood in as leader of the Blue Gnus'
Independence Day performance at
Bayou Bend. The
ensemble performed as a trio for this event. The group
did a live broadcast at KUHF. To hear the four songs
the performed for that broadcast, please click
HERE.
Performance News 6.16.9
Texas Music Festival
Jazz Project

This was a great set of performances. The band is beginning to
evolve after about a decade of performances. Just about everyone
was featured as Houston's top jazz players showcased. The
ensemble performs twice each year. If you missed this one, you
can catch them again in the Spring.
Website Update 5.29.9
Play Along MP3s
We just added a a few play along mp3s for the jazz students to practice
with.
You can access these files on the " Practice
Materials" page. We had intended to offer longer files
with eleven total choruses each, but they were each about 15
MB. The shorter files are not as practical but we are
limited to this file size for now. Future projects may allow
for more space for these kinds of utilities.
Performance News 5.28.9
David Caceres Band

We had a great time in San Antonio over the weekend.
The gig was fun. David hired an extra percussionist - who Eddie had
worked with before at a big Tejano concert a couple of years ago.
Then after the gig was over, we decided to spend the holiday
weekend there in San Antonio. We had a great time!
Performance News
5.19.9
It was great to see so many people showing their support for a
local guitar hero. Many of Houston's top musicians performed at
this event and it seems to have drawn a pretty big crowd of
fans. Mike Nase is a fantastic player and a great person. We
wish him all of God's best and a speedy recovery.
Eddie Lewis performed with this "regional" big band
at the SPJST hall in Houston on Saturday night. The
ballroom was packed with an encouraging number of
ballroom dancers of all ages. Whether they were
dancing to the tango or the foxtrot, the dance floor
was blessed with the elegance and grace of an era
that sometimes seems forgotten.
Website Updates 5.14.9
News Item Boxes
We are working to create a more sleek design for our
news and updates.
Unfortunately, the CSS isn't working correctly on
IE7. It looks fine on IE8, which is the newest
version of Internet Explorer. We are considering
leaving it this way for now. Please let us know if
you currently use IE7 with no intentions to upgrade.
Thanks.
Favicon
We've added a favicon.ico to the site, finally, after almost fifteen years
of webhosting.
Performance News
5.4.9
Jazz in the morning performed at St Stephen Presbyterian on
Sunday. They liked the band so much that they stuffed us
full of BBQ afterwards. :-)
Performance News 5.4.9
The Happenings
This was an exciting gig for Eddie Lewis. They played some
of the old songs his father used to listen to when Mr. Lewis
was a kid. They even played a Beach Boys medley.
Website Update 4.28.9
Chord Chart
We just added a
chord chart similar to the chart Eddie Lewis used when
he was in high school. The chart spells out all of the basic
chord types on each of the twelve chromatic notes. This is
for the jazz students who don't know all of the chords yet
but are required to play the arpeggios for their lessons.
Student News 4.17.9
Half Price Sale
for New Students
New students are encouraged to take advantage of our new
offer: HALF PRICE LESSONS with Eddie Lewis for the first
month. The banner ad is on every page of this site so you
can't miss it!!!
This sale is now expired. Thank you.
Performance News 4.14.9
Blue Gnus
at Liberty High School

The Blue Gnus traveled to Liberty High School this week to
perform and educate the band students about the history of
jazz.
The Blue Gnus is a
Young Audiences group that has been playing school
concerts for over two decades.
OnOn the way home we saw this rare sight (rare for Houston)... a Swallow Tailed
Kite. It was very exciting to see this bird glide from
treetop to treetop hunting for food.

Consort Immanuel
Easter Performance

4/14/2008
After a anxious week of last minute scheduling, Consort
Immanuel pulled off their Easter Performance at Spring
Cyprus Presbyterian Church with a flare. We were blessed to
have a great team of players; Chad Willis on trumpet, Greg
Davis on horn, Gavin Smith on trombone and Jeremy Caruthers
on tuba. Thanks guys for a fantastic job!!
Student News:
Alex Lewis

4/14/2009
Alex had the opportunity to play his first gig at
St. Thomas Presbyterian Church. It was an Easter gig with
two other trumpet players.
The Grooves are SO GROOVY!!!
3/23/2008
Mr. Lewis always enjoys playing with The Grooves, a party
band based out of Austin. They played a wedding reception on
Saturday night in full disco garb. Groovy man, just groovy. :-)

