He was born in London, England to a family of jewellers. Lewis began playing the guitar at the age of three, and dabbled with
cornet and
trombone. One of his early bands included
George Shearing, then a teenager, among its members. Lewis first toured the United States in 1938, where he played his favoured four string guitar in recording sessions, including a band that had
Bobby Hackett,
Eddie Condon, and
Pee Wee Russell among its members. Lewis played a role in helping to popularise the music of
Stan Kenton and
Gerry Mulligan in Britain. Lewis's pianist,
Ken Thorne, also made arranging contributions. Lewis toured the US with the band at various intervals between 1956 and 1959, and recorded extensively for
Parlophone,
Esquire,
Decca, and
Philips. ''Mulligan's Music
(1954) contains eight arrangements of Gerry Mulligan tunes, and features the then 18 year-old Tubby Hayes. The album At the Beaulieu Festival'' was recorded in 1959 but not issued until 1964. It features a 12 piece ensemble and includes selections from Lewis's extended
Springbok and
American suites, with
Kenny Wheeler.
Vic Lewis Plays Bossa Nova at Home and Away was issued in 1963. The first side was recorded in London, with contributions from Tubby Hayes,
Ronnie Scott,
Shake Keane and others. Side two came from a session in California, featuring
Bud Shank,
Shelly Manne and
Shorty Rogers. Lewis had first met some of these musicians while conducting the Stan Kenton Orchestra at
Carnegie Hall in 1950. After 1959 Lewis semi-retired as a performer as he became involved in artist management. He only occasionally recorded, although he continued to write about jazz and champion its value. His involvement in the West Coast All Stars during the 1990s was mostly backroom. Other composers featured on
Colours include
John Cameron,
Kenny Clayton,
Randy Edelman,
Robert Farnon,
David Morgan,
John Scott,
Ken Thorne and
Malcolm Williamson. ==Artist management==