Shorty Rogers-Powder Puff.

Album "Shorty Rogers Short Stops" Shorty Rogers (arr,cond,tp), Milt Bernhart (tb), John Grass (fb), Gene Englund (tuba), Art Pepper (as), Jimmy Giuffre (ts), Hampton Hawes (p) Joe Mondragon (b), Shelly Manne (d).

Pancho from Latinville by Victor Feldman

The soloists are Frank Rosolino on trombone and Walter Benton on tenor saxophone.

Bob Florence Limited Edition by Gordon Jack

 © Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved

Gordon Jack is a frequent contributor to the Jazz Journal and a very generous friend in allowing JazzProfiles to re-publish his perceptive and well-researched writings on various topics about Jazz and its makers.

Gordon is the author of Fifties Jazz Talk An Oral Retrospective and he also developed the Gerry Mulligan discography in Raymond Horricks’ book Gerry Mulligan’s Ark.

The following article was published in the April 7, 2024 edition of Jazz Journal. Gordon is based in the UK and uses English spelling.

For more information and subscriptions please visit www.jazzjournal.co.uk                 

© -Gordon Jack/JazzJournal, copyright protected; all rights reserved; used with the author’s permission.

“Between 1979 and 2006 Bob Florence recorded thirteen big band albums with his Limited Edition and each release was an event. One of the band’s notable features was a six-man saxophone section which was packed with doublers. No less than eighteen woodwinds were available to the leader who took full advantage of the stimulating tone colours available to him. The band could pin you to the chair with the brilliance of its attack combined with subtle dynamics worthy of the Basie band at its very best. As drummer Nick Ceroli once said, ”It can blow your head off or whisper in your ear”. 

Florence wrote many compelling originals and each album which presented totally fresh material was replete with a selection of his innovative themes. He was nominated for fifteen Grammy Awards over the years finally breaking through in 2000 when his Serendipity 18 won for Best Performance by a Jazz Ensemble.

  

He was born in Los Angeles in 1932 and began piano lessons when he was three. He had perfect-pitch together with a prodigious talent for the instrument, performing his first piano recital at the age of seven. After leaving high-school he took an arranging course at the LA City College where he organised a band which rehearsed at the local Musician’s Union. Lanny Morgan, Bob Hardaway (who both became Limited Edition members) Herb Geller and Jack Sheldon were all students at the college at that time. He soon became “mesmerised” by the sounds of the Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Woody Herman bands. After working for Alvino Rey, Les Brown, Louie Bellson and Harry James in the late fifties his career really took off around 1961 when he arranged “Up A Lazy River” for Si Zentner. It became a big hit and won a Grammy Award. This led to commissions from Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich and Count Basie as well as entries into the commercial world with Andy Williams, Dean Martin, Red Skelton and Frank Sinatra on their TV shows. 

He was not completely lost to jazz at this time because his 1964 big band recording of “Straight No Chaser” prompted this comment from Thelonious Monk in a DownBeat Blindfold Test, “It sounded so good, it made me like the song better! It was top-notch”. He particularly liked Herbie Harper’s trombone solo who later became a founder-member of the Limited Edition. Florence went on to work with Jack Jones, Julie Andrews and Lena Horne and for most of the 70s he toured with Vikki Carr as her musical director.

1979 was the year he introduced his Limited Edition with its stellar line-up of big band veterans who had left the rigours of the road for the security of the Los Angeles studio scene. They had all paid their dues over the years touring with Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Count Basie, Louis Bellson, Charlie Barnet, Les Brown and Benny Goodman. Interpreting his demanding scores was clearly not a problem and it helped that the band was full of heavy-hitter soloists in each section. Here are some selected highlights from the band’s extensive discography, although it was not marketed under The Limited Edition title until 1983.

