Luigi Waites died he was 82. Waites was a jazz drummer and vibraphonist from Omaha, Nebraska. He performed weekly gigs in the Omaha area both solo and with ensembles such as Luigi, INC. He served the Omaha music community for over 60 years. He toured Europe twice and performed with jazz legends such as Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington. Luigi, Inc has shared the stage with Jean-Luc Ponty, James Brown and Dizzy Gillespie.[1] | (July 10, 1927 – April 6, 2010) |
Luigi Waites was born Lewis Waites on July 10, 1927 in Omaha, Nebraska. Waites began playing drums at age twelve, and soon after began playing local nightclubs around Omaha. In those days there were two local musicians unions; one black, one white.
During his high school years, Waites regularly played in bars and clubs which sometimes affected his ability to get enough sleep on school nights. He might perform as a professional musician until the wee hours and then jump into a taxicab standing by in front of his mother's house to rush him to class at Central High School the next morning. This, to the chagrin of some of his instructors, since on a teacher's salary in that day most schoolteachers could not afford to take a cab to work each day. While Waites served in the U.S. Army at Camp Lee, Virginia, he met jazz drummer Elvin Jones.
In 1960, Waites founded The Contemporaries, a multicultural, independent drum corps that featured jazz rhythms, lyres and modern dance steps. Then, during the 1970s, Luigi Waites was a solo artist in The National School Tours program where he performed in classrooms and school assemblies. When leading his band, Luigi Inc, he performed on vibraharp rather than drums. He appeared with the group over 1,700 times on Sunday nights in Omaha at the bar, Mr. Toad.[2]
As a drummer, Luigi Waites was influenced by Buddy Rich, Joe Jones, Louie Bellson and Max Roach.[1]
To see more of who died in 2010 click here
No comments:
Post a Comment