Misplaced Pages

#758241

24-403: Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz pianist , composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five gold records and three Grammy Awards in his career. His album The In Crowd earned Lewis critical praise and the 1965 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance . His best known singles include " The 'In' Crowd ", " Wade in

48-564: A Spanish format. Ramsey founded the Ramsey Lewis Foundation, which promoted musical instrument education to children, in 2005. 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

72-402: A great natural 'ear' for extemporaneous music-making. When jazz pianists improvise , they use the scales, modes, and arpeggios associated with the chords in a tune's chord progression. The approach to improvising has changed since the earliest eras of jazz piano. During the swing era, many soloists improvised "by ear" by embellishing the melody with ornaments and passing notes. However, during

96-493: A more flexible role. Ultimately, the skilled pianist was free both to lead and to answer the instrumental soloist, using both short and sustained, chordal and melodic, fragments—a technique known as comping . Good comping musicians were capable of many and different chord voicings, so to match the various moods the different soloists were aiming for. In the early days, not all leading pianists were concerned to provide comping. Others—notably Duke Ellington , who became famous during

120-553: 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 "Redd" Holt and bassist Eldee Young . They eventually signed to Chess Records . In 1956, the trio released their debut album, Ramsey Lewis and his Gentle-men of Swing . Following their 1965 hit, " The 'In' Crowd " (the single reached No. 5 on

144-625: The Harlem Renaissance at the Cotton Club —earned great esteem among band members as well as other musicians. Ellington comped enthusiastically in support of the soloist and did much to develop the technique. Jazz piano moved away from playing lead melody to providing foundation for song sets; soon, skilled jazz pianists were performing as soloists. In the 1940s and 1950s, a number of great piano players emerged. Pianists like Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell helped create and establish

168-430: The bebop era, the rapid tempo and complicated chord progressions made it increasingly harder to play "by ear." Along with other improvisers, such as saxes and guitar players, bebop-era jazz pianists began to improvise over the chord changes using scales (whole tone scale, chromatic scale, etc.) and arpeggios. Jazz piano (the technique) and the instrument itself offer soloists an exhaustive number of choices. One may play

192-498: The chords found in Western art music, such as major, minor, augmented, diminished, seventh, diminished seventh, sixth, minor seventh, major seventh, suspended fourth, and so on. A second key skill is learning to play with a swing rhythm and "feel". In jazz, the roots are usually omitted from keyboard voicings, as this task is left to the double bass player. Jazz pianists also make extensive use of chord "extensions", such as adding

216-478: The saxophone or trumpet . A new style known as "stride" or "Harlem stride" emerged during the 1920s, predominantly in New York , United States. James P. Johnson was a prominent proponent. The left hand was used to establish rhythm while the right hand improvised melodies. Mastering the various chord voicings—simple to advanced—is the first building block of learning jazz piano. Jazz piano technique uses all

240-680: The James Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Church in Maywood, Illinois . On September 12, 2022, Lewis passed away in his sleep at his home in Chicago at age 87. With Max Roach With Jimmy Woode With Young/Holt Jazz piano Along with the guitar , vibraphone , and other keyboard instruments, the piano is one of the instruments in a jazz combo that can play both single notes and chords rather than only single notes as does

264-712: The Water ", and " Sun Goddess ". Until 2009, he was the host of the Ramsey Lewis Morning Show on the Chicago radio station WNUA . Lewis was also active in musical education in Chicago. He founded the Ramsey Lewis Foundation, established the Ravinia's Jazz Mentor Program, and served on the board of trustees for the Merit School of Music and The Chicago High School for the Arts . Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr.

SECTION 10

#1732776524759

288-486: The bass register and chords in the tenor register, while the right hand plays melody and improvises, as performed in George Gershwin 's "Liza". The right hand may play melodic lines, or harmonic content, chordally or in octaves. It may also be played in lockstep with the left hand, using a double melody block chord called "locked-hand" voicing , or Shearing voicing—a technique popularized, though not invented, by

312-430: The bass register in an ostinato pattern, popular in boogie-woogie style, where the left hand repeats a phrase numerous times throughout a song, as performed by Rob Agerbeek in "Boogie Woogie Stomp". The left hand can also be played as a melodic counterline that emulates the walking of an upright bass . In stride piano , (similar to the earlier ragtime ) the left hand rapidly plays alternate positions between notes in

336-629: The church pianist and organist. When he was 11, Bruce recommended he study with Dorothy Mendelssohn at the Chicago Musical College . Mendelssohn taught him classical technique with the philosophy that "it freed the performer from the thinking about the notes so he could concentrate on the music." Lewis realized what she meant when he saw Wynton Kelly with the Miles Davis group, Kelly asked him to play something, and Kelly complimented him by saying "Boy, I wish I had technique." As

360-876: The keynote address at the undergraduate commencement ceremony. 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. From 1954 to 1988, Lewis was married to Geraldine Taylor (1935–2005), with whom he had seven children. In 1990, he married Jan Tamillow. His sisters, Gloria Johnson (1941–2021) and Lucille Jackson (1932–2012), served as music minister and co-pastor respectively, at

384-440: The ninth, eleventh or thirteenth scale degree to the chord. In some cases, these extensions may be "altered" i.e. sharpened or flattened, as in the case of a "sharp 11" chord. The next step is learning to improvise melodic lines using scales and chord tones. This ability is perfected after long experience, including much practice, which internalizes the physical skills of playing and the technical elements of harmony, and it requires

408-554: The pianist and set leader George Shearing . Jazz piano has played a leading role in developing the sound of jazz. Early on, Black jazz musicians created ragtime on the piano. As the genre progressed, the piano was usually featured in the rhythm section of a band, which was typically configured as one or more of piano, guitar, bass, or drums, or other instruments, such as the vibraphone. Over time, playing piano-accompaniment in ensemble sets, and then bands, changed from primarily time-keeping (consisting of repetitive left-hand figures) to

432-449: 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 Lewis' 1981 album Three Piece Suite . By 1966, Lewis

456-405: The sound of bebop. Bill Evans built upon the style of Powell while adding a distinct classical influence to his playing, while Oscar Peterson pushed rhythmic variations and was influenced by the style of Art Tatum , Teddy Wilson and Nat King Cole . Wynton Kelly , Red Garland , Herbie Hancock , and Keith Jarrett were also exceptional pianists who played with Miles Davis . Tommy Flanagan

480-498: 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

504-574: 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 and The Chicago High School for the Arts . Lewis was an honorary member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. In May 2008, Lewis received an honorary doctorate from Loyola University Chicago upon delivering

SECTION 20

#1732776524759

528-545: Was born on May 27, 1935, in Chicago to Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis and Pauline Lewis. He grew up in the Cabrini–Green Homes Housing Projects , an area native to soul singers Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler . Both of his parents came from the Deep South. His father was a church choir director who encouraged him to study music. Thus, Lewis began taking piano lessons at the age of four with Ernestine Bruce,

552-536: Was featured by John Coltrane on his hit album Giant Steps . McCoy Tyner is also an influential player who played with Coltrane. Legends of Jazz Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis was a 13-week, public television show, produced by the Chicago -based independent music entertainment company, LRSmedia and distributed by WTTW . It was first broadcast on public television stations in April 2006. The series

576-445: Was one of the nation's most successful jazz pianists, having had hits 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 . In the 1970s, Lewis often played electric piano , although by later in the decade he was sticking to acoustic piano and using an additional keyboardist in his groups. In addition to recording and performing, Lewis hosted

#758241