Lew Shaw admits he can’t sing and he doesn’t play an instrument. But over the past 30 years he has become a Jazz Hero as a chronicler for various publications of jazz events and musicians nationally, and a producer, promoter, and advocate for the performance and perpetuation of classic jazz in Arizona. This year, he was so honored by the Jazz Journalists Association as one of 20 individuals and groups who have made significant contributions in the performance, promotion, and perpetuation of jazz in their local communities.
In acknowledging the honor, Lew commented, “It’s nice to be recognized, and I appreciate that. Writing has always been one of the joys of my life. So it’s been most satisfying to have helped sustain a viable publication that publicizes this original American art form and to give broader recognition to the talented and deserving musicians who perform this music.”
Lew grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts during the big band era, listening to remote broadcasts from ballrooms across the country and occasionally catching a touring band on the bill with a movie at a theater in his hometown. “That was our entertainment,” he says, referring to those pre-television, pre-Internet days.
Lew is a World War II Navy veteran and a graduate of Brown University. His first venture into jazz journalism was as the publicist for the Berkshire Music Barn in Leno
