In memoriam: Lew Soloff
Lewis “Lew” Michael Soloff, perhaps best known or his work with the band Blood, Sweat & Tears, passed away at the age of 71.
The cause of death was a heart attack.
Soloff grew up in Lakewood, New Jersey, and began playing trumpet at the age of 10. He attended the Eastman School of Music, and he studied briefly at Juilliard before he started playing with Maynard Ferguson, Tito Puente, and Machito. In his career, he played with Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Lou Reed, Gil Evans, Paul Simon, Dizzy Gillespie, and many others. He was also the lead trumpet of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra as well as the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band. He played classically with the Manhattan Brass quintet. He also released eight albums as a band leader. Soloff was a versatile musician who performed in a variety of genres. He is quoted in The Jerusalem Post saying, “The key to what I like to do is improvise.”
Soloff grew up in Lakewood, New Jersey, and began playing trumpet at the age of 10. He attended the Eastman School of Music, and he studied briefly at Juilliard before he started playing with Maynard Ferguson, Tito Puente, and Machito. In his career, he played with Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Lou Reed, Gil Evans, Paul Simon, Dizzy Gillespie, and many others. He was also the lead trumpet of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra as well as the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band. He played classically with the Manhattan Brass quintet. He also released eight albums as a band leader. Soloff was a versatile musician who performed in a variety of genres. He is quoted in The Jerusalem Post saying, “The key to what I like to do is improvise.”
Soloff replaced Randy Brecker in Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1968. The rock band, one of the first to include a horn section, won a Grammy Award for their self-titled album released in 1968. Soloff played a significant and memorable solo on the tune Spinning Wheel, which was removed from the song for radio play but remained on the record.
Soloff, who left the band in 1973 to pursue more improvisational opportunities and new musical challenges, toured the world with the group, and when they played for 14,500 fans in 1970 at Madison Square Gardens, the opening act was a sextet led by Miles Davis.
Soloff is survived by two daughters, Laura Solomon and Lena Soloff, and two grandchildren.