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Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. (born May 27, 1935) is an American jazz composer, pianist and radio personality. Ramsey Lewis has recorded over 80 albums and has received seven gold records and three Grammy Awards so far in his career.
Biography Ramsey Lewis was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Ramsey Lewis, Sr. and Pauline Lewis.[1] Lewis began taking piano lessons at the age of four. At 15 he joined his first jazz band, the Cleffs. The seven-piece group provided Lewis his first involvement with jazz; he would later join Cleffs drummer Isaac "Redd" Holt and bassist Eldee Young to form the Ramsey Lewis Trio. The trio started as primarily a jazz unit and released their first album, Ramsey Lewis And The Gentlemen of Swing, in 1956. Following their 1965 hit "The In Crowd" (the single reached No. 5 on the pop charts, and the album No. 2) they concentrated more on pop material. Young and Holt left in 1966 to form Young-Holt Unlimited and were replaced by Cleveland Eaton and Maurice White. White left to form Earth, Wind & Fire and was replaced by Morris Jennings in 1970. Later, Frankie Donaldson and Bill Dickens replaced Jennings and Eaton; Felton Crews also appeared on many 1980's releases. By 1966, Lewis was one of the nation’s most successful jazz pianists, topping the charts with "The In Crowd", "Hang On Sloopy",[2] and "Wade in the Water". All three singles each sold over one million copies, and were awarded gold discs.[3] Many of his recordings 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 using an additional keyboardist in his groups.[4] In 1994, Lewis appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool, alongside other prominent jazz artists Herbie Hancock and Roy Ayers. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African American community, was heralded as "Album of the Year" by TIME magazine. In addition to recording and performing, Lewis hosts the weekly syndicated radio program Legends of Jazz, created in 1990. He also hosted the Ramsey Lewis Morning Show on Chicago "smooth jazz" radio station WNUA (95.5 FM). In December 2006, this morning show became part of Broadcast Architecture's Smooth Jazz Network, simulcasting on other smooth jazz stations across the country until its cancellation in May 2009, when WNUA switched over to a Spanish format.[5] In 2006, a well-received 13-episode Legends of Jazz television series hosted by Lewis was broadcast on public TV nationwide and featured live performances by a variety of jazz artists including Larry Gray, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Joey Defrancesco, Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, Kurt Elling, Benny Golson, Pat Metheny and Tony Bennett.[6] Lewis performing at JazzFe 2006. Photo by Tomas Forgac Lewis is artistic director of Jazz at Ravinia (an annual feature at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois) and helped organize Ravinia's Jazz Mentor Program.[7] Ramsey also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Merit School of Music, a Chicago inner-city music program and The Chicago High School for the Arts, the new public arts high school in Chicago. Early in 2005, the Ramsey Lewis Foundation was created to help connect at-risk children to the world of music. As an offshoot of that foundation, Lewis plans to form a Youth Choir and Youth Orchestra. In January 2007, the Dave Brubeck Institute invited Lewis to join its Honorary Board of Friends at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. Lewis is an Honorary Board member of the Chicago Jazz Orchestra. Lewis is a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. In May 2008, Lewis received an honorary doctorate from Loyola University Chicago upon delivering the keynote address at the undergraduate commencement ceremony. Lewis still lives in Chicago, Illinois, the city of his musical roots. He has seven children, fourteen grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Discography Year Recorded Album Record Label 1956 Ramsey Lewis and his Gentle-men