The Grammy-winning jazz pianist, composer, and broadcaster who released over 80 albums over the course of more than a five-decade career has died. The artist’s family said that Ramsey Lewis passed away at age of 87 on Monday at his home in Chicago.
In this post, you will read more on what is known about Ramsey Lewis cause of death, who is Ramsey Lewis, his career and honors.
How did Ramsey Lewis die?
Lewis died on Monday while sleeping at his Chicago home, according to his son Bobby Lewis. He was “just at peace,” Bobby Lewis said to The Associated Press on Monday evening.
Breaking News: Ramsey Lewis, a jazz pianist whose recording of “The ‘In’ Crowd” became a Top 10 hit in 1965, has died. He was 87. https://t.co/abvMXKxo6J
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 13, 2022
Ramsey Lewis – Cause Of Death
The pianist Ramsey Lewis passed away on Monday September 12, 2022 in Chicago. He was known for upholding the relationships between jazz and popular music during a time when they sometimes appeared frail and in danger.
Based on speculation, Ramsey Lewis allegedly passed away from a natural illness.
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Who is Ramsey Lewis : Who is he?
Ramsey Lewis was a jazz pianist, lyricist, and radio personality from the United States. Lewis produced more than 80 albums during the course of his career, earning five gold records and three Grammy Awards.
Lewis was raised at the Cabrini Green housing complex after being born in Chicago on May 27, 1935. Early on, he began taking piano lessons, and he performed at the church where his father oversaw the choir. Lewis Sr., his father, was a huge jazz aficionado who frequently played Duke Ellington and Art Tatum at home and took Ramsey to jazz performances.
When Lewis was a young man, he took part in several neighborhood ensembles, including Edward Virgil Abner’s Knights of Music.
Following that, Lewis joined the jazz group the clefs. Later, he formed the Ramsey Lewis Trio with bassist Eldee Young and drummer Isaac “Red” Holt. In the end, they worked with Chess Records.
Ramsey Lewis’s remarkable career
Ramsey Lewis & His Gentlemen of Jazz’s debut record was published in 1956 on the Chess label. Soon after, Lewis and his trio performed at Birdland in New York. Performances at the Newport Jazz Festival and the Village Vanguard resulted from those three weeks.
Jazz greats Max Roach, Clark Terry, and Sonny Stitt also participated in a recording with the trio.
The Grammy-winning song, “The In Crowd,” which Dobie Gray initially sang, helped Lewis’s breakthrough in 1965.”Hang on Sloopy” and “Wade in the Water” came next.
Jazz artists who performed live for Lewis’ well-received 13-episode Legends of Jazz television series, which aired on public television across the nation in 2006, Larry Gray, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Joey DeFrancesco, Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, Benny Golson, Pat Metheny, and Tony Bennett were among the musicians who performed.
Lewis helped to establish the Jazz Mentor Program and handled the creative direction of the Jazz at Ravinia program. Ramsey serves on the boards of trustees of both the Chicago High School for the Arts, a public high school for the arts established in 2009, and the Merit School of Music, an inner-city music program situated in Chicago.
Lewis joined the fraternity Phi Beta Sigma. Lewis delivered the primary speaker for the commencement address in May 2008, and Loyola University Chicago presented him with an honorary degree.
Recognition Of Ramsey Lewis
In 1997, the Governor of Illinois awarded Ramsey Lewis the Order of Lincoln, the state’s highest honor, in the performing arts category. He was also named a Lincoln Academy of Illinois Laureate.
Lewis’ family reported that among his many awards were five honorary doctorates and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Artist. Personal items from the artist “The In Crowd” are housed at the Smithsonian Institution and the song was entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Lewis joined pianist giants Ahmad Jamal, Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner, Dr. Billy Taylor, and Cecil Taylor in receiving a 2007 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Master Award.
Ramsey Lewis three-time Grammy-winning jazz pianist, composer, and broadcaster who released over 80 albums over the course of more than a five-decade career not with us but Ramsey’s love and devotion from his followers all across the world were what inspired his passion for music. He cherished traveling and meeting music fans from numerous nations and social backgrounds.
He’ll be greatly missed, but he’ll never be forgotten. Our thoughts are with Ramsey Lewis’s family and friends during this difficult time. May his soul rest in peace.