Ramsey Lewis plays Raue Center
Pianist and composer Ramsey Lewis returns to Raue Center for the Arts, Crystal Lake at 3 p.m. Nov. 29. Lewis' performance style and musical selections display his early gospel roots and classical training. They are coupled with his love of jazz and other musical forms.
A native Chicagoan, Lewis began taking piano lessons at the age of four, studying the basics. He is quoted as saying, "It wasn't until I started studying with the late Dorothy Mendelson that I responded to some of the startling things she was teaching me, such as 'Listen with your inner ear,' and 'Make the piano sing.' These concepts were revelations!" Except for records his father played around the house - Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Mead Lux Lewis and others - young Ramsey had no experience playing jazz. He was 15 years old when a fellow church musician, Wallace Burton, asked him to join his jazz band and took the time to coach and help the young musician learn the language of jazz.
Lewis captivated fans with his first album "Ramsey Lewis and the Gentlemen of Swing" by the Ramsey Lewis Trio in 1956. By 1965, he was one of the nation's most successful jazz pianists, topping the charts with "The In Crowd," "Hang On Sloopy" and "Wade In The Water." He has three Grammy Awards and seven gold records to his credit and he has been honored with three honorary doctorate degrees. He was "Person of the Week" on ABC Nightly News in February 1995 and received the NARAS Recording Governor's Award in 2000. In 1996 Lewis performed at a State Dinner at the White House honoring the President of Brazil and was awarded the prestigious Lincoln Academy of Illinois "Laureate" Award in Springfield, IL in April 1997. He carried the Olympic torch, kicking off the Winter Olympics, on its route through Chicago in January 2002. Lewis' most recent awards include the National Endowment for the Arts highest award in the field of music in the jazz category, the Jazz Master Award in January 2007 along with the Illinois honor of "Living Landmark" award in March 2007.
Often called legendary, he concedes, "It's a high honor when someone says so, but I don't see myself that way. What keeps me enthusiastic and energizes me, is the realization that the more I learn, the more I find there is to know."
In addition to recording albums and performing live, Lewis hosts WNUA-FM Chicago's weekday morning drive-time radio show, "The Ramsey Lewis Morning Show" as well as the syndicated "Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis," a two-hour radio program that airs in more than 75 cities throughout the U.S and also airs in London. In 2003, Lewis along with Larry Rosen and Lee Rosenberg formed LRSmedia, the company that produced for the first time in 40 years a series of 13 one-half hour television programs. This acclaimed series "Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis" has aired on PBS featuring emerging and established jazz musicians.
Tickets are $56 and $53 and can be purchased at Web site rauecenter.org or by calling the box office at (815) 356-9212. Raue Center is at 26 N. Williams St. in downtown Crystal Lake.