Urban Knights

Urban Knights

Urban Knights is an all-star jazz collective formed in 1995 and built around pianist Ramsey Lewis, with a rotating cast of guest musicians. The group plays funky crossover jazz in a style associated with Lewis’s 1970s and 1980s recordings, alongside the sound of groups such as the Blackbyrds and the Jazz Crusaders.

Albums and chart success

The project begins with Urban Knights I, issued in 1995 on GRP and produced by Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire. That debut features appearances by Grover Washington, Jr., Omar Hakim and Freddie Hubbard, among others, and reaches number five on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. Urban Knights II follows two years later, again with White producing, and includes Gerald Albright, Najee and Jonathan Butler; it reaches number seven on the jazz chart.

In 2000, Urban Knights III moves to Narada Records and brings in Chicago-area musicians including Ramsey Lewis’s son, keyboardist Frayne Lewis, plus the Staples, Dave Koz, Earl Klugh and Fareed Haque. It peaks at number four on the jazz charts. Urban Knights IV appears in 2001, featuring trumpeter Ron Haynes and guitarist Norman Brown, and reaches number two on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart.

With 2002’s The Chicago Project, Ramsey Lewis steps back and leadership passes to Frayne Lewis. Ramsey Lewis returns for Urban Knights V in 2005, which includes Kenny Garrett, Michelle Williams and Orbert Davis. Urban Knights VI also appears in 2005, with Kevin Randolph, Nick Bisesi, Quinjuan Anderson, Maurice Fitzgerald and Bobby Broom, and reaches number six on the Billboard jazz chart. After a long pause, Urban Knights VII arrives in 2019 with Henry Johnson, Tim Gant, Joshua Ramos and Charles Heath, plus Dee Alexander and Maurice Brown; it includes original pieces and new versions of music by John Coltrane, Chick Corea and the Beatles.