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Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. (b. May 27, 1935) is an American jazz icon, composer, and pianist. Has been referred to as “the great performer” a title reflecting his performance style and musical selections which display his early gospel playing and classical training (Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, etc.) along with his love of jazz and other musical forms. Ramsey Lewis recorded eighty-plus albums, has received five gold records, and three Grammy Awards so far in his career.
Ramsey Lewis born in Chicago, Illinois, to the parents of Ramsey, Sr. and Pauline. Lewis started taking piano lessons at the age of four. At age fifteen he join his first jazz band. The seven piece group was called "The Cleffs", which provided Lewis to his first involvement with the great music of jazz. The emerging group from this was the drummer Isaac "Redd" Holt and bassist Eldee Young formed the Ramsey Lewis Trio. They started as primarily a jazz unit but after their hit, The In Crowd, in 1965 (the single reached fifth place on the pop charts, and the album second place) the trio concentrated more and more on pop material. Young and Holt left in 1966 to form the Young-Holt Trio and were replaced by Cleveland Eaton and Maurice White. White was replaced by Maurice Jennings in 1970. In the late 1970s an additional keyboard player was frequently added to the lineup. Ramsey Lewis first captivated fans with his first album Ramsey Lewis And The Gentlemen of Swing by the Ramsey Lewis Trio in 1956. By 1965, he was one of the nation’s most successful jazz pianists, topping the charts with The In Crowd, Hang On Sloopy and Wade In The Water. Most of his recordings (particularly by the mid-'60s) were very accessible and attracted a large non-jazz audience. In the 1970s, Lewis often played electric piano, although by later in the decade he was sticking to acoustic and hiring an additional keyboardist.
In addition to recording and performing, he is / has been a radio host on Chicago's Smooth Jazz station, WNUA (95.5 FM). His syndicated show Legends of Jazz, created in 1990, featuring classic jazz recordings from artists such as David Sanborn, George Duke, Charlie Parker, Kurt Elling, Al Jarreau, Miles Davis, can be heard in 60 cities in the United States and other countries as well. Ramsey Lewis brings together the influential artists in Jazz for live performances and lively conversations. He also include "young and current participants" in the musical genre as well. The Legends of Jazz can now be seen on WTTW - Channel 11, Friday nights at 9:30PM (CST).
On December 4, 2006, the "Ramsey Lewis Morning Show" became a part of Broadcast Architecture's Smooth Jazz Network, simulcasting on other Smooth Jazz stations across the country for the first time. However, the show is still based in Chicago, as it has always been. Lewis helped organize the Ravinia Festival's, Highland Park, Illinois, jazz Mentor Program and in January of 2007, the Dave Brubeck Institute invited Lewis to be on the Honorary Board of Friends of the Brubeck Institute at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Merit School of Music, an inner city music program in Chicago. Early 2005 the Ramsey Lewis Foundation was created to help to connect at-risk children to the world of music. Out of that foundation he plans to form his own Youth Choir and Youth orchestra. Lewis serves as artistic director of jazz at Ravinia a world music series, and an off-season showcase for "Rising Stars."
Ramsey Lewis's With One Voice (2005) release pays homage to his gospel roots all while maintaining his classic style. With the help of gospel favorites Smokie Norful, Darius Brooks, and Donald Lawrence, Lewis delivers an emotion-packed, soul-stirring, album. Lewis also enlisted the help of his church's choir, pastored by his older sister, to sing on several of the album's tracks. The J.W. James Memorial A.M.E. Church Combined Choir is breath-taking, adding so much life, freedom, and hope to With One Voice.
Lewis still lives in Chicago, Illinois, the city of his musical roots. He is blessed with seven children, 14 grandchildren and one great-grandchild, Ramsey Lewis is clearly not ready for a rocking piano bench -- "unless it rocks me into my grave when I'm 100 years old!"
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