02/23/2026
Here is a JOE LEWIS BLACK HISTORY MOMENT: Joe Lewis will be 90 years old in one month, and is one of the oldest STILL PERFORMING Jazz Musicians in Mobile! Joe has been performing Jazz Music on the Mobile Jazz scene since he was a high school student at Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic School - over 70 years!
Fun Fact: the first person to open the door to Jazz for him in Mobile was Saxophonist Joe Morris, deceased father of Mobile Jazz Drummer Bryan Morris. Mr. Morris also sold Mr. Joe his first saxophone.
Another Fun Fact: In High School, Joe was one of the best BARITONE HORN PLAYERS in Mobile!! He went into the Air Force playing the Baritone Horn and travelled overseas playing Baritone Horn! When he moved to a new duty station where only one person knew him, he started plaing saxophone and dared him to tell (Mr. Joe was pretty OG!) And as they say, the REST is history!
Mr. Joe has not only played Jazz, but taught it as well. The MCPSS program Music and Me from the late 80' was his brain child about giving children an opportunity to grow in music being taught by one of the best! In the early 90's, Mr. Joe opened Akoluthia Institute of Music in Mobile. Later, Mr. Joe evolved into Joe Lewis Music Studio. Many a musician across the area (including Baldwin County) attribute their beginnings to some level of training from Jazzman Joe.
Mr. Joe has played with most older musicians in Mobile, from Fred Wesley to Roy Merriweather, Jabo Starks to Hosea London, Joe Morris to E.B. Coleman. Mr. Joe marched with the Excesior Band beginning in the 1950s through the late 1980s. He and his brothers had one of the most successful bands on the Gulf Coast in the 1970s and 1980s. And not only does Mr. Joe PLAY Jazz, he also WRITES and ARRANGES all his own music. As a matter of fact, if you ever listen to the SOS band Take Your Time, the horn section arrangement is some of his handiwork!
Mr. Joe also does GOSPEL! He was the Minister of Music at St. James Major Catholic Church in Prichard for over 20 years and even wrote a Mass for their church dedication. Mr. Joe has written and released several Gospel CDs along with multiple Jazz Cds.
One of the biggest accomplishments Mr. Joe will tell you about is is 69 1/2 year marriage to his wife Gwendolyn Lewis that ended when she transitioned from life to glory on January 23, 2025. While serving as her caregiver, he stepped back from music, his second love. He is now settling into his new normal without his best friend.
At present, Mr. Joe is working on his 90th Birthday Jazz Concert which will take place on SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2026 from 6pm-9pm at Butlers Event Center on Highway 90 in Mobile, Alabama. Tickets are $75.00 and can be purchased at www.joelewismusicllc.com . Come out and celebrate living history with us!