Their debut recording took place at Concerts By The Sea which was Howard Rumsey’s club on the pier at Redondo Beach. They were recorded there over four nights in June 1979. The band is really put through their paces on the extended “Be Bop Charlie” that is almost through-composed in its construction. It is dedicated to Chuck Niles who is the only jazz DJ with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. Bob Hardaway (tenor) and Charlie Loper (trombone) both stretch out to good effect. Nick Ceroli who is better known for his commercial work with Herb Alpert proves here and on all his recordings with the band to be a fine big band drummer very much in the Buddy Rich tradition. “The Lonely Carousel” is a perfect vehicle for the lyrical flugelhorn of Warren Luening. Sounding very close to the great Guido Basso of Rob McConnell fame he is cushioned here by delicate writing for the woodwinds. Charlie Loper with a little hint of “Mad About The Boy” along the way thrives in the laid-back swing created by the band on “Wide Open Spaces”.

 Westlake, the band’s next release, was recorded nine months later. The album title finds the leader’s piano accompanied by subdued ensemble textures in a successful exercise in subtle dynamics. “One, Two, Three” is a suite of waltzes opening with an exciting up-tempo feature for Pete Christlieb revealing his Eddie ‘Lockjaw’ Davis roots. The tempo slows for an elegant flugelhorn statement from Steve Huffsteter before the ensemble segues into a delightful baritone-led saxophone soli. The suite concludes with a storming soprano outing from Ray Pizzi who takes things out with another stimulating section soli. These tempo changes are of course handled with aplomb by Ceroli whether on sticks or brushes. Christlieb displays another side of his musicality with an emotional reading on “Autumn”. He really should be far better known. Despite the twenty-six albums recorded under his own name, he still seems to fly under the radar.

The well-named Magic Time was recorded in 1983 and Florence has intriguingly scored the album title for six clarinets, one of which is Bob Efford’s bass clarinet. Definitely not a sound you hear every day but very effective. Dick MItchell has an impressive flute outing before a saxophone soli becomes a spring-board for Charlie Loper’s trombone. He has a reputation for being “a great lead player who can play great jazz” as he demonstrates here. The chart climaxes with a thrilling ‘shout’ chorus that became something of a Limited Edition speciality over the years.  “Double Barrel Blues” is introduced by two choruses of funky chords from the leader’s electric piano. It is one of his cutest themes and London-born Bob Efford shows just why he was so highly thought of by his colleagues. The rich sonorities of his baritone both here and on “Bleuphoria” create a Carney-like intensity. “Rhythm And Blues” is an absolute tour-de-force from Lanny Morgan on alto. Through a blizzard of key changes it storms along at 90 bpm which should be impossible but Morgan manages to be inventive throughout. Bill Perkins once summed him up for me as, “the greatest, most dynamic jazz-oriented lead alto I ever played with”.

Their 1986 album Trash Can City was dedicated to Nick Ceroli who had died the previous year aged only forty-five. He was on all the previous Limited Edition albums and is replaced here by Peter Donald who had played extensively with the Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin Big band. Bob called him, “a revelation”.  The CD opens with “Willowcrest” an original he first wrote for the Buddy Rich band in 1967 and it was to remain in the drummer’s book for years. There is an ethereal quality to “Jewels” which has Julie Andrews humming wordlessly much like Adelaide Hall did on “Creole Love Call” with Duke Ellington back in 1927. “The Bebop Treasure Chest” is a collection of subtle references to “Night In Tunisia”, “The Champ”, “Salt Peanuts”, “Bebop” and “Hot House”. Horace Silver’s “Doodlin’” though not part of the bebop vernacular is also referenced. “The Babbling Brook” is dedicated to Bob Brookmeyer who was one of Florence’s heroes. It is book-ended by the leader’s use of a Yamaha DX 7 which gets pretty close to Brookmeyer’s trombone sound electronically and it benefits from a fine chorus from the west-coast’s great Lestorian, Bob Cooper. 

