Luigi Waites

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Luigi Waites

Background information
Birth name	Lewis Waites
Born	July 10, 1927(1927-07-10) Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Origin	Omaha, Nebraska
Genre(s)	Jazz Music
Occupation(s)	Jazz Drummer, vibraphonist

Luigi Waites is a Jazz drummer and vibraphonist from Omaha, Nebraska. He currently performs weekly gigs in the Omaha area both solo and with ensembles such as Luigi, INC. He has been serving the Omaha music community for over 60 years. He has toured Europe twice and performed with Jazz legends such as Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington. Luigi, INC. has shared the stage with Jean-Luc Ponty, James Brown and Dizzy Gillespie.¹

1 Biography
2 Selected discography
3 Awards
4 Influences
5 References

[edit] Biography

Luigi Waites was born Lewis Waites on July 10, 1927 in Omaha, Nebraska. Waites began playing drums at age twelve, and soon after began playing local nightclubs around Omaha.

While Waites served for the U.S. Army at Camp Lee, Virginia, he met jazz drummer Elvin Jones, who gave Waites further drum instruction.

In 1960, Waites founded The Contemporaries, a multicultural, independent marching corps that featured jazz rhythms, lyres and modern dance steps.

In the 1970s, Luigi Waites was a solo artist in The National School Tours program where he performed in classrooms and school assemblies.

Luigi INC., Waites' current band, was formed in the mid-1970's and perform every Sunday night in Omaha.⁴

[edit] Selected discography

Distant Relatives (2005)

[edit] Awards

1996 Awarded Nebraska Artist of the Year by the Nebraska Arts Council.²
2005 Inducted into the Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame
2007 On January 4, 2007, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the first annual Omaha Entertainment Awards.³