An Expression of Grace Update:
Sleep Poem
3/22/2008
Just added a new Christian "blog" to one of my other
websites. Just something to think about...
Website Update:
Apology to Firefox Users
3/18/2008
Several people brought a CSS issue to our attention over the
past several weeks. Apparently, the main content of each
page on EddieLewis.com had shifted to the left, covering all
of the navigational menus. We are not sure how long this has
been a problem, but we believe the issue has been solved.
Thank you for letting us know and we apologize for any
inconveniences it has caused.
Student News:
Elijah Micheaux
3/12/2009
Elijah performed Centaurus by Vandercook and got a
first division rating. Elijah is a fifth grader who
definitely doesn't sound like a fifth grader.
Congratulations!!!
Student News:
Tyler Huning
3/10/2009
Congrats go out to Tyler Huning for getting a first
division rating on his solo performance of Allegro (from
Trio No.18) by George Druschetzky. The judge commented that
Tyler was well prepared and we agree completely.
Congratulations Tyler!
Student News:
Kathryn Beazley
3/10/2009
Kathryn Beazley did a wonderful job on her
performance of Sound an Alarm by G.F. Handel. She was
awarded a first division rating. Good job for doing so well
on your first solo contest with braces.
Student News:
Jeffery Stone
3/10/2009
Jeffery Stone performed Earl D. Irons' trumpet solo
titled "Song of the Pines" and got a first division rating.
This was Jeffery's first attempt at performing a "class one"
solo and his efforts were rewarded.
"In Due Time" by Kris Becker
3/7/2009
Kris Becker just posted a sound clip (on his
MySpace
page) from his recent recording session which features Eddie
Lewis and Kelly Dean. The tune is called "In Due Time" and was
recorded at Sugar Hill Recording Studios. The recording was
done "live" which means all of the band was in the studio
recording at the same time; no overdubs and no fixed notes.
Student News:
John Nelson
3/7/2009
Congratulations to John Nelson who finished the
Getchell book in a record time and is ready to get started
learning how to play jazz.
Student News:
Music Listening Library!
3/6/2009
This is an excellent opportunity for Eddie Lewis'
students. Mr. Lewis has long touted the importance of
listening. Now he has made a majority of his own listening
library available to the students to "check out" the same
way they would at the public library. Now there's no excuse!
Mr. Lewis has said for years that "listening is more
important than practicing". Now he's going to back it up by
giving you access to his CDs.
Student News:
Alex Lewis
2/28/2009
Alex (Eddie's son) performed Leroy Anderson's
"Trumpeter's Lullaby" and got a first division rating. Alex
is a Freshman at Dobie High School but has only been playing
trumpet for two years.
Student News:
Tanner Scarlatto
2/28/2009
Tanner also received a first division rating at
solo contest. We will keep you informed on his
progress as he moves forward to "State" (his contest was a
UIL contest).
Student News:
Kathryn Beazley
2/24/2009
Congrats go out to Kathryn for making second chair
this week after a chair test.
Texas Music Festival Jazz
Project

2/24/2008
Eddie performed with this band over
the weekend and Pin Lim was there again to take pictures.
Here is a shot of the trumpet section
http://forestphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/
This picture features Dennis Dotson, Eddie Lewis, Mike
Harris and Danny Williams (left to right).
Ed Gerlach
2/14/2009
Eddie Lewis was honored and pleased to perform
once again with this Houston legend on Friday night. Big
band music is becoming increasingly rare as the WWII
generation continues to thin. This is why Mr. Lewis counts
it a blessing every time he gets the call to play with this
excellent band.
Recording Session:
Kris Becker
2/14/2009
Eddie Lewis and Kelly Dean did a quick
recording session for Kris. We put down a few takes of an
original Latin tune he composed called "In Due Time".
Student News:
Milton Cousins
2/12/2009
Milton just informed us that he also has earned a
first division rating on his solo for solo contest. Milton
is a seventh grader and he performed
Conversation for Cornet by Clare Grundman. Good job
Milton!!!
Student News:
Will Cook
2/10/2009
Will Cook, a freshman at Lufkin High School, earned
a first division for his solo performance of
Concert Etude by Alexander
Goedicke. Congratulations Will. You've had a great year!
Student News:
Brandon Haskins
2/4/2009
Another news update, Brandon has also earned a
"one" on his solo. Brandon tackled a very difficult solo for
a Sophomore in high school, Maid of
the Mist by Herbert L. Clarke. Congrats Brandon!!!
Student News:
David Alexander
2/4/2009
Congratulations go out to David for earning a first
division rating at solo contest this year. David performed
All 'Antica by A. Goeyens.
Diane
Schuur
w/ the
Richard Brown Orchestra
1/13/2009
Eddie Lewis performed with the Richard Brown
Orchestra backing Diane Schuur and some well known theatre
vocalists. This was a charity event held by
Cabaret for a Cure.
Trumpets of Jubilee

