Grammy®-Award Winning Ramsey Lewis with Special Guest Patti Austin on Mellon Jazz Concert Series January 14th
January 2, 2007
Chance Trio to Perform Free in the Plaza Concert in the Commonwealth Plaza at 5:30pm
Composer, pianist and jazz legend Ramsey Lewis and his Trio perform alongside Patti Austin in Verizon Hall on Sunday, January 14, 2007 at 7:30pm. A combination of gospel-inspired funk with blues shadings, Lewis's music has expanded the repertoire of jazz to include crossover hits like "The In Crowd" and "Hang on Sloopy." Lewis was recently named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts, widely considered the nation's highest jazz honor; and hosted a 13-week series on PBS entitled "Legends of Jazz," the first educational jazz series to be televised nationwide in four decades. Patti Austin will be performing selections from her Grammy® - award winning recording For Ella, a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald.
This performance is the sixth in the Mellon Jazz Series. The next concert in this series is Dianne Reeves and Jason Moran on Friday, February 2, 2007 at 8:00pm.
Tickets for the Ramsey Lewis Trio are $30, $46, $59, $64 and $71 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.) For group sales call 215-893-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning 2.5 hours prior to curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
Ramsey Lewis has been referred to as "the great performer," a title reflecting his performance style and diversity of musical selections including early gospel and classical training, along with his love of jazz and other musical forms. Lewis initially captivated fans with his first album Ramsey Lewis and the Gentlemen of Swing by the Ramsey Lewis Trio. 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." He has three Grammy® Awards and seven gold records to his credit. In addition to recording albums and performing live, Lewis has hosted WNUA-FM Chicago's weekday morning drive-time radio show for the last five years, and has been awarded Rory’s 1999 and 2000 Personality of the Year Award. Lewis currently performs in the United States and abroad with his trio, including Larry Gray (bass) and Leon Joyce (drums). Mr. Lewis' most current album release With One Voice is on the 2005 Narada Jazz label.
Active in community efforts especially on behalf of youth, Lewis is the Artistic Director of the annual Ravinia Jazz Festival, and organizes the jazz series along with the Jazz Mentor Program. Early 2005 saw the formation of the Ramsey Lewis Foundation, which helps provide youth with the opportunity to play musical instruments and develop those and other skills to enhance self-confidence and a sense of personal accomplishment.
Patti Austin has crosses all musical genres with 16 solo albums to her credit. The daughter of a jazz trombonist and goddaughter of musical legends Quincy Jones and Dinah Washington, she made her stage debut at the age of four, and has since found fame, first as a commercial jingle singer, and then as a prolific musician. As a performer, songwriter and vocalist, her star-studded career has included award nominated hit songs on the Grammys and Oscars. She is one of the most beloved artists literally the world over who has produced scores of chart-topping hits in the past three decades. In recent years, Austin has performed extensively throughout the Far East, where she is immensely popular. Austin has also devoted a lot of time performing for AIDS-related organizations and has appeared in several benefit concerts in San Francisco and Los Angeles. With live performances of material from For Ella and Beboporella, along with her appearances with symphony orchestras throughout the world, Austin continues to create milestones in a remarkable career.
As a Free in the Plaza event, The Chance Trio will perform on the Commonwealth Plaza stage on Sunday, January 14 at 5:30pm prior to the Ramsey Lewis Trio and Patti Austin ticketed performance. The Chance Trio has performed all over the Philadelphia area and was a featured act at the 3rd and 4th annual Collective Voices Festivals. The unique instrumentation of trumpet, acoustic guitar, and upright bass lends a distinctive and captivating sound to their passionate, melodic, and adventurous compositions.
Kimmel Center Presents' 2006/2007 season is supported by: Mellon Financial Corporation, University of Pennsylvania Health System, National Endowment for the Arts, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, ARC Wheeler, The William Penn Foundation, Verizon Foundation, The Presser Foundation, Philadelphia Music Project and Dance Advance, Initiatives of The Pew Charitable Trust administered by The University of the Arts. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Jazz and World Pop programming. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents. The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com are media sponsors for the Great Orchestras on Tour series.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS
Sunday, January 14, 2007 | 7:30pm
Verizon Hall
Ramsey Lewis Trio
Ramsey Lewis, piano
Larry Gray, bass
Leon Joyce, drums
with special guest
Patti Austin with Trio
Patti Austin, vocals
Michael Ricchiuti, musical director and piano
Brian Delaney, drums
Tim Lefebvre, bass
**********
FREE AT THE KIMMEL EVENTS
Sunday, January 14, 2007 | 5:30pm
Commonwealth Plaza Stage
The Chance Trio
An intimate and acoustic, improvisational jazz trio featuring Bart Miltenberger on trumpet, Matt Davis on guitar, and Michael Taylor on bass.
Saturday, January 27, 2007 | 4pm
Commonwealth Plaza Stage
Waking Up Tillie
This band features three award-winning old-time singers and musicians – Randy Johnson on fiddle, Pete Peterson on banjo, and Kellie Allen on guitar. Already notorious for their soaring two- and three-part vocal harmonies and hot fiddle tunes, Randy, Pete & Kellie love to get folks singing and shouting and up on their feet for a dance!
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