Ramsey Lewis was an American jazz composer, pianist, and radio personality.
He began taking piano lessons at the age of four. As a young man, Lewis played with several local ensembles, such as Edward Virgil Abner’s Knights of Music.
Lewis then join a jazz group called the clefs. He subsequently formed the Ramsey Lewis Trio with drummer Isaac “Red” Holt and bassist Eldee Young.
In 1956, they released their first album, Ramsey Lewis and His Gentlemen of Jazz, on the Chess label.
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. The first members who formed the Ramsey Lewis Trio split, however, Lewis returned to the studio with Young and Holt for the album Reunion in 1983.
During Lewis’ music career, he recorded over 80 albums and received five gold records and three Grammy Awards in his career.
In addition to recording and performing, Lewis hosted the weekly syndicated radio program Legends of Jazz, created in 1990, and syndicated by United Stations Radio Networks. He also hosted the Ramsey Lewis Morning Show on Chicago’s “smooth jazz” radio station WNUA (95.5 FM).
Ramsey Lewis died on September 12, 2022, at age 87 in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Where is Ramsey Lewis from? Where did Ramsey Lewis live?
Ramsey Lewis comes from Chicago, Illinois. He also lived in Chicago.