Over some four decades, the Wilmette resident has headed and played with a number of his own groups, backed up what seems like every top singer (Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, Judy Garland, to drop a few names) in the jazz pantheon, played in some 7,500 recording sessions and a few months ago, released "Instant Groove," his ninth CD with Lake View's Southport Records.

Lewis will play some songs from it at the Chicago Jazz Festival on Sept. 1.

"I like all kinds of jazz," he said, "but I'm a soft kind of guy. I like a gentle, lyrical approach to music."

Lewis is quick to point out he's not simply a jazzman.

"I consider myself a trumpet/flugelhorn player," he said. He has a bachelor's and a master's degree in music from the University of Wisconsin -- Madison, where he got solid classical training. "I enjoy playing all kinds of music and consider versatility an asset."

Playing around

During his career, he's mastered and worked in a whole horn spectrum. "In addition to trumpet (B flat) and flugelhorn, I play trumpets in C and E flat, piccolo trumpet, cornet, alto trumpet and bugle. I even played a couple sessions on the garden hose," he said.

However it's the mellow-toned flugelhorn, which he discovered at Madison, that's his favorite.

"Bobby has a very special sound on the flugelhorn," says Joanie Pallatto, Chicago jazz artist and co-owner of Southport Records. She says that people who've asked him to play trumpet for commercials and other recording become major flugelhorn fans once they hear Lewis play.

Music is a notoriously difficult way to make a living, but it was an obvious choice for Lewis. He got hooked as a boy in Oshkosh, Wis. It ran in the family.

"My father and two uncles on the Lewis side of the family were self-taught musicians," he said. "One of my uncles was the director of the all-city grade school band. I was part of that program at age 9."

The jazz that his dad and uncles played with their VFW band, and what he heard on records caught him. "I became enthralled," he said. "Harry James, Louis Armstrong, Bobby Hackett and Don Fagerquist were all early influences in my jazz development."

Trying on styles

Like most jazz musicians, Lewis had a good ear and used it. "I'd hear something and I'd be able to play it," he said. "At first I tried to play like they did, but eventually I found my own style. I used their music as a stepping stone to my own style, which developed over time."

Learning by listening, a time-honored jazz tradition, gave Lewis a well-rounded musical education too.

"I've played traditional jazz, Dixieland, swing era jazz, be-bop, big band, mainstream jazz, contemporary and avant garde jazz. I've performed with a number of classical orchestras, including the Chicago, St. Louis and Milwaukee Symphony orchestras too.

"I was fortunate to play on many of Curtis Mayfield's recordings and a lot of the R&B and soul recordings in the 1970s that were done in Chicago," he continued.

While Lewis' versatility helped immensely, his musicianship counted most. "Bobby can take the lead in a group, but he'll also step back. He makes sure everyone else looks good," says Pallatto.

Though the music business has changed since Lewis broke in -- most of the commercial and background work he's done here in Chicago has dried up -- he's is still upbeat about his profession.

"Cream always rises to the top," Lewis said. "If you possess the desire, determination and ability, there's a place for you in music."

For information on Bobby Lewis' CDs and performances, see www.bobbylewis.com

-- Sara Burrows
contributed to this article

Bobby Lewis at the
Chicago Jazz Festival

3:30 p.m. Friday

Free

Jazz on Jackson Stage, Jackson Boulevard in Grant Park.

(312) 744-3315 or www.cityofchicago.org/specialevents