LEWIS NASH
“Rhythm Is My Business” is the title of his 1989 debut recording as a bandleader, and legendary drummer Lewis Nash is all about the business of keeping rhythm. Universally recognized as one of the great drummers in jazz history, his illustrious career now spans over four decades.
Nash is one of jazz’s most recorded musicians, appearing on over 500 recordings including 10 Grammy winners and numerous Grammy nominees. In fact, Nash has the distinction of being the only musician in jazz history featured on the winners in both the “Best Jazz Vocal” and “Best Jazz Instrumental” album categories in two separate years: the 2004 Grammys with Nancy Wilson and McCoy Tyner, and again in 2010 with Dee Dee Bridgewater and James Moody.
A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Lewis arrived in New York City in 1981 at the age of 22 and first gained international recognition as a member of vocalist Betty Carter’s trio. This was a pivotal time in his development, as he traveled the world for nearly 4 years with Carter and had the opportunity to meet and engage with many of his musical peers and predecessors. In the years to follow, Nash toured, recorded and performed with many of jazz’s most celebrated icons, and his resume reads like a “who’s who” of jazz royalty. These jazz legends include: Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, JJ Johnson, Sonny Rollins, Tommy Flanagan, Sonny Stitt, Clark Terry, Stan Getz, Benny Golson, Art Farmer, Gerry Mulligan, Hank Jones, Horace Silver, McCoy Tyner, Ray Brown, Milt Jackson, Jimmy Heath, Randy Weston, Cedar Walton, Ron Carter, Wynton and Branford Marsalis, and many, many more!
In 2012, The Nash, a jazz education center and performance venue named in Lewis’s honor, was established in his home town of Phoenix. It has been a focal point of the city’s jazz activity since it’s inception, and has been named consistently by Downbeat magazine as a top jazz venue. Jazz masters Randy Weston, Jimmy Cobb and Roy Hargrove played some of the final performances of their careers at The Nash.
Lewis is in great demand for his educational expertise as well as his drumming skills, and presents clinics, masterclasses and workshops at institutions worldwide. He was a member of the very first jazz studies faculty at The Juilliard School in 2001, and has been a member of the faculty of the annual Vail Jazz Workshop for the past 20 years. In 2017, Nash joined the jazz studies faculty at Arizona State University, where he was named the Bob and Gretchen Ravenscroft Professor of Practice in Jazz. In early 2021, the Lewis Nash Scholarship Endowment was created by the university to be awarded annually to a deserving ASU undergraduate or graduate jazz performance student.
BILL EASLEY
Bill Easley has had a diversified career as a professional musician. He joined the musicians union, Local 115 in 1959. 2023 marks the 64th year of his professional career. Bill represents the fourth generation of a family dedicated to music.
Bill started playing professionally with his parents at the age of thirteen. The Bob Easley Combo played country clubs, dances, and night clubs in and around his hometown of Olean, NY. This early experience gave him the foundation on which to build a long and rewarding career.
He moved to New York City in September of 1964. He was a part time student at the Julliard School of Music while getting his feet wet in the uptown Jazz Scene. The U.S. Draft Board had other plans and Bill did his military service with the 9th Army Band in Fairbanks, Alaska.
After military service, Easley joined The George Benson Quartet in January of 1968 and traveled with the great guitarists for the remainder of the decade. This band worked in legendary jazz spots including Minton’s Playhouse in New York, The Plugged Nickel in Chicago, The Jazz Workshop in Boston, and The Hurricane in Pittsburgh.
Following a brief residence in Pittsburgh, PA, the internal voice (instinct) led him to Memphis, Tennessee. In Memphis he did a variety of things including: performing and recording with Isaac Hayes, other studio work, big bands, show bands, and jazz clubs. He also continued his formal education at Memphis State University. It was in the mid-1970s that Easley first toured with the Duke Ellington Orchestra under the direction of Mercer Ellington. In January of 1980, Bill moved back to New York City with the promise of a job on Broadway.
His Broadway Credits Include: Sophisticated Ladies, The Wiz, Black and Blue, Jelly’s Last Jam, Swingin On A Star, Play On, Fosse, The Wild Party, After Midnight, and Shuffle Along
Easley had traveling and recording experiences with such notables as: George Benson, Ruth Brown, Isaac Hayes, Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Bobby Short, Louie Bellson, Wynton Marsalis, Nicholas Payton, Charles McPherson, James Williams, Sir Roland Hanna, Earl May, Illinois Jacquett, Ron Carter, Frank Foster, Mercer Ellington, Warren Vache, Panama Francis, Grady Tate and many more. In addition to his extensive discography as a sideman, he also has seven recordings as a leader: Wind Inventions, First Call, Easley Said, Business Man’s Bounce, Hearing Voices, Love Stories, and Diversitonic. His arsenal of woodwind instruments includes: Tenor, Alto and Soprano Saxophones, Clarinet and Bass Clarinet, Flute and Alto Flute and piccolo.
Bill was a part of the Jazz Repertory Movement, playing in The American Jazz Orchestra (John Lewis); The Smithsonian Jazz Orchestra (David Baker); and The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (Wynton Marsalis), and twice with The Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra (Jon Faddis)
St. Bonaventure University, near Olean, NY, presented its first Regina B. Quick Award to Bill Easley on April 19, 1997. The Bill Easley Quartet returned to St. Bonaventure University to play for a packed house at the Regina A. Quick Arts Center for the Performing Arts on April
29, 2006.
The journey continued with a trip back to Broadway in March of 2014 and again in 2016. The pictures to the left are of my parents combo, where the journey was launched. The past is golden, the present is transitional, and the future is hopefully filled with new surprises and guidance from the Creator.
