Ramsey Lewis at 83 and Still Making Magic.
“Work at it”. Words from Ramsey Lewis on how he still makes music magic. Yes, there’s a passion for wine involved and a big bold red always works for Ramsey. And who would Ramsey love to share a glass of wine with these days?
Go ahead start tapping your toes. You know the song if you hear it. Yes, its called, “The In Crowd”. Join wine celebrity Jessica Altieri for this weeks #BestSipEver feature with music legend Ramsey Lewis.
I don’t know about you, but sipping vino with Ramsey Lewis playing in the background, is near perfect. Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. was born in Chicago on May 27, 1935.
He grew up in the Cabrini Homes housing project that also spawned soul vocalists Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler. We caught up with Ramsey and found out what keeps him going after all these years of success. Does he have passion and love for wine? You bet he does.
Ramsey has recorded over 80 albums, won three Grammy Awards, seven gold records and become one of the world’s most renowned jazz pianists and composers of all time. His hit records “The In Crowd,” “Hang On Sloopy,” and “Wade in the Water” were worldwide hits selling more than one million copies each.
From Ramseys’ website: “Throughout his illustrious career, Lewis who is a NEA Jazz Master, has 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 1988he 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 1995, Lewis launched the side project Urban Knights, in which he collaborated with a handful of successful crossover jazz stars, including Grover Washington, Jr., Earl Klugh, and Dave Koz. In 1997, Lewis added disc jockey to his resume, hosting a popular show on Chicago’s WNUA-FM that ran until 2009.”
Showing no signs of slowing down, Ramsey is currently working on a new record which he will begin recording in August with his long time band known as the Urban Knights. An all-star jazz, R&B and funk band which features Grammy nominated guitarist Henry Johnson, drummer Charles Heath, bassist Joshua Ramos and keyboardist Tim Gant.
Check out the video and start toe-tapping to this: The “In” Crowd.
Jessica Altieri, a leading digital wine lifestyle executive, has added a new title to her already impressive list of credentials- America’s Newest Water Sommelier. Jessica’s certification as a Water Sommelier makes her part of a highly exclusive group of tasting professionals. Until 2015, there was only one Water Sommelier in the entire United States, and even today only a handful exist worldwide.
Altieri is the host of “Wine Conversations with Jessica Altieri” on the revolVer Podcast platform. In her book “Kiss My Glass” the NO-BS Wine Buying Guide, Jean-Charles Boisset called Altieri “vibrant, dynamic & charming wine expert, Jess brings joie de vivre, excitement and exuberance to the wine world” while Seresin Estate winemaker Clive Dougall noted “Jessica brings a great, modern, fun and youthful energy to wine that I’ve not encountered before”.