Ramsey Lewis

Ramsey Lewis is an American jazz and pop pianist and keyboardist from Chicago. Born Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. in 1935, he begins piano lessons at the age of four and goes on to become one of the best-known figures in jazz piano, with work that spans jazz, jazz-funk, pop and soul jazz.

Career

Lewis starts out playing with local Chicago ensembles, including Edward Virgil Abner's Knights of Music, before joining a jazz group called The Clefs. In 1956 he forms The Ramsey Lewis Trio with Eldee Young and Isaac Holt. The trio begins as a jazz outfit, but after the success of The In Crowd in 1965 it moves increasingly towards pop-oriented material. The single reaches fifth place on the pop charts and the album reaches second place.

Young and Holt leave in 1966 to form the Young-Holt Trio. Lewis then brings in Cleveland Eaton and Maurice White, with White later replaced by Maurice Jennings in 1970. In the late 1970s, the trio sometimes adds an extra keyboard player to the line-up.

Recordings and recognition

Over the course of his career, Lewis records more than 80 albums and receives five gold records and three Grammy Awards. His catalogue includes a 2004 version of The In Crowd on the album Time Flies. The 2005 album With One Voice draws on his gospel roots and features Smokie Norful, Darius Brooks, Donald Lawrence and the J.W. James Memorial A.M.E. Church Combined Choir.

Broadcast work and later activity

Alongside recording and performing, Lewis works as a radio host on Chicago station WNUA (95.5 FM). His syndicated programme Legends of Jazz features classic recordings by artists including Charlie Parker and Miles Davis, and is heard in 60 cities in the United States and in other countries. The Legends of Jazz television series on PBS first airs in 2006. From December 2006, the Ramsey Lewis Morning Show becomes part of Broadcast Architecture's Smooth Jazz Network and simulcasts on other Smooth Jazz stations across the country.

Ravinia and Chicago

Lewis serves as artistic director of Jazz at Ravinia, the annual jazz feature at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois. He also helps organise Ravinia's Jazz Mentor Program. He dies at his home in Chicago in 2022.