Refined and playful … Ramsey Lewis.
Photograph: Paul Natkin/Getty Images
The Guardian
Like the late Nina Simone, Ramsey Lewis
was a gifted church pianist who harboured childhood dreams of classical
piano fame but found inspiration in jazz, blues and soul when he was
told there were no jobs for African American classical recitalists in
the 1940s. And like Simone, Lewis turned that disappointment into a
unique fusion of song-rooted gospel communality, jazz spontaneity and
European classical symmetries, which made him a much loved multiple
recipient of gold records and Grammies.
Latterly, the Chicago musician, now 82, has launched a late-career
renaissance as a long-form orchestral composer. His work now hasa
playful funkiness and a sometimes whisper-quiet lyrical refinement –
even if the soul hooks could hardly be more familiar and his
fastidiously classical side sometimes makes him recede into a world of
almost impenetrable privacy.
Lewis had a close connection with African American superstars Earth, Wind & Fire
in the 70s. He soon reminds his audience of those collaborations with
an account of Tequila Mockingbird (“The label named it,” he announces
mock apologetically) in which the Wes Montgomery-like
guitarist Henry Johnson and bassist Joshua Ramos set up an infectiously
chugging unison hook cushioning a bright Latin-chordal piano melody,
while synth player Tim Gant softly mimics a soul-jazz horn section on
the accents. Lewis improvises unaccompanied in delicate treble twists,
chord-punching rhythm patterns and wry trills before the band clamours
back into the hook.
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