Description
Istanbul Signature Mel Lewis 21″ Ride Cymbal
Istanbul have lovingly recreated a handful of ‘tribute’ cymbals in memory of their first endorser, Mel Lewis and we are pleased to be offering their wonderful Mel Lewis 21” Ride cymbal as part of the Agop Signature Series. With a dark, warm ‘buttery’ sound and a ‘woody’ stick definition, the Mel Lewis 21” Ride cymbal produces an equally dark wash of subtle overtones along with solid, cutting ‘ride’ patterns. With the inclusion of 2 rivets, this cymbal embodies the true classic Ride cymbal sound of vintage Jazz and Big-Band drumming.
This is a lovely example of Mel Lewis cymbals being played, the Mel Lewis 21″ Ride is the last cymbal on the right (with rivets)…
If you are playing a lot of Jazz or Big-Band music, you can hear why the Mel Lewis series contains everything you need to serve the music perfectly.
Always insisting on using Turkish cymbals, Mel Lewis switched to Istanbul, becoming their first endorser and continuing to play Istanbul cymbals up until his death in 1990. The Mel Lewis 21” Ride is based on a cymbal originally created for his live work, accurately reproduced today thanks to the help of the Lewis family who allowed Istanbul access to his original cymbals to make a template.
Istanbul Cymbals have strived to replicate every detail of the cymbals loaned to them for the manufacturing process and the exemplary work undertaken by their cymbal-smiths makes sure Mel’s legacy lives on by giving new players access to the same sounds he loved during an illustrious career in Jazz and Big Band music. As the late (and obviously great) Buddy Rich said of Mel:
Mel Lewis doesn’t sound like anybody else. He sounds like himself.
