GRAND Magazine - Fall 2022 - 22

cover story
a remarkable variety of musical settings. Throughout
the '70s, he embraced R&B and Latin music without
abandoning mainstream jazz. In 1983, on the album
Reunion, he reconstituted his most famous trio. The
following year, he collaborated with singing great
Nancy Wilson on The Two of Us.
"
Ramsey Lewis with his wife Jan Lewis at
Chene Park on June 22, 2016 in Detroit, Michigan.
1974 smash album entitled Sun Goddess, in which
Lewis first experimented with electronic keyboards
and featured members of Earth, Wind & Fire on the
album. In 1983, Lewis returned to the studio with
Young and Holt for the album Reunion. Throughout
his illustrious career, Lewis who was an NEA Jazz
Master had also joined forces with countless other
artists to create new and innovative music. In 1984,
he collaborated with Nancy Wilson on The Two of
Us, in 1988 he recorded with London's Philharmonic
Orchestra for the album A Classic Encounter, and in
1989 Lewis and Dr. Billy Taylor cut a set of piano duets
in We Meet Again. In 1997, Lewis added disc jockey
to his resume, hosting a popular show on Chicago's
WNUA-FM that ran until 2009.
Over the years, Lewis performed and recorded in
22 GRAND Summer 2022
Lewis and his wife, Jan,
were often seen sharing
their support for each other...
"
The late jazz musician and his second wife Jan were
married for over three decades, having tied the knot
in 1990. The couple would have celebrated their pearl
wedding anniversary amid the pandemic in 2020, with
this year marking 32 years of marriage. Over the years,
Lewis and his wife were often seen sharing their support
for each other in their creative passions.
In 1992, Lewis signed with the leading fusion and
smooth jazz label, GRP Records, debuting with the
ballad album, Ivory Pyramid, by his fusion quintet.
Rich in vocals, the album was co-produced by him
with his son Frayne Lewis and Carl Griffin. In 1995, he
introduced the crossover supergroup Urban Knights,
featuring Grover Washington Jr., Earl Klugh, and Dave
Koz. Urban Knights I was the first of eight albums by
the band. In 2005, returning to his gospel roots, Lewis
recorded With One Voice, which earned him the Stellar
Gospel Music Award for Best Gospel Instrumental
Album.
And in an amazing burst of creativity beginning in
2006, Lewis lived out his classical dreams. He composed
the jazz ballet, To Know Her..., for Chicago's
celebrated Joffrey Ballet Company, and Muses
and Amusements, for his new trio and the Turtle
Island Quartet. Then came Proclamation of Hope: A
Symphonic Poem by Ramsey Lewis. A work in eight
movements with visuals and historical materials, it featured
his trio and a 21-piece ensemble. Following its
premiere at Ravinia, it was performed at the Kennedy
Center in Washington, DC. Along with Colors: The
Ecology of Oneness, a visually enhanced, ecologythemed
work for the trio that premiered at Ravinia,
and in Tokyo, Proclamation was shown on PBS.
In addition to his extensive recorded output, Lewis
has also made a lasting mark as host of The Ramsey
Lewis Morning Show on Chicago's WNUA-FM. The
program, for which he was awarded Records & Radio's
Personality of the Year Award in 1999 and 2000, ran
for a dozen years. In 2006, a new show, Legends of Jazz
with Ramsey Lewis, went into syndication.
An educator and cultural force in the community,
Lewis was Art Tatum Professor in Jazz Studies at
Roosevelt University and founded the Ramsey Lewis
Foundation to help connect at-risk children to the
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GRAND Magazine - Fall 2022

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