Lewis first toured the United States in 1938, where he played his favoured four string guitar in recording sessions,[2] including a band that had Bobby Hackett, Eddie Condon, and Pee Wee Russell among its members.
[3] Lewis played a role in helping to popularise the music of Stan Kenton and Gerry Mulligan in Britain.
[2] When he put together his first big band in 1946 to play swing jazz he soon began to direct the ensemble toward a more American sound influenced by Kenton.
[1] Kenton provided Lewis with some of his arrangements by Mulligan, Pete Rugolo and Bill Holman, and they became close friends.
Lewis toured the US with the band at various intervals between 1956 and 1959, and recorded extensively for Parlophone, Esquire, Decca, and Philips.
It features a 12 piece ensemble and includes selections from Lewis's extended Springbok and American suites, with Kenny Wheeler.
Side two came from a session in California, featuring Bud Shank, Shelly Manne and Shorty Rogers.
In the early 1960s, as the big bands declined, Lewis turned to artist management, overseeing the careers of photographer Robert Whitaker and the singer Cilla Black among many others.