Ramsey Lewis By:Akieba Alexander

Born•Ramsey

Emmanuel Lewis Jr. was born May 27, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois.

Early Life•At 15 he joined his

first jazz band, The Cleffs. The seven-piece group provided Lewis his first involvement with jazz; he would later join Cleffs drummer Isaac "Redd" Holt and bassist Eldee Young to form the Ramsey Lewis Trio

Later Life•Since 1957, Lewis

has performed concerts in all the major clubs, jazz festivals and summer venues in the United States and with more than twenty-five symphony orchestras.

Family

•Lewis has been married to Janet Tamillow Lewis since 1990 and is the father of seven children, grandfather of twelve and great-grandfather of one.

Honored •Pianist and

composer Ramsey Lewis has been referred to as “the great performer,” a title reflecting his performance style and musical selections that display his early gospel roots and classical training

Awards •He is the winner of

three Grammy Awards, and from 1967to 1976 earned five gold records. His major hits include "The In Crowd," "Wade in the Water" and "Hang On Sloopy."

Radio Personality • In addition to

recording albums and performing live, Mr. Lewis hosts WNUA-FM Chicago’s weekday morning drive-time radio show for which he has been awarded R&R’s 1999 and 2000 Personality of the Year Award

Television Show•This acclaimed

series “Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis” has aired on PBS featuring emerging and established jazz musicians

Giving Back• Lewis is on the board of

the Merit Music Program, which provides free music lessons to youth; Cycle, an inner-city self-help high school program; and the Ravinia Mentor Program. He serves as honorary chairman of the Cares for Kids Foundation.