Grammy Award-winning composer and pianist Ramsey Lewis has been referred to as “the great performer,” a title reflecting his performance style and musical selections which display his early gospel playing and classical training along with his love of jazz. In addition to recording albums and performing live, Mr. Lewis hosts the nationally-syndicated radio program “The Ramsey Lewis Morning Show” and the syndicated “Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis,” a two-hour radio program which airs in over 75 cities throughout the U.S. In 2006, Lewis became the host of the television series, Legends of Jazz, which aired on PBS stations nationwide. The series marked the return of jazz to network television for the first time in more than 40 years. AARP is the official presenter of the national Legends of Jazz tour.
Perhaps the most successful Cuban artist to soar to jazz glory in the U.S., reeds player Paquito D’Rivera has won eight Grammy Awards, become a marquee performing artist around the world and is a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master. JazzTimes has written that D’Rivera is “one of the premier reeds stylists of the last 30 years.”
Fifteen years ago Grammy nominated Fourplay launched the smooth jazz movement with a debut album that shot straight to the top of the Contemporary Jazz charts. They continue to wow audiences with music bordering on jazz with strong improvisations mixed with pop and R&B. Members include Grammy winning pianist Bob James, Nathan East, voted the Most Valuable Player in the bass category at the International Rock Awards, Grammy award winning guitarist Larry Carlton and one of the most in demand and most recorded session drummers of all time, Grammy nominee Harvey Mason.
