James "Mingo" Lewis (born 8 December 1953) is an American percussionist and drummer who played with Santana, Al Di Meola, Return to Forever (he was a band member for Di Meola's first five albums), and The Tubes.

James Mingo Lewis
Birth nameJames Mingo Lewis
Born (1953-12-08) December 8, 1953 (age 70)
New York City, U.S.
GenresJazz, Rock, Fusion, Electronic, Salsa
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)Drums, Congas, percussion, keyboards Synthesizer
LabelsColumbia

Playing edit

Lewis plays congas, bongos, timbales, vibraslap, drums, bells, güiro, gong, Syndrum, bata, tambourine, cowbell and assorted percussion.[1]

Writing edit

Lewis is credited with composition of one song on four of the first five Di Meola albums: "The Wizard" on Land of the Midnight Sun, "Flight Over Rio" on Elegant Gypsy, and "Chasin' The Voodoo" on Casino (retitled from his composition Frankinsence on his 1976 album Flight Never Ending). For The Tubes album Now Lewis wrote "God-Bird-Change", which he reprised on Di Meola's Electric Rendezvous

Selected discography edit

As Band Leader edit

  • Flight Never Ending (1976)

As session player edit

With Al Di Meola edit

With The Tubes edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Mingo Lewis". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 November 2018.