In 1993 the band recorded its second live date titled Funupsmanship this time at the Moonlight Tango Café in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles. It also introduces drummer Steve Houghton who was making his first album with Florence. The easy-paced “Slimehouse” is actually based on “Limehouse Blues” and introduces the ensemble without solos to an enthusiastic audience. “Funupsmanship” is a contrapuntal original worthy of Bill Holman (an acknowledged influence) with a fine trombone contribution from Alex Iles quoting “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You” and “Laura” along the way. “The Cat’s Waltzes” features a soulful Bob Efford and a particularly melodic Warren Luenning. Once again the ghost of Bill Holman hovers over the dynamic arrangement of “Come Rain Or Come Shine” which is a feature for the elegant Charlie Loper. On “Lester Leaps In”, Rick Culver (trombone) and Lanny Morgan find something totally fresh and original to play on Gershwin’s familiar harmony. Tenor-man Dick Mitchell positively bristles with authority and invention on Wayne Shorter’s up-tempo “Lester Left Town”. The album concludes with a twelve minute exploration of Miles Davis’ “All Blues” which is noticeable for the distinctive harmonies Bob Florence created for the brass section. Warren Luening who is very Miles-like in a harmon takes the solo honours. 

Their 2002 release, Whatever Bubbles Up, opens with “Dukeisms” which Bob wrote to celebrate the anniversary of Duke Ellington’s birth with suitable hints of “Cottontail”, “Happy Go Lucky Local” and “I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart”. The pure sound of Carl Saunders is featured on “Nerve Endings” recalling one of the unsung heroes of the trumpet – Don Fagerquist. “Chelsea Bridge” is a delight with Charlie Loper carrying the melody over attractive woodwind scoring before his section-mate Bob McChesney takes off for an inventive jazz chorus. Steve Huffsteter in a Harmon mute plots a lyrical course through “Q & A” which he has all to himself.

Eternal Licks & Grooves in 2006 opens and closes with respectful homages to Count Basie and Stan Kenton. The exciting “Eternal Licks & Grooves” (the title says it all) has the trombones introducing variations on “One O’Clock Jump” over repeated pedal-tones from the piano and the baritone. Tom Peterson’s beefy tenor and Larry Lunetta’s expressive trumpet are featured over backgrounds that hint at “Jumpin’ At The Woodside” before the ensemble closes with one of the best known codas in jazz, patented by the Count himself. 

The strangely titled “Appearing In Cleveland” is explained in the sleeve-note. Stan Kenton was once asked in a radio interview where he thought jazz was going. He modestly replied “We’re appearing in Cleveland on the thirtieth!” Drummer Peter Erskine who was with Kenton in the early seventies opens what is almost a mini-suite with an explosive burst on the cymbals leading to “Artistry In Rhythm” from the leader. A paraphrase of “Eager Beaver” introduces Bob Efford before “Intermission Riff” heralds a tempo-change and a brief quote from “Willis” which Florence introduced on the 1996 Earth CD. Larry Koonse (guitar) whose father played with Harry James and George Shearing steps up to the solo mike before the band reprises the “Artistry” theme which closed so many Kenton concerts over the years.

In conclusion it really is remarkable how consistent the Limited Edition personnel remained over the years. In a 1992 LA Times interview Florence saluted three of his regular sidemen Steve Huffsteter, Bob Efford and Lanny Morgan – “These guys are a real joy to work with”. Huffstseter appeared on all thirteen albums, Efford was on ten and Morgan was on six. In Lanny’s case it probably would have been far more if he had not spent most of the 1990s touring first class with Natalie Cole’s backing group.

Bob Florence Limited Edition Discography

Live At Concerts By The Sea (1979) Discovery 74005CD.

Westlake (1981) Discovery DSCD 832CD.

Soaring (1982) Sea Breeze SB2082CD.

Magic Time (1983) Trend TRCD 536.

Trash Can City (1986) Trend TRCD545.

