Ramsey Lewis bookends 50 years of Hampton JazzFest

His first hit "The In Crowd" was released a few years earlier, in 1965, but according to Lewis, at that first festival, he was still trying to find his way.

The 1968 festival took place at then-Hampton Institute in the Armstrong Stadium. The still-standing venue, now where Hampton University's football team plays, hosted the event for two years before it moved to the Hampton Coliseum — where this year it celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Lewis and vocalist Dionne Warwick are the only two performers from that first Hampton Jazz Festival who still perform regularly. Lewis is returning for the 50th anniversary, scheduled to appear June 25. The show starts at 2 p.m. and also features performances from Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Patti Labelle and local blues musician Bobby "BlackHat" Walters.

The 50th edition of the three-day music festival, which begins Friday at the Hampton Coliseum, also will feature artists including Fantasia, the Mighty Mighty O'Jays, Jill Scott and Anthony Hamilton.

It is one of about 50 shows Lewis will play this year at age 82.

"I remember when Ramsey Lewis played and he was outstanding," said Wendell Samuels, a Washington D.C. resident who says he has attended every Hampton Jazz Festival.

"He played all of his music and he was outstanding just because he was there. He's Ramsey Lewis."

During the first Hampton Jazz Festival, Lewis was in his 30s and getting a taste of the industry. He said the inaugural festival helped him find mentors and learn stage-presence tricks while watching jazz legends such as Warwick, Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie perform. 

"It was very enlightening to find someone that was great like a Dizzy Gillespie," Lewis said. "He was warm, congenial with a sense of humor and a genius."

He returned to the festival in 1975, 1979, 1994 and in 2007 with the Ramsey Lewis Trio.

Former Daily Press reporter Sam McDonald wrote about Ramsey's most recent Hampton Jazz Festival performance in 2007, calling him "something of a godfather to the radio-friendly artists of the smooth jazz movement."

The jazz pianist and composer still is based out of Chicago, where he grew up. He plays alongside a quintet featuring a drummer, guitarist, bass player and keyboardist.

"I do it for the doing of it," Lewis said. "Hopefully, maybe in some, small way when I perform, I'm helping people with my music."

His five-person group is comprised of men mostly much younger than Lewis. According to the band's 41-year-old drummer Charles Heath, unlike Lewis' experience at the Hampton Jazz Festival in 1968, Lewis is the one doing most of the mentoring today.

Heath, who will be on stage with Lewis at this year's festival, recalled some advice Lewis gave him over the seven years he's been with the group.

"He says to think like a percussionist instead of a drummer and just go for it," Heath said. "When he said that, a light bulb came on and that was exactly what I needed to hear to get to the next level of my playing. He really opened me up and I see him do that for so many other musicians."

Lewis knows a thing or two about the industry. He's recorded about 80 albums in his career and said he has no intentions of stopping.

His latest album, "Taking Another Look," was released in 2011.

He became a symbol of the jazz movement by ignoring critics when he composed songs such as "The In Crowd" that crossed over into the pop genre. However, he's mostly stuck to jazz throughout his career with hits such as "Wade in the Water" and his trio's cover of the pop tune "Hang on Sloopy."

"A lot of things make up Ramsey Lewis. When I was younger, I didn't get discouraged by the critics and reviewers who said, 'I don't know what he's doing,' " Lewis said. "My feeling was I can only do what I do and what makes me feel good."

In 2015, he was recognized by President Barack Obama, who also has strong ties to Chicago. Obama congratulated Lewis on his Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut and wished him a happy 80th birthday through a video message.

Lewis has also taken his musical talents to other industries, including radio and television.

He hosts the weekly syndicated jazz radio show "Legends of Jazz."

Lewis previously hosted "The Ramsey Lewis Morning Show" in Chicago until 2009 and a weekly program called "Jazz Central" on Black Entertainment Television (BET) from 1990-1999. Heath recalled watching Lewis host the BET show.

"I would watch his segment and he had all the greats on there," Heath said. "I was just so impressed."

Lewis also is a philanthropist. To give back to young jazz musicians, Lewis co-founded the Ravinia Mentor Program for Chicago's annual Ravinia Festival in the late 1990s. The program helps encourage jazz music in city high schools.

"People were mesmerized he (Lewis) was here in Hampton," Samuels said referencing the first Hampton Jazz Festival. "I'm excited to see Ramsey Lewis come back."

Joseph can be reached by phone at 757-374-3134.

50th Hampton Jazz Festival

When: June 23-25.

Where: Hampton Coliseum.

Tickets: $74.50 per day, go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at the box office and through Ticketmaster.

LINEUP

Friday, June 23: Jill Scott, Kem, Brian Culbertson, and Gerald Albright & Jonathan Butler

Saturday, June 24: Fantasia, Anthony Hamilton, the O'Jays, West Coast Jam (Richard Elliot, Norman Brown and Rick Braun).

Sunday, June 25: Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Patti LaBelle, Ramsey Lewis and Bobby "Blackhat" Walters.

More info: hamptonjazzfestival.com or 757-838-4203.

from www.dailypress.com