The In Crowd - Ramsey Lewis

 

The In Crowd

The In Crowd

The Ramsey Lewis Trio

Recorded by Edgewood Recording Studios at The Bohemian Cavers in Washington, D.C. on May 13, 14 & 15, 1965

Engineer: Ed Green

Album Production & Supervision: Esmond Edwards

Cover Design & Photography: Don S. Bronstein

Cadet LP 757

From the back cover: The Ramsey Lewis three are among the best-selling jazz artists on records today. A collection of their works shows the many facets of their styles. Lewis has been presented with big bands and strings in addition to the regular trio format and in all situations he plays good jazz – sometimes pretty, sometimes blue, sometimes cool, but always swinging and straight from the heart of a true jazz artist.

The scope of jazz today has widened and young men like Ramsey Lewis are improvising, drawing from many sources, blending and putting into jazz something that wea not there before, but never losing the source – the blues. The shaping of a mature musical personality is a long, slow process that is often as stormy as growing from adolescence to adulthood. In many cases, final crystallization never occurs and the musical is stalled on the brink of something important. For Ramsey Lewis, however, the process is just about complete and there is no doubt in my mind that his playing has reached a finality which indicates the culmination of the long trip.

The strides Ramsey has made in the last few years have been amazing. His sound and style have grown completely distinctive, and could be considered a synthesis of the older elements of jazz – elements that project the roots, beginnings and emotional undercoating of the idiom.

The trio was formed about a decade ago, while Ramsey was a student at DePaul University. The trio still consists of the original members, with bass and cello player extraordinary, Eldee Young, and the brilliant drummer Isaac "Red" Holt. All are from Chicago.

In recent years, Ramsey Lewis Trio's popularity has risen to phenomenal heights. Nowhere in the country has the trio been more enthusiastically received than in the nation's capitol, where they enjoy the praises of fans of all nations. It is small wonder that hundreds of global neighbors waited in line to enter the beautiful, sculpturesque, world-renowned Bohemian Caverns, the home of the 'IN' crowd, to see and hear the Ramsey Lewis Trio.

Recording night for the trio is an event for Washington fans, and this is the trio's second recording date in the famous Bohemian Caverns. The first (CADET LP-741) was a big commercial success.

The trio opens this album with "I'm in with the 'in' crowd... I go where the 'in' crowd goes." Here Ramsey swings with a touch of the blues in the chordal work.

"Since I Fell For You" is a splendid old composition played in a manner that holds the attention all the way to the lonely sounding end.

On "Tennessee Waltz", Eldee Young plays cello with unbelievable dexterity. His approach ranges from ta gentle reserve to unpredictable aggressive movements and his "Flamenco" introduction is a priceless bit of merriment.

On other selections, such as "Love Theme From Spartacus," "You Been Talking' 'Bout Me Baby" and "Felicidade", I find drummer "Red" Holt increasingly impressive, most effectively so, in his unique contributions.

From the beginning, the trio settled into a comfortable groove, relaxed and swinging, "I'm in with the 'in' crowd... I known what the 'in' crowd knows." Yes, they known what the 'IN' crowd wants to hear, so they recorded a thoroughly satisfying collection of fine music, tailor-made for the 'IN' crowd.

Ramsey Lewis has made a lot of fine recordings and this is one more to add to his illustrious background. – Al Clarke, WOOK Radio, Washington, D.C.

The 'In' Crowd

Since I Fell For You

Tennessee Waltz

You Been Talkin' 'Bout Me Baby

Spartacus (Love Theme From)

Felicidade (Happiness)

Come Sunday