Ramsey Lewis Trio to Highlight Music by the Lake Series July 8

Williams Bay, Wis., June 30, 2006 — The sixth annual Music by Lake series continues on Saturday, July 8, at 7:30 p.m. with the Ramsey Lewis Trio, featuring Chicago’s legendary jazz artist Ramsey Lewis.

Performances are held in the Allyn Pavilion for the Performing Arts at George Williams College of Aurora University, located at 350 Constance Blvd. on the shores of Geneva Lake in Williams Bay, Wis.

Composer and pianist Lewis has been referred to as “the great performer,” a title reflecting his unique musical style. The Lewis sound incorporates a blend of his early gospel playing and classical training, along with his love of jazz and other forms. His eclectic genius represents the great diversity of musical elements for which Chicago is noted.

Lewis was born in Chicago on May 27, 1935, to a hard working, self-educated, Southern farm working couple who met in church. Given his first piano lessons at the age of four, he attended Chicago Musical College from 1947 to 1954.

He credits his music teacher, Dorothy Mendelsohn, with teaching him how to listen with his “inner ear.” Other than listening to his father’s Duke Ellington, Art Tatham and Mead Lewis records, he had no special exposure to jazz. After graduating from Wells High School in 1954, his first music job was as an accompanist at the Zion Hill Baptist Church.

In 1956, he formed the Ramsey Lewis Jazz Trio and signed with Chess Records in 1957 to record the trio’s first album, “Ramsey Lewis and The Gentlemen of Swing.” By 1965 he was one of the nation’s most successful jazz pianists, topping the charts with “The In Crowd,” “Hang On Sloopy” and “Wade In The Water.”

Since 1957, Lewis has performed concerts in all the major clubs, jazz festivals and summer venues in the U.S. In addition, he has appeared with 25 symphony orchestras in the U.S. and Canada, and has performed in concerts and at festivals throughout Europe, Japan, Mexico and the Caribbean.

He has been honored with three honorary doctorate degrees, the Recording Academy Governor’s Award in 2000, and was dubbed “Person of the Week” on the ABC Nightly News in February, 1995. Lewis performed at the White House State Dinner held by President Bill Clinton to honor President Fernando Henrique and Mrs. Cardoso of Brazil, in April of 1995.

In addition, he was awarded the prestigious Lincoln Academy of Illinois “Laureate” Award in Springfield, Ill., in April 1997, and was selected as one of the Olympic runners who carried the Olympic Torch during its journey to Salt Lake City in January of 2002.

Lewis hosts WNUA-FM Chicago’s weekday morning drive-time radio show for which he won R&R’s 1999 and 2000 Personality of the Year award. He also hosts the syndicated “Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis,” a two-hour radio program airing in more than 65 cities throughout the U.S.

Active in community affairs, especially on behalf of youth, he helped organize the Ravinia Festival’s Jazz Mentor Program, and also serves as the Artistic Director for the festival’s jazz series. Additionally, he serves as Honorary Chairman of the Cares for Kids Foundation.

Lewis, joined by Larry Gray on bass and Leon Joyce on drums, has been married to Janet Tamillow Lewis since 1990. He is the father of seven children, grandfather of 12 and great-grandfather of one.

The artist underwriter for the July 8 performance is The J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation.

This performance is supported by the Performing Arts Fund, a program of Arts Midwest funded by the National Endowment for the Arts with additional contributions from the General Mills Foundation, the Land O’Lakes Foundation and the Wisconsin Arts Board.

Additional Music by the Lake performances this season are:

• “The Student Prince,” an operetta by Sigmund Romberg, featuring the Music by the Lake Orchestra, Chorus and Soloists, at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 22, and at 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 23.
• The Irish Tenors with Arnie Roth and members of the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 5. The artist underwriter for this performance is The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Foundation.

For tickets, visit the Web site at www.aurora.edu/mbtl or call 866-843-5200, toll free.

The 2006 Music by the Lake concert series is generously supported by presenting sponsor Keefe Real Estate; platinum sponsors AT&T and Gage Marine and Lake Geneva Cruise Line; gold sponsors The Abbey Resort, Aurora Health Care, Fairwyn Development & Investment, Gilbert’s Fine Dining, Grand Geneva Resort and Spa, Interlaken Resort & Country Spa and Scherrer Construction, Inc.; and silver sponsors Arts Midwest, Balestrieri Environmental and Development, Inc., Community Shoppers, Inc., Hillcrest of Lake Geneva, LaSalle Bank Wealth Management, M&I Wealth Management, locally-owned Mid-America Bank, Saavedra Gehlhausen Architects, Sodexho Campus Services and WLKG 96.1 The Lake.

Aurora University is an inclusive community dedicated to the transformative power of learning. The university is comprised of two campuses: a 27-acre campus in Aurora, Ill., and the 241-acre George Williams College on Geneva Lake in Williams Bay, Wis. Approximately 4,000 degree-seeking students are enrolled each year on the university’s Illinois and Wisconsin campuses, and the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association to award degrees at the baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral levels.

George Williams College of Aurora University in Williams Bay, Wis., offers 12 undergraduate and graduate academic programs, unique conference facilities for business meetings, an 18-hole golf course, recreation activities and the annual Music by the Lake series.