State Of The Art (1988) USA Music Group USACD589.

Treasure Chest (1990) USA Music Group USACD 680.

Funupsmanship (1993) Mama Foundation MMF1006CD.

With All The Bells & Whistles (1995) Mama Foundation MMF 1011CD.

Earth (1996) Mama Foundation MMF 1016CD.

Serendipity 18 (1988) Mama Foundation MMF 1025CD

Whatever Bubbles Up (2002) Summit DCD360CD.

Eternal Licks & Grooves (2006) Mama Foundation MMF 1030CD. 

 

Bob Florence died in May 2008. Five months later The Limited Edition recorded a tribute album to him with Alan Broadbent in the piano chair – Legendary MAA 1037.”

Wes Montgomery Trio - A Dynamic New Sound

Wes on guitar with Mel Rhyne Hammond B-3 Organ and Paul Parker on drums.

Louis Stewart - Louis the First [Livia Records LRCD 2401]

 © Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved

Derek Jewell - Sunday Times: "With luck he really could become the best jazz guitarist in the world."

Jack Carter - Crescendo: "Stewart's performance on these tracks clearly demonstrates that there will be many more albums, many more accolades."

Ronnie Scott: "Louis is a superbly talented natural musician. In my book he's one of the world's great jazz guitarists."

Ray Comiskey-Irish Times: "an excellent example of jazz guitar by a master."

Hugh de Camillis- Guitarist Magazine: "Guitarists Joe Pass and Ike Isaacs have both expressed to me that in their opinion he is the most promising young guitarist around at present... An excellent offering to grace the shelves of any record collection. I hope there will be more to follow."

• The above are press comments from the original LP release of Louis the First

As a young man, so the story goes [not apocryphal], iconic Jazz guitarist Tal Farlow would listen to pianist Art Tatum’s piano wizardry on radio broadcasts in his family’s workshop and try to duplicate - on the guitar no less! - Art’s lightning finger runs, rapid glissandos and breakneck improvisations on the guitar!

Six strings versus 88 keys?!

After listening to guitarist Louis Stewart on the recently released Louis the First [Livia Records LRCD 2401], one has the feeling that Louis channeled his inner Tal and was privy to, if not the actual Tatum radio broadcasts, then a practice regimen similar to that of Farlow’s.

When Louis is in full stride, his improvised lines are a blur. Thankfully he uses this abundance of technique sparingly and in the service of the music on the nine tracks that make up Louis the First - five of which are trio, one a bass-guitar duet and three are solo guitar.

The music on this new CD dates back almost 40 years, yet it sounds like it was played and recorded only yesterday. 

Louis is a brilliant musician from every point of view: tone control, fluidity of ideas which dovetail into intriguing melodic improvised “lines” and a determined and unrelenting sense of swing.

He comes to play.

My preference are the five trio tracks. I think that his playing with bass and drums tends to settle him; his blazing technique is more readily brought into focus within the confines of this format.

Of the nine tracks, two are Jazz standards: Milt Jackson’s Bluesology and Wayne Shorter’s Footprints.

Four are from the Great American Songbook: All the Things You Are, Body and Soul, Alone Together, and Autumn Leaves.

Three are Modern Day Classics: Send in the Clowns, Here’s That Rainy Day and Jobim’s O Grande Amor.

This sweep of repertoire speaks to Louis' well-developed musical sensibilities as he is able to take the process of making Jazz into a variety of settings and create memorable interpretations and improvisations in each of them.

To my ears, the highlight of the recording is the duet with bassist Martin Walshe on Body and Soul, a song Jazz historian Ted Gioia describes as “the granddaddy of Jazz ballads, the quintessential torch song, and the ultimate measuring rod for … players of all generations.”

Louis and Martin barely hint at the original melody and instead dive deeply into intricate improvisations built around substituted chords and a wonderful “give and take” between the warm sounding acoustic instruments. The listener is treated to a 4.19 minute adventure in romantic balladry.

