*** Welcome to piglix ***

Jeannie Lewis


Jean Ethel "Jeannie" Lewis (born 8 January 1945) is an Australian musician and stage performer whose work covers many different styles such as folk, jazz, Latin, blues, opera, rock and fusion. Her music often includes a strong social consciousness and political statements.

Lewis attended Sydney Girls High School and studied at the University of Sydney. She began her musical career in the 1960s in Sydney. She was a part of the York Gospel Singers and the Radiation Quartet and sang with The Ray Price Jazz Quintet, The Nat Oliver Jazz Band and The Alan Lee Jazz Quintet.

Lewis was a member of the Sydney University Organising Committee for Action on Aboriginal Rights to organise action around National Aborigines Day on 8 July 1964. She was arrested in a demonstration in May 1964 at Wynyard, and she helped arrange the folk singers for a concert in Hyde Park to raise funds for the Freedom Ride, as well as appearing in another fundraising concert at Paddington Town Hall. She represented Australia at the International Festival of Contemporary Song in Cuba in 1967.

In 1970, Lewis performed with Tully in an ambitious rock performance named Love 200 which involved 2 vocalists, a rock band, a Lightshow from Roger Foley-Fogg aka Ellis D Fogg and a Symphony Orchestra. Created by Peter Sculthorpe it was written to commemorate the Captain Cook bicentennial and explored themes of Captain Cook's journey to plot the transit of Venus in 1770, the voyage that led to his "discovery" of Australia. Also in 1970 Lewis had a band named Gypsy Train. In March 1971 Love 200 travelled to Adelaide and this time Lewis performed with Fraternity, fronted by Bon Scott, and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Lewis also appeared on the Ray Price Jazz Quintet album Spectrum, and in April performed at the Timeless Trip at Fairlight with eight other performers.


...
Wikipedia

...