If you’ve ever listened to a vinyl, CD, or the radio in the Bay Area, chances are at some point you heard James “Mingo” Lewis.
Lewis, a percussionist, composer, drummer, and former Vallejo resident, died from lung disease on Jan. 27 at the age of 72.
He played alongside world-renowned artists such as Bill Summers, Chick Corea, Al Di Meola, Jon Luc Ponty, Airto, Flora Purim, and Stanley Clarke.
Lewis, who taught Afro-Cuban music in Bogota, was the musical composer for Sangre Negra, a crime drama telenovela reminiscent of “Dallas” and the underworld tones of “The Sopranos.” In 2022, he guest-starred in an episode as the character “Jesus.”
A member of Santana and The Tubes, Lewis also played with the jazz fusion group “Return to Forever,” composed by the late pianist Chick Correa.
Lewis was credited with composing several songs across four of Di Meola’s albums, including “The Wizard” on “Land of the Midnight Sun,” “Flight Over Rio” on “Elegant Gypsy,” and “Chasin’ The Voodoo” on Casino.
Live concert promoter Jeff Trager, co-partner of Frazier Trager Presents, remembered Lewis from the early days of Latin Rock in the Bay Area.
“He was this chubby little guy who could play his tail off,” said Trager. “He was about as good a percussionist as you could find.”
Trager said that Lewis’s “prowess” led him to play with some of the “greats” in the business. He also added that former Vallejo City Councilmember Thomas Bartee became a close friend and supporter of Mingo’s art throughout the years.
Bartee remembers him as a “kind and fascinating” individual.
“Tough to top the Santana Band and certainly ‘Return to Forever.’ Mingo was sort of my thread to the music scene in San Francisco back in the 1970s,” Trager said.
He added, “We spent many hours reminiscing about those days. People have no idea how great a musician he was.”