Alone Together with its unusual 14 bar A-theme based around a tonic major and the last 12 bar restatement concluding in a minor finds the trio digging in and rocking the peculiarities of the composition into an appealing series of hard-driving improvisations.

Wayne Shorter’s Footprints is just the ticket for creating improvisations that sound freeform but are actually based on formal structures which are hidden because they are not easy for the ear to discern. Louis, Martin and drummer John Woodham take full advantage of the blues progressions of the tune, which are similar to Miles Davis’ classic All Blues, to create a comfortable ¾ groove that is full of well-constructed improvisations encased in a dark, somewhat edgy feeling.

Recorded in 1975 when Louis was very much coming into his own as an artist, this is some of his best work: exhibiting total command of the tone and tenor of the instrument while creating interpretations that are full of risks that culminate in music that is accomplished and emotionally satisfying.

Stewart makes it all sound so easy and yet as the late pianist Bill Evans once said: “Making things sound easy in Jazz is 2 % talent and 98% hard work.”

At the time of these recordings, Louis had put in the hard work and paid his dues. As a result, we are in the presence of an accomplished artist, or to paraphrase his lifelong friend, pianist Jim Doherty: “By 1975, Louis was on fire so the time had come to record him as a leader.”

In addition to the superlative music on hand in Louis the First there is “a 16-page booklet with the original sleeve notes and new, extended notes including recollections from his close friend Jim Doherty and a trove of previously unseen photographs.”

With this CD reissue, Dermot Rogers has created another loving tribute to Louis Stewart, a guitarist who during his lifetime [1944-2016] was universally acclaimed as “the first true world-class Jazz musician to emerge from Ireland.”

Why not purchase a copy of this superb recording and join in the celebration. For order information go to https://liviarecords.com/product/louis-the-first/

The Stan Kenton Orchestra 1952-53

Coming after the Innovations Orchestra and before the much beloved Back to Balboa [1955] and Contemporary Concepts [1958] band, the 1952-53 Kenton Orchestra sometimes referred to a the New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm band can be overlooked. It shouldn't be for all the reasons outlined in the following.

“In 1952 Kenton formed what was to be his best band from the viewpoint of the jazz audiences. It was introduced to the public on record with the issue of Prologue, two standard-speed couplings comprising a Johnny Richards score which featured every member of the new band after a spoken introduction by Kenton. The new musicians included some whose roots were deep in the jazz idiom. Taking most of the solos in the trumpet section (co-led by Maynard Ferguson and Buddy Childers) was Conte Candoli, one of the most consistent of the new men. On lead alto was Vinnie Dean, who, under the name of Vince de Vittorio, had been responsible for the alto solos in Charlie Barnet's 1949 band. Lee Konitz was the featured alto soloist, making his return to regular big-band employment after an absence of five years. A new name, Richie Kamuca, was introduced on tenor saxophone revealing himself to be a fine, swinging musician in the best possible tradition. Bill Holman was the second tenorman and proved his worth both instrumentally and as an important arranger. In the trombone section Frank Rosolino's tremendous technique brought an exciting sound to the band, while the rhythm section made up of Kenton, Sal Salvador on guitar, Don Bagley on bass and Stan Levey on drums was the most fluid and relaxed ever to play with the band. Levey was a vital addition to the band; he was one of the earliest white musicians to grasp the newer jazz style of Gillespie and Parker in the mid- 1940s. His influence on the Kenton band was apparent on all its concert and record performances.

The music produced by this band acknowledged the essentials of jazz, namely the qualities of swing, relaxation and beat.”

• Alun Morgan and Raymond Horricks, Modern Jazz: A Survey of Developments Since 1939 [1956]

Ramsey Lewis "Soul Survivor" - The Barbara Gardner Interview [From the Archives with Additions]

 © -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

Signifyin’ and testifyin’ and other ritualistic elements of the Sanctified Church are important elements in helping Black people cultivate and interpret themselves as a collective community. Historically, they have also helped to enable the search for a deeper spiritual meaning and power in relation to the troubles, sorrows and pain of Black life.

