NewsUSAJazz pianist Ramsey Lewis dies at 87

Jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis dies at 87

Ramsey Lewis the pianist – KAREN I. HIRSCH / ZUMA PRESS

American jazz pianist and composer Ramsey Lewis died Monday at his home in Chicago at the age of 87, his family said in a statement.

The three-time Grammy Award winner and NEA Professor of Jazz has passed away “peacefully” at his home.

Ramsey E. Lewis Jr. was born in Chicago on May 27, 1935. He grew up in a Chicago public housing project and began taking piano lessons at age four, when he began playing the instrument in a church where his father was choir director.

When Ramsey was a freshman in high school, saxophonist and pianist Wallace Burton, a friend from church whose jazz adventures had seduced Ramsey, asked him to join his band, the Clefs, a septet of high school boys who mixed the jazz and R&B.

Following the outbreak of the Korean War, compulsory military service was brought to several members of the Clefs, including Burton. The three members who weren’t drafted — Lewis, bassist Eldee Young and drummer Redd Holt — formed what would become known as the classic Ramsey Lewis Trio.

In 1956, they released their first album, ‘Ramsey Lewis and His Gentlemen of Jazz’. Three years later, Lewis was invited to perform with the trio at Birdland in New York. Their three-week run saw them perform at the Newport Jazz Festival and the Village Vanguard, and record with Max Roach, Clark Terry and Sonny Stitt.

Lewis broke through solo in a big way in 1965 with the first best-seller, ‘The In Crowd’. This elegantly funky, Grammy-winning song (written by Dobie Gray) was followed by two other chart hits, ‘Hang on Sloopy’ and ‘Wade in the Water’.

Over the years, Lewis has performed and recorded in a remarkable variety of musical settings. Throughout the ’70s, she embraced R&B and Latin music without abandoning mainstream jazz. In 1983, on the album ‘Reunion’, he reconstituted his most famous trio.

Among his many honors are five honorary doctorates and an NAACP Image Award for Most Outstanding Jazz Artist. The single ‘The In Crowd’ was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and his personal memorabilia resides at the Smithsonian Institution. In 2007, Lewis received the ‘National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Award’, placing him in the holy company of piano legends such as Ahmad Jamal, Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner, Dr. Billy Taylor and Cecil Taylor.

Source: Europa Press

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest Posts

Read More
More