Bobby Lewis' Cats 'n Jammers

Bobby Lewis is a man with many facets -- instrumentalist, vocalist, composer, arranger, leader,

and teacher, to name a few. A top recording studio musician, he has performed on more than

7500 sessions and has contributed his smooth sound on movie sound tracks including "A League

of Their Own," "Let's Do It Again," "While You Were Sleeping," and others.

Over the years, Bobby has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the American Jazz Philharmonic, and other major American symphonies -- as well as creating and leading several ensembles of his own. This year, the Elkhart Jazz Festival features Bobby Lewis' Cats 'n Jammers, which includes Eric Schneider, Russ Phillips, Jim Ryan, Stewart Miller, and Charlie Braugham.

Along with the Cats 'n Jammers, Bobby also leads the Muggles, a jazz roots band featuring the

music of Louis Armstrong and early traditional jazz. A Chicago jazz icon, Bobby is also known

as the founder and leader of The Forefront, a contemporary trumpet ensemble; Rhythmakers, a mainstream jazz quartet; and EARS - Jazz of All Eras, which not only performed for 17 years in Chicagoland hot spots, but also made special appearances in Osaka, Japan, and in Rotterdam

and The Hague in the Netherlands (the North Sea Jazz Festival).

Personally, Bobby has performed at special concerts and jazz festivals in the United States and

abroad, including Bombay and Pune, India; Warsaw, Poland; Nairn, Scotland; Sydney, Australia;

New York City; and Quebec. The list of celebrities he has performed with reads like a "Who's Who"

of jazz greats and superstars -- from Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and James Brown

to Johnny Carson, Jimmy Durante, Gregory Hines, and Jack Benny.

An accomplished and versatile musician, Bobby plays trumpets in B flat, C, high E flat, and low F; piccolo trumpet; flugel horm; cornet; and bugle. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in education

and a master's degree in performance, and is an instructor of Jazz Trumpet Studies at the University

of Illinois, Chicago.