Testifyin’ and signifyin’ sometimes are expressed in the music that’s played and sung in the Sanctified Church [an association of holiness Christian churches headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The members and clergy of the churches are predominantly African-American. The official name of the body is The Original Church of God or Sanctified Church, General Body].

The music itself was given the casual name of “Soul Music,” and not surprisingly, it found its way into Jazz in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s with Cannonball Adderley, Horace Silver and a host of other “soul groups” emphasizing this influence because Soul Music’s pronounced rhythmic nature and straight-forward melodies were appealing to a broader audience.

However, many Jazz critics and Jazz purists dismissed Soul-inflected Jazz, in part, because of this wider appeal, or, if you will, due to its “commercialism” - a dreaded word in Sanctified Jazz World.

This background perhaps lends some clarity to the full title of this feature - “Soul Survivor: Ramsey Lewis Discusses Soul, Funk, Critics, Jazz As A Business, And Success with Barbara Gardner” - which appeared in the May 6, 1965 edition of Downbeat.

“To the embarrassment of Jazz's critical hierarchy, Ramsey Lewis will not close his piano top and go away. Seven years ago, he was typewritered and dismissed as a flash in the pan.

Today that flash glows steadily, and he has achieved some remarkable things as a jazz artist. He is the pivotal member of a tightly knit unit that has remained together since its inception. The group works steadily to expanding audiences, and its record sales run into five figures annually.

Ironically, the pianist — who is sometimes praised, sometimes damned as a purveyor of "soul" — has his roots deep in the European classical tradition. In 1941, when he was 6 and shooting up with the tall weeds on Chicago's west side, his older sister began studying piano, and Ramsey Emmanuel Jr. cried to go along.

Convinced it was a childish whim, the elder Lewis permitted his son to begin. Six months later his sister dropped out. Ramsey continued studying classical piano with the same teacher until he was 11. After high school, he attended Chicago Musical College and later studied music at DePaul University.

Lewis wanted to be a concert pianist then, and he never seriously considered popular music as a career even after he had begun playing dance dates on the city's west side with a seven-piece group called the Clefs. Eldee Young played bass and Isaac (Red) Holt was the group's drummer. Beyond the world of the west side, the Korean conflict was heating up, and by 1952 Uncle Sam had raided the Clefs and tapped three members, including Holt. The rest of the band drifted off. Lewis, at the time, was in his second year of college and clinging to his aspirations to "concertize and tour the world," as he jokingly remembers.

But first, he married.

"Now, I figured you get married . . . two people can live as cheaply as one and all that, right?," he laughed as he recalled this. "Are you with me? I could finish college.”

The wife would work full time, and I could work part time. You know . . . have my cake and eat it too! But I forgot about old Mother Nature. Jerrie got pregnant, and I had to get out of school and get a job."

He went to work as manager of the record department of Hudson-Ross music store. In addition, he and two other musicians went into rehearsal, and he began moonlighting as a part-time entertainer. This arrangement was soon altered.

"Eventually," he recalled, "my nighttime work overcame my daytime work. ... I couldn't get up to go to work."

End of management career in record department.

The original Ramsey Lewis Trio included bassist Young of the Clefs and Butch McCann on drums. Their major jazz-circuit debut was made as featured attraction with vocalist Bill Henderson at Chicago's Sutherland Lounge. Holt returned from the Army and became the trio's drummer. The group continued working clubs in the Midwest, attracting among their following a Chicago policeman (whose name Lewis has forgot) who was instrumental in securing the group a record contract. The first disc was cut and promptly shelved for months. A Chicago disc jockey, Daddy-O Daylie, heard them and finally persuaded the record company to release the record.