of Swing Argo 1956 Ramsey Lewis and his Gentle-men of Jazz Argo 1958 Lem Winchester and the Ramsey Lewis Trio Argo 1959 Down to Earth EmArcy 1959 An Hour with the Ramsey Lewis Trio Argo 1960 Stretching Out Argo 1960 The Ramsey Lewis Trio in Chicago Argo 1961 More Music from the Soil Argo 1961 Never on Sunday Argo 1961 Sound of Christmas Argo 1962 The Sound of Spring Argo 1962 Country Meets the Blues Argo 1962 Bossa Nova Argo 1963 Pot Luck Argo 1963 Barefoot Sunday Blues Argo 1964 Bach to the Blues Argo 1964 The Ramsey Lewis Trio at the Bohemian Caverns Argo 1964 More Sounds of Christmas Argo 1964-65 You Better Believe Me Argo 1965 The In Crowd Argo 1965 Hang On Ramsey! Cadet 1965 Swingin' Cadet 1966 Wade in the Water Cadet 1966 The Movie Album Cadet 1966 Goin' Latin Cadet 1967 Dancing in the Street Cadet 1967 Up Pops Ramsey Lewis Cadet 1968 Maiden Voyage Cadet 1968 Mother Nature's Son Cadet 1968 Ramsey Lewis Live in Tokyo Cadet 1969 Another Voyage Cadet 1969 The Piano Player Cadet 1970 Them Changes Cadet 1971 Back to the Roots Cadet 1972 The Best of Ramsey Lewis Cadet 1974 Solid Ivory Cadet 1972 Upendo Ni Pamoja Columbia 1973 Funky Serenity Columbia 1973 Ramsey Lewis' Newly Recorded All-Time Non-Stop Golden Hits Columbia 1974 Solar Wind Columbia 1974 Sun Goddess Columbia 1975 Don't It Feel Good Columbia 1976 Salongo Columbia 1977 Love Notes Columbia 1977 Tequila Mockingbird Columbia 1978 Legacy Columbia 1979 Ramsey Columbia 1980 Routes Columbia 1981 Blues for the Night Owl Columbia 1981 Three Piece Suite Columbia 1982 Ramsey Lewis Live at the Savoy Columbia 1982 Chance Encounter Columbia 1983 Les Fleurs Columbia 1983 Reunion Columbia 1984 The Two of Us - with Nancy Wilson Columbia 1985 Fantasy Columbia 1987 Keys to the City Columbia 1988 Classic Encounter Columbia 1989 We Meet Again - with Billy Taylor Columbia 1989 Urban Renewal Columbia 1992 Ivory Pyramid GRP 1993 Sky Islands GRP 1994 Urban Knights I GRP 1996 Between the Keys GRP 1997 Urban Knights II GRP 1998 Dance of the Soul GRP 1999 Appassionata Narada 2000 Urban Knights III Narada 2001 Urban Knights IV Narada 2002 Meant to Be - with Nancy Wilson Narada 2003 Urban Knights V Narada 2003 Simple Pleasures - with Nancy Wilson Narada 2004 Time Flies Narada 2005 Urban Knights VI Narada 2005 With One Voice Narada 2009 Songs from the Heart: Ramsey Plays Ramsey Concord 2011 Taking Another Look Hidden Beach As sideman With Max Roach MAX (Argo, 1958) With Jimmy Woode The Colorful Strings of Jimmy Woode (Argo, 1957) With Lorez Alexandria Early in the Morning (Argo, 1960) Awards and recognitions Lewis performs live in the KPLU studio on October 2009 Grammy history Career Wins: 3[8] Career nominations: Ramsey Lewis Grammy Awards History Year Category Title Genre Label Result 1965 Best Jazz Performance - Small Group or Soloist with Small Group "The In Crowd" Jazz Argo/Chess Winner 1966 Best Rhythm & Blues Group Performance - Vocal or Instrumental "Hold It Right There" R&B Chess Winner 1973 Best Rhythm & Blues Instrumental Performance "Hang on Sloopy" R&B MCA Winner Gold records Currently, the normal RIAA certifications for a gold album is 500,000 units. Gold Records[9] Year Title Label 1965 The In Crowd Argo 1966 Hang On Ramsey! Cadet 1966 Wade in the Water Cadet 1968 Sound of Christmas Argo 1976 Sun Goddess Columbia Recognitions 2002: Ramsey Lewis, carried the Winter 2002 Olympic Torch, Ramsey lights the cauldron for its brief stop in Chicago.[10] 2003: NAACP Image Award, Best Jazz Artist, for his album Simple Pleasures (2003)[11] 2006: 22nd Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards, Best Gospel Instrumental Album, With One Voice (2005)[12] 2007: National Endowment for the Arts, Jazz Masters Award[13] 2007: Landmarks Illinois, Legendary Landmark Award, as one of living treasures of Illinois. "Just like our landmarked buildings, our three Legendary Landmarks have been critical to the civic well-being of Chicago and stand as a testimony to the greatness of our cultural integrity." said David Bahlman, president of Landmarks Illinois.[14] |
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