1/13/2009
An exciting trumpet concert featuring eight
professional trumpet players and fourteen of Eddie Lewis'
students was a great success. This was the third FREE
concert that Consort Immanuel has presented since November
of 2007 and the first of this year's five concert season.
For more information about This concert and other events
hosted by Consort Immanuel, please visit that website at
www.ConsortImmanuel.org.
Website Update

1/13/2009
We are just about finished upgrading this site to
be "standards based" throughout. Most of these changes will
go unnoticed by the casual visitor. For those who pay more
attention to detail, you will see a more congruent look from
one page to the next. This is the first step in a three step
upgrade. We are trying to move the site forward in
technology with these upgrades while keeping the same color
schemes, style and general layout as has become traditional
with EddieLewis.com.
NYE in Las Vegas

1/5/2009
Eddie Lewis' NYE gig was in Las Vegas this year. The David
Caceres band performed at a private party hosted by Tilman Fertita
at the Golden Nugget. The band was put up at the MGM Grand hotel
(pictured above).
New Lesson Rates
$35 per half hour
1/5/2009
Lesson rates for new students have now been raised
to $35 per half hour. This is the base rate. Most student
are eligible for at least one discount. Please see the
Lesson Rates page for
details.
Student News:
Alex Lewis
12/19/2008
Eddie Lewis' son, Alex, got second chair in the
Dobie High School concert band. Alex's main instrument is
the piano and has only been playing trumpet for two years.
So this is a great accomplishment for someone just getting
started on the instrument.
Student News:
Will Cook
12/16/2008
After winning spots in the region jazz band and the
region orchestra, Will has now taken first place in the
Freshman region band and third place in the regular,
upperclassman region band. Will is a Freshman at Lufkin High
School and has been studying with Eddie Lewis for a little
over a year and a half. Congratulations!
Ho, Ho, Holiday Brass

12/16/2008
Amongst his teaching responsibilities and busy performance
schedule, Eddie Lewis has been working quite a bit this year
with the Holiday Brass. This is a seasonal band that
provides Christmas carols for corporate events (like the
United Way drive at the Houston Chronicle), private parties
and incidental music at various Kroger stores.
Christmas Special at
Grace
12/16/2008
Grace Church of Humble hired Eddie Lewis to play lead in a
horn section for their special Christmas presentation. The
section included Myron Jackson on trumpet, Rene Ornelus on
alto sax and Aubrey Tucker on trombone.
2008 Christmas Message
12/3/2008
This year, Mr. Lewis' Christmas message comes in
the form of a solo instrumental "Miniature". There are two versions:
one for treble clef and the other for bass clef.
Student News:
Kyle Taylor
12/3/2008
We've just been informed that Kyle made the
Freshman All-Region band. He is auditioning again for
the regular All-Region band next week. Good luck and
congratulations Kyle!
Student News:
Rate Change as of 1 Jan 2009
12/1/2008
It's very important that students who are interesting in signing up
for lessons with Eddie Lewis do so in the next few weeks to avoid
paying a higher rate for lessons. As of January 1st, the "base rate"
will go up to $35 per half hour. The "base rate" is the rate that
your discounts are taken from. So a student who commits to hour
lessons with a weekly commitment discount will pay $55 for each
lesson ($35 + $35 - $10 - $5). If you get in on the current rate,
you will only pay $50 for the same lessons. Remember that your
lesson "base rate" is fixed for as long as you stay in
good standing. For
more information about rates and the scheduled increase, please
click HERE.
Student News:
Will Cook
11/28/2008
Congrats go out to Will Cook who, as a Freshman, won the second
trumpet spot in his region's All-Region Orchestra.
New MySpace
Newsletter
11/24/2008
You are invited to read Eddie Lewis' new MySpace blog/newsletter.
This time he writes about his recent gig with Consort Immanuel, his
twenty year anniversary as a Houston musician and the end of his
tenure as trumpet player at Quail Valley Church.
Jazz Houston Article:
The Life Cycle of a Plant

11/21/2008
You are invited to read Mr. Lewis' new article posted to
JazzHouston.com. Eddie has
been a contributing editor for Houston's most popular music website
for many years now, contributing jazz related articles on a regular
basis.
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