This first album was pompously packaged . . . the three men were tuxedoed in the cover photo. . . and titled Gentlemen of Swing. With plugs from Chicago disc jockeys, the trio gained a substantial following. They were booked into Chicago's SRO Room for six months. There followed two years in the city's Cloister Inn, interrupted once by a two-week engagement at New York's Birdland.

The most indelible memory Lewis has regarding New York is pragmatic; before Birdland, the group was enjoyed though officially unheralded at the Cloister, but after two weeks at the "jazz corner of the world," the trio returned to a blazing marquee announcement of that fact and a doubled salary.

New York still has not officially dealt with the Ramsey Lewis Trio. The three young, intelligent, healthy musicians went to the city not to prove themselves but to perform, not to seek acceptance but to entertain, not to apologize for their Second City origin but to meld naturally into the mainstream of professional jazz. This is an attitude New York has seldom dealt with graciously, even though in his case Lewis remembers that, individually, members of the New York jazz establishment were warm and very helpful.

Another characteristic the trio took to New York was a definitive solidarity, allowing little room for technical alteration and no place at all for any tampering with its style and approach. A prominent jazz saxophonist who had liked and lauded the trio in Chicago was frustrated when the unit went to New York.

"For me, it was kind of a drag, really," he said. "I dug him so much in Chicago, and his thing sounded exactly right then. So I went around telling all the cats, 'Man, look out for this group from Chicago.' But I don't know. When he came to the Apple, somehow it was different. It was still altogether, but it wasn't 'New York'."

Lewis still isn't New York, and, further, he does not consider such identification and acceptance essential. He has no idea of ever living there unless forced to do so because of musical demands. He summarized his view of the city: "There's a lot of good cats there — but New York is just another stop on the circuit to me."

ONE OF THE SIMPLEST METHODS of assessing the unknown is to relate it to a well-known. This technique was employed with the new Lewis trio. It often was tagged a copy or an offshoot of the other major Chicago trio, that of Ahmad Jamal.

"In a way, I was flattered because Ahmad is one of my favorite musicians," Lewis recalled. "I could understand how the comparison might come up. First, we're both piano trios, and then, in expressing our own ideas, we might have crossed tracks one way or another. .. not on the same track mind you. Ahmad loves to be lyrical and beautiful with his melodies, not too much embellishment. So do I.

"Still, nowhere can you sit down and listen to one of our records and say, This is like Ahmad.' Ahmad has a completely different concept about music. Often he will be light and suggestive where I like to lay it out and play with all the depth I can muster.

"Then, of course, our books are very different. I could never do his tunes, and he would probably not be comfortable with some of mine."

Lewis has gone through a wide range of influences. The pianist's father was a jazz enthusiast and tried to saturate his son with the sounds of Art Tatum.

"At first I didn't understand Art Tatum," Ramsey explained. "He was playing too much piano. Then I grew older, studied a little more, and grew to love Art Tatum — probably even more than my father."

The tall, lean musician sat back, stretched his legs and his memory to pull together all the early influences.

"Oscar Peterson was tremendously influential on me at the beginning," he said. "Then I went through a stage where John Lewis could do no wrong. Then Erroll Garner came into my picture and then Bud Powell. I guess all pianists go through a phase when Bud Powell is God. After that I started widening my scope and listening to everything. I fell in love with Horace Silver and so many of the really good current musicians. But I would say John Lewis and Oscar Peterson were my most lasting influences."

Perhaps it is the technical mastery and effective use of classical references that most attract Lewis to these particular artists. Often his own approach incorporates the hint of Old World dynamics and progression to a climax. Still, underlying all is the consistent fusing of powerful, contrasting dynamics, and earthy, straightforward projection. This is the quality that marks a performance as distinctively Ramsey Lewis Trio. And, loosely applied, this quality has earned the trio a reputation as a "soul group."

