Lewis, Sabby (William Sebastian)
Lewis, Sabby (William Sebastian)
Lewis, Sabby (William Sebastian), jazz pianist, leader, arranger; b. Middleburg, N.C., Nov. 1,1914; d. Boston, Mass., July 9, 1994. A legend in Boston, yet little known elsewhere, his fine band featured Big Nick Nicholas and Paul Gonsalves. Sabby was raised in Philadelphia. As a child he hated playing the piano, but his mother insisted that he learn. When, as a teenager, he discovered that the piano was a good way to attract girls, he became enthusiastic. He moved to Boston in 1932 and began gigging on piano. His first professional work came with Tasker Crosson’s Ten Statesmen (1934). In 1936 he formed his own seven-piece band for a residency in Wilmington, Mass., then led a small band in Boston and N.Y., before augmenting it in the early 1940s. He led his own big band for several years, including a residency at Club Zanzibar, N.Y. (1944). He also became Boston’s first black disc jockey in the late 1940s. During the 1950s he reverted to a small group. Throughout the 1960s continued to lead his own band, mainly active in Boston. He was temporarily absent from music in 1963 due to injuries sustained in a car crash. He worked primarily in New England during the 1970s. He died at Mass. General Hospital after a brief illness.
—John Chilton Who’s Who of Jazz/Lewis Porter