Ramsey Lewis  

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Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American composer and pianist working in the jazz idiom. Lewis recorded over 80 albums. He is known for such recordings as "Wade in the Water", "Julia", "Quinn the Eskimo (Mighty Quinn)", "Spring High", "Whisper Zone", "Sun Goddess" and "The 'In' Crowd".

Biography

Ramsey Lewis was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Ramsey Lewis Sr. and Pauline Lewis. He began taking piano lessons at the age of four. As a young man, Lewis played with a number of local ensembles, such as Edward Virgil Abner's Knights of Music. Lewis would eventually join a jazz group called the clefs. He later formed the Ramsey Lewis Trio with drummer Isaac "Red" Holt and bassist Eldee Young. They eventually joined up with Chess Records.

In 1956, the trio issued their debut album, Ramsey Lewis and his Gentle-men of Swing. 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 1980s releases.

By 1966, Lewis was one of the nation's most successful jazz pianists, having topped the charts with "The In Crowd", "Hang On Sloopy", and "Wade in the Water". All three singles each sold over one million copies and were awarded gold discs. 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.

In addition to recording and performing, Lewis hosted the weekly syndicated radio program Legends of Jazz, created in 1990, syndicated by United Stations Radio Networks. 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.

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.

Lewis was 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. Ramsey also served 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 public arts high school in Chicago established in 2009. 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 planned 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 was an Honorary Board member of the Chicago Jazz Orchestra. Lewis was 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 died on September 12, 2022, at his home in Chicago. He was 87 years old.

Discography

As sideman

With Max Roach

• MAX (Argo, 1958)

With Jimmy Woode

• The Colorful Strings of Jimmy Woode (Argo, 1957)

With Young/Holt

• Feature Spot (Cadet, 1967) <ref>{{

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Awards and recognitions

[[File:KPLU In-Studio Performance Ramsey Lewis 2.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Lewis performing live in the KPLU studio on October 2009]]

Grammy history

• Career wins: 3
• Career nominations: 4<ref>{{

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