Ramsey Lewis Readies for Time

Pianist, composer and smilin’ Chicagoan Ramsey Lewis (pictured) will release a new album, Time Flies, on June 29 on Narada. The album, which will be released close to the approaching 40th anniversary of The In Crowd, Lewis’ Grammy Award-winning, monster-hit platter from 1965, offers an introspective look into Lewis’ life and music.

Time Flies was produced by Lewis, and features trio mates Leon Joyce Jr. (on drums) and Larry Gray (on bass). The album will feature both new material and new versions of some older Lewis-associated tunes, including the hit “The In Crowd” and “Wade In the Water.” Lewis also pays homage to early influences with renditions of gospel tunes from Kirk Franklin and Yolanda Adams and classical masterpieces by Bach and Brahms.

Lewis has won three Grammy awards and seven gold albums. By the mid-1960s, Lewis was one of the most successful pop-jazz pianists in the country, hitting the pop singles chart four times in 1965 and 1966 with “The In Crowd”(which reached no. 5) and renditions of rock classics like “Hang On Sloopy,” “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Wade In the Water.” Lewis often incorporates jazz, R&B, pop and gospel traditions into his arrangements.

Lewis will be on tour with his trio, as well as with singer Nancy Wilson, whom he recently collaborated with on Simple Pleasures, throughout the summer.

For more information and tour dates visit, www.narada.com or www.ramseylewis.com.

Originally Published May 24, 2004