Don Ewell
b. 14 November 1916, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, d. 9 August 1983. Although classically trained on piano, Ewell was drawn to jazz and in particular to the music of the early jazz masters of New Orleans. This was despite the fact that by the mid-30s, which was when his career got under way, such forms were suffering a decline in popularity under the commercial pressures of the swing era. Undeterred, Ewell followed his bent, working with Bunk Johnson in the mid-40s and later in the decade with Muggsy Spanier and Sidney Bechet. Stylistically, he was influenced by pianists as different as Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller and Jimmy Yancey. In the mid-50s Ewell began a particularly rewarding association with Jack Teagarden, which lasted until the trombonist's death in 1964. Thereafter, Ewell toured extensively, sometimes in bands, sometimes in harness with fellow pianist Willie The Lion Smith, but mostly as a soloist, until his death in 1983. Although capable of playing rousing barrelhouse style, he was also able to produce exceptionally fine and intricate playing.