In Person (1960-65) Vol.1 - Ramsey Lewis Trio

Rating: 6.5/10 
Sound Quality: 320 kb/s
Format: Mp3
Record Label: Rev-Ola
Year Released: 2007
Album Covers: Included
Pass: radiodada
Links: rapidshare

Note From Dada!
"Κλείνω" αυτή τη δεκαετία (ψψψψ....τι λες ρε μεγάλε...) με δύο δισκάκια, μιας jazz μπάντας που εκτιμώ ιδιαίτερα, τo trio του Ramsey Lewis. Σ' αυτό το post ανεβάζω το πρώτο από τα δύο cd που "συνοψίζει" τη live περίοδο του σχήματος από το 1960 έως το 1965 και "φωτογραφίζει" κάποιες στιγμές από τους δίσκους: "The In Crowd", "Ramsey Lewis Trio In Chicago" και το "Ramsey Lewis Trio At The Bohemian Caverns" το οποίο ανήρτησα πριν λίγο καιρό (κάντε κλικ εδώ).
Αν και το ρητό "three is a crowd" χρησιμοποιείται για ...άλλους λόγους, εδώ κολλάει τέλεια, καθώς ο τόσος γεμάτος και συμπαγής ήχος του σχήματος δεν αφήνει υπόνοιες για τυχόν "ορχηστικές αδυναμίες ή ελλείψεις". Ίσα ίσα το αντίθετο συμβαίνει. Η συγκεκριμένη μπάντα είναι ένα απ' τα καλύτερα παραδείγματα ότι τρία όργανα (στα κατάλληλα χέρια φυσικά ....) είναι αρκετά για γκρουβάρουν και να "ξεκουνήσουν" και τους πιο καρεκλόβιους...
Αν και ανάμεσα από τις δύο συλλογές δείχνω μια προτίμηση στο δεύτερο cd (...το οποίο θα ποστάρω στην επόμενη ανάρτηση), γνώμη μου είναι πως και  τα δύο δισκάκια είναι μια πάρα πολύ καλή και χορταστική "εισαγωγή" σ' αυτό τo ιστορικό τζαζ τριο.
Εξαιρετικό το standar της μπάντας "The 'In' Crowd", το κλασικό yiddish "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon", το "Delilah", το "My Babe", το γνωστό "You've Been Talkin' 'Bout Me Baby"  και η εκπληκτικά διασκευασμένη "Carmen" του Bizet.

Σύνθεση:
Ramsey Lewis: Πιάνο
Eldee Young: Μπάσο
Red Holt: Τύμπανα

About Ramsey Lewis

Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. (born May 27, 1935) is an American jazz icon, composer, pianist and radio personality. He has been referred to as "the great performer", a title reflecting his performance style and musical selections which display his early gospel playing and classical training (Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, etc.) along with his love of jazz and other musical forms. Ramsey Lewis has recorded over 80 albums and has received five gold records and three Grammy Awards so far in his career.

Ramsey Lewis was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Ramsey Lewis, Sr. and Pauline Lewis. Lewis began taking piano lessons at the age of four. 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.

The trio started as primarily a jazz unit and released their first album, Ramsey Lewis And The Gentlemen of Swing, in 1956. Following their 1965 hit The In Crowd (the single reached #5 on the pop charts, and the album #2) they concentrated more on pop material. Young and Holt left in 1966 to form the Young-Holt Trio and were replaced by Cleveland Eaton and Maurice White. White was replaced by Maurice Jennings in 1970. Later, Franky Donaldson and Billy "The Bhudda" Dickens replaced Jennings and Eaton; Felton Crews also appeared on many 1980's releases.

By 1966, Lewis 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. Many of his recordings attracted a large non-jazz audience. In the '70s, Lewis often played electric piano, although by later in the decade he was sticking to acoustic and using an additional keyboardist in his groups.

In addition to recording and performing, Lewis hosted a morning show on Chicago "smooth jazz" radio station WNUA (95.5 FM) until May 22, 2009. His weekly syndicated radio program "Legends of Jazz," created in 1990, features recordings from artists such as David Sanborn, George Duke, Herbie Hancock, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Kurt Elling, Al Jarreau and Miles Davis. The show can be heard in 60 U.S. cities and overseas. On December 4, 2006, the Ramsey Lewis Morning Show became part of Broadcast Architecture's Smooth Jazz Network, simulcasting on other Smooth Jazz stations across the country for the first time. However, the show is still based in Chicago.

In 2006, a well-received 13-episode Legends of Jazz television series hosted by Lewis was broadcast on public TV nationwide and featured live performances by a variety of jazz artists including Larry Gray, Lonnie Smith, Joey Defrancesco, Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, Kurt Elling, Benny Golson, Pat Metheny and Tony Bennett.

Lewis is artistic director of Jazz at Ravinia (an annual feature at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois) and helped organize Ravinia's Jazz Mentor Program. Ramsey also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Merit School of Music, a Chicago inner-city music program. Early in 2005, the Ramsey Lewis Foundation was created to help connect at-risk children to the world of music. As an offshoot of that foundation, Lewis plans to form a Youth Choir and Youth Orchestra. In January 2007, the Dave Brubeck Institute invited Lewis to join its Honorary Board of Friends at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. Lewis is an Honorary Board member of the Chicago Jazz Orchestra.

Lewis still lives in Chicago, Illinois, the city of his musical roots. He has seven children, fourteen grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.