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Woodwind & Brasswind
Ahmad Jamal and Ramsey Lewis at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, November 4th Print E-mail
Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor   
Wednesday, 31 October 2007

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Ahmad Jamal and James Cammack©Howard Gitelson
 

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark will host a jazz event of historical proportions on Sunday, November 4th (5 pm) when piano legends Ahmad Jamal and Ramsey Lewis share the stage for the first time. Hosted by NJPAC’s Alternative Routes series, the pairing of these trios brings together two musicians whose popularity has never trumped their artistic vision. 

Of the living legends of jazz piano, perhaps none has exerted such wide influence on the genre as Ahmad Jamal. Now in his 70s, Jamal has been cited as a key muse by pianists as diverse as McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Kenny Barron, Cedar Walton, and Mulgrew Miller; echoes of Jamal can be found in the playing of a younger generation, including Eric Reed and Jacky Terrasson; and trumpet legend Miles Davis was so impressed with Jamal's approach that he repeatedly sought pianists who could incorporate that sound in his early bands. Wrote Stanley Crouch in the Village Voice, "No musician has had a more profound effect on the orchestral approach to small groups in the last 35 years than Ahmad Jamal...He showed people how to italicize and magnify elements of music that were taken for granted, how to organize the sound of a group around the drums, and how to interchange the riff with the ostinato or the vamp...He is a virtuoso, but his innovations are found in his arrangements...." Recently Jamal was awarded the prestigious Officier de L'Ordre Des Arts et Des Lettres of France. While his full body of work has redefined the jazz trio, recently Jamal has been experimenting with electric keyboards, strings, steel drums and saxophone. 

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Ramsey Lewis
A native of Chicago, Ramsey Lewis is well known for his gospel inflected style that melds with his classical training. Studying piano from age 4 and starting his professional career while still in his teens, his first trio hit the charts with Ramsey Lewis and the Gentlemen of Swing (1956) and later the big hits, “The In Crowd,” “Hang On Sloopy” and “Wade In The Water.” With pop grooves and often playing electric piano, Lewis attracted a wide following that crossed genres while creating what became known as “smooth jazz.” Lewis also gained popularity through his radio broadcasts, particularly Legends of Jazz which is now televised. Over the years he has served on numerous boards of music schools and programs and directs the annual Jazz at Ravinia in Chicago. Lewis has earned seven Gold Records, three Grammy Awards and, in 2007, was named an NEA Jazz Master. For his half of NJPAC’s November 4th program, Lewis will present “To Know Her…,” a work he composed for the Joffrey Ballet, as well as his most famous songs. “You know, we play those melodies just enough that people recognize them, and then we go off on our own,” he explains. “You need to respect that part of the audience that has been coming to see you for years – the people who want to hear some songs that they associate with a particular time in their lives.” 

Seeing either Ahmad Jamal or Ramsey Lewis is always a treat, but on Sunday, November 4th, patrons of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center get a double dip of musical ambrosia when these two titans of jazz piano take the stage back to back.  

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center is located at 1 Center Street in Newark; tickets at www.njpac.org.  More about Ahmad Jamal at www.ahmadjamal.net; more about Ramsey Lewis at www.ramseylewis.com 
 
 
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