St. Cecilia Music Center

Ramsey Lewis lives up to “genius” label

Monday, October 26 2009

Ramsey Lewis lives up to ‘genius’ label shouted from audience at St. Cecilia Music Center’s Great Artist Concert By Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk | The Grand Rapids Press October 23, 2009

4 of 4 stars

The vitality of youth and the wisdom of maturity flowed in from the hands of pianist Ramsey Lewis. “Genius,” shouted someone in the audience. The tune was John Coltrane’s “Dear Lord.” The performance was “omigod.” That was one of many moments to treasure Thursday evening in St. Cecilia Music Center’s Royce Auditorium.

The Ramsey Lewis Trio, from the Windy City, was back in River City as the 22nd Great Artist on the 22nd of October to open St. Cecilia’s 2009-10 season. That Lewis is indeed a great artist was settled long ago. Three Grammy Awards, seven Gold Records all preceded the Jazz Masters Award bestowed on him in 2007 by the National Endowment for the Arts. Yet Lewis was here to remind us gently this quintessential American form of music known as jazz is a living, breathing art form. Ready to absorb every influence that crosses its path. Ready to renew itself every night.

Double bassist Larry Gray provided a luscious arrangement of the andante from Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 3 that made the most of Brahms’ deceptive meter. Drummer Leon Joyce was the engine behind a driving version of Stevie Wonder’s 1973 R&B hit “Living for the City.” The Ramsey Lewis Trio played no fewer than four new tunes by the 74-year-old pianist/composer, all from the group’s latest CD, “Songs from the Heart,” released just last month by Concord Jazz. Lewis and his partners have worked together for many years. It shows in the way they converse musically and take chances that seem to surprise themselves and the audience. Gray played with class and technique, taking up his bow frequently for long solos well up into cellist’s territory, and flying up and down the instrument on “The Way She Smiles.” Joyce worked no fewer than six cymbals with a Thad Jones touch, alternating with all-out, no-holds barred solos worthy of a stadium rock act drummer. At times he was too much for the resonant room. Lewis, the master himself, played with taste and restraint and yet seemed to play 84 or 85 of the 88 keys on the instrument. The pianist who began with classical studies as a boy and played gospel music in church as a teenager frequently draws upon both and more in the same solo.

The evening left you wondering, not simply whether there’s any musical style these guys couldn’t tackle in one night, but whether there’s any musical style they couldn’t work into the same tune. The Ramsey Lewis Trio did not play a single standard, except for its own. “The In Crowd,” Lewis’ big hit from 1965, was a big hit with Thursday’s audience, which welcomed it with a second standing ovation for the night.

It does take you back.