Ramsey Lewis

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Ramsey Lewis; 2006

Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis (born May 27, 1935 in Chicago , Illinois ) is an American jazz pianist and keyboardist of an entertaining, cross-genre soul and pop jazz .

Live and act

Lewis received classical piano lessons from the age of four. At fifteen he was a member of the seven-piece jazz band The Cleffs , from which the Ramsey Lewis Trio with bassist Eldee Young and drummer Isaac "Red" Holt later split off. Her first album, Ramsey Lewis and the Gentlemen of Swing , came out in 1956. In 1958 Lewis and his trio worked on the debut album of vibraphonist Lem Winchester . Ramsey Lewis became internationally known in 1965 for his album The In Crowd , which reached number 2 on the pop charts and earned him a Grammy (Best Jazz Performance Small Group) in 1966 . Then he turned more to the pop and rhythm and blues area. Wade in the Water , Hold it right there (Grammy 1967 for the best rhythm and blues band) and radio evergreens such as Hang On Sloopy (Grammy 1974 for the best rhythm and blues instrumental ) are also known from these years ) or the stylistically broad Another Voyage .

Since 1999, a changed musical direction can be recognized: In the album Appassionata he processed classic themes in the “Ramsey Lewis swing ”. He also contributed to three projects for the Narada Jazz label : "Urban Knights" and the duos "Simple Pleasures" and "Meant To Be" with singer Nancy Wilson . For the former he received the NAACP Image Award in the “Outstanding Jazz Artist” category. On Time Flies (2004) Lewis gives an overview of his musical world - from rhythm and blues to jazz to the roots of gospel , the classic training of his youth. In 2005 his gospel-inspired album With one Voice was released .

Next to it was and Ramsey Lewis also a well-known radio presenter, first at the Chicago Smooth Jazz transmitter WNUA with his show Legends of Jazz , in which he presented from 1990 famous jazz musicians in interviews and live recordings. The program could be heard in 60 cities in the USA and was continued by him on the station WTTW. Since 2006 he also has the Ramsey Lewis Morning Show on the Smooth Jazz Network. He is also active in promoting young talent, for example with his own foundation, which is supposed to bring music to young people at risk, and at the Ravinia Jazz Festival in Highland Park , Illinois.

For 2007 he received the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship .

Ramsey Lewis Trio

In 1966 Holt and Young left the trio to start their own band; Lewis replaced them with bassist Cleveland Eaton and drummer Maurice White . White, in turn, was replaced by Maurice Jennings in 1970 . In the 1970s, the trio was sometimes supplemented by a keyboardist; In 1979 guitarist Henry Johnson joined the group (until 1983). Larry Gray (bass, cello) and Leon Joyce Jr. have been his companions on drums for many years .

Trivia

Wade in the Water has been known since the beginning (1979) as the theme tune for the program " Reports from Today" of the North German and West German Broadcasters.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ The 3rd symphony by Johannes Brahms and a suite by Johann Sebastian Bach are used . "Hosanna" and "Open My Heart" are dedicated to gospel , with the Chicago-based artist hiring the Chicago Gospel Voices as a gospel choir . Time Flies also contains three new numbers (some in the style of the Modern Jazz Quartet ), plus two earlier hits in new arrangements : Wade In The Water and The In Crowd (see above), in cooperation with his son Frayne's trio and in contemporary rhythms set.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ audio sample
personal data
SURNAME Lewis, Ramsey
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lewis, Ramsey Emmanuel junior (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz musician
DATE OF BIRTH May 27, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago , Illinois