More than six decades after first stepping in front of a microphone as a teenage vocalist in Philadelphia, Hammond organ master Vel Lewis is entering a new chapter with “Smoovee,” a lush, groove-driven single featuring acclaimed soprano and tenor saxophonist Marion Meadows. The recording has already made an immediate impact, debuting as the #1 Most Added recording at smooth jazz radio and continuing to build momentum across multiple formats.
“Smoovee” is now appearing on the Smooth Jazz Network Top 100, Mediabase Smooth Jazz, RadioWave Monitor Groove Jazz 100 and the Top 30 Weekend Radio chart in Madrid, Spain, while reaching audiences across every major streaming platform. At its core, the recording captures the sound Lewis has spent a lifetime refining: groove jazz, smooth jazz, soul, funk and rhythm and blues woven into one melodic, infectious performance.
The story behind “Smoovee” reaches back to the late 1990s, when Lewis wrote the composition in his living room on a home workstation. He envisioned a smooth, uncomplicated groove built specifically around the soprano saxophone. Lewis had admired Meadows' distinctive tone and phrasing since the saxophonist's RCA Records years, and the two eventually became friends after meeting at a Houston jazz club.
When Lewis finally presented the song to Meadows, the saxophonist agreed immediately. What followed was a remarkably international recording project. During an extended stay in Brazil, Lewis recorded the rhythm section in a Rio de Janeiro studio with musicians Adalberto Miranda and Dede Silva, laying down keys, bass and drums. Percussionist Cassio Duarte later overdubbed Brazilian pandeiro from Texas, adding another layer of rhythmic color to the production.
The recording also brought together several important relationships from Lewis' musical journey. Guitarist and mixer Paul Brown, whom Lewis met the same night Meadows performed at Houston's House of Blues, helped shape the final mix. Mastering was handled by Steve Hall of Future Disc Systems.
For Lewis, the international production of “Smoovee” reflects a career that has rarely respected musical boundaries.
Born Velbert Lewis Jr. on November 30, 1954, in Philadelphia, Lewis began his musical journey in 1965 as a first soprano vocalist with the Philadelphia All Boys Choir. He eventually toured internationally as a featured soloist with the choir's Small Ensemble, including a performance at Expo '67 in Montreal.
His early training included voice and piano studies at Philadelphia's Settlement Music School. He later turned his attention to the organ, the instrument that would ultimately become his defining musical voice, studying under Milton Myers and Dr. E. Woodley Kalehoff, a former White House pianist during the Truman administration.
Even as a teenager, Lewis was moving comfortably between musical worlds. He appeared on television performing jazz with drummer Gerry Brown and bassist John Lee while simultaneously working as a Hammond organist on gospel sessions for ABC/Peacock Records produced by Ira Tucker Sr. Those sessions placed him alongside legendary gospel groups including The Sensational Nightingales, The Gospelaires and The Dixie Hummingbirds.
By 1972, Lewis had become part of Philadelphia's vibrant soul music scene. He signed with Philadelphia International Records as a member of The Futures and later performed with The Delfonics during the Major Harris era. Along the way, he shared stages with Earth, Wind and Fire, Parliament Funkadelic, Al Green, The Stylistics and Frankie Beverly and Maze.
His work as a songwriter also produced a lasting piece of soul music history. Lewis co-wrote and sang lead on “Tell Me Why” with The Life Group, released by Warner Bros. and Reprise in 1974. The recording has since gained recognition within the international Northern Soul community as a Top 100 classic, a distinction that continues to attract the attention of soul historians and collectors.
Lewis' career eventually expanded beyond live performance and recording. Beginning in 1995, he composed for Los Angeles Post Music, creating music for a series of national Chrysler Plymouth television commercials featuring Tina Turner. His compositions also appeared in television programs including “Sex and the City,” “Friends,” “Mad About You” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.”
In 2003, Lewis joined Dionne Warwick's touring ensemble, spending three years performing internationally and drawing upon the combination of pop, soul, gospel and orchestral musicianship demanded by Warwick's repertoire.
Two years later, he released his debut solo album, “All Wound Up,” under the name Shady Grady. Lewis wrote or co-wrote every track on the project, establishing another chapter in a career defined by versatility and musical independence.
The years that followed brought continued recording activity and international recognition, including the charting singles “PlayTyme” and “Bossaflowz,” recorded with guitarist Michael Garvin, as well as “Forever More,” a 2021 collaboration featuring vocalist Larry Braggs. In June 2024, Lewis received the Houston Black Music Award for Best Jazz Male Performer from the Black Music Association and Academy of America.
Now, “Smoovee” brings many of those musical experiences together.
The Hammond organ remains at the center, surrounded by the grooves of funk, the emotional language of soul and blues, the rhythmic pulse of R&B, the improvisational freedom of jazz and the spiritual foundation of gospel. Rather than placing those influences into separate categories, Lewis folds them into a single musical identity.
That philosophy is also informing the next phase of his live performances. Lewis is bringing groove jazz, smooth jazz, soul, funk, blues, gospel and rhythm and blues together onstage, with the Hammond organ serving as the common thread.
The significance of “Smoovee” ultimately extends beyond a new single. It is the latest expression of a musician whose career has moved through Philadelphia gospel, soul revues, major touring productions, television composition, international performance and studio collaborations without losing sight of the instrument that has defined his voice for roughly 60 years.
From a teenage soprano in Philadelphia to a Hammond organist recording in Rio de Janeiro, Vel Lewis continues to write, produce, record and perform with the same curiosity that has driven his musical journey from the beginning.
Lewis is scheduled to appear at the Sugar Land Arts Fest in Sugar Land, Texas, on November 8, 2026, followed by an appearance at SoHo Restaurant & Music Club in Santa Barbara, California, on November 28, 2026. With “Smoovee” continuing its climb at radio and across streaming platforms, the latest chapter of Lewis' six-decade musical story is already in motion.
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