Surely the most recurring criticism leveled against the pianist is that there is something pretentious about his playing. One critic, within the space of 50 words, termed Lewis' contribution as "pop jazz . . . semiclassical schmaltz and stylized funk." Lewis' customary defense against such attack is to cite the evidence of his increasing night-club and record audience. This time, however, he minced no words in his assessment of critics.

"There may be a couple — not more — who really know what jazz is all about," he said. "Either the others know music pretty well and have no idea of how to give good criticism, or they know how to write a good critique but don't know anything about jazz. What really gets my goat is their arrogant stamp of finality . . . their this-is-it attitude. They could express their views, then leave it up to other people to do the same, you know."

When asked to give an objective appraisal of his work in connection with such criticism, Lewis differentiates between what he is trying to do and superficial commercialism.

"To me 'soul' represents depth and great feeling," he explained. "I know some pianists today where everything they play comes out, not with depth and feeling exactly, but downright funky. Now, when everything you do comes out funky, that's trying. . . that isn't really soulful."

He thought further and then continued, "I don't try to play funky all the time, but there's a certain depth and feeling I try to portray no matter what I'm playing."

Lewis rejects the idea that his group can be defined strictly as a soul group, explaining, "To me, Ray Charles is a soulful musician ... all the time. Not the piano playing so much, but his singing. He makes me feel the story he's telling. And he does it in a simple form ... all the time. Now, that's real soul."

Again Lewis paused cautiously in an effort to achieve the impossible — absolute clarity not subject to misinterpretation.

"I want to have the depth and feeling there always," he went on. "There's a certain amount of it that I got from playing in the church for years, and I can never get it out of my system. Still, in some tunes, I try to alter the character of the tune, project another mood other than outright funk . . . another kind of soulfulness that comes from way down inside. You see, often funk becomes a vehicle . . . just a combination of blue notes certain musicians learn and keep using to carry their ideas in ... to try and create soul. Well, if it's really soulful, it's there in the depth of everything you do — you don't need so much help to get it across."

FORTUNATELY, LEWIS FOUND two musicians with similar musical concepts. Young and Holt are more than fellow workers. They are major contributors to the unit's success.

"Our trio is a partnership," Lewis said. "Everything is literally split up in thirds. Salaries, expenses, organization responsibilities are divided equally. The trio uses my name only because when we first started, the guy who set up some things for us thought a person's name would be better than a group title.

"Musically, we're different from most trios because the pianist does not monopolize the music. We try to distribute the musical duties equally. In one given arrangement, I might have a melody, Eldee may have a countermelody, and Red will have a definite drum pattern designed to emphasize each segment. He's not just back there keeping time. He's there for a reason, to build the whole thing to a certain point.

"After you listen to a couple of our sets, you know that everybody is featured about equally. You don't go away with the feeling that the pianist is all right and maybe the bassist or the drummer would be if you could hear more of them. Everybody gets a chance to stretch out." He laughed. "In fact, the best proof I can give of that is that Eldee has come closer to winning many more polls than I have."

This complementary relationship has been building constantly since the inception of the trio and has yielded a solid bond of musical awareness of individual and group potential. It has precluded the possibility of group expansion, according to Lewis.

"Certain fellows have sat in, and it's just too hard for a fourth musician to feel what's happening," the pianist said. "The three of us really have a thing, and it's pretty tight. I don't think we could make another notch there."

The exception was the late vibraharpist Lem Winchester.

"Now Lem came close to fitting right into this groove," Lewis said. "He's about the only musician I can think of who seemed to be able to anticipate along with us, fill that little slot. Vocalists? That's another thing altogether."

The trio has recorded with other artists, more often with vocalists than instrumentalists. Argo, the company for which it records, has a penchant for tagging the group onto fledgling, waning, or one-shot performers on the label, perhaps hoping to infuse the material with a sales-booster shot.

The Lewis trio has worked in person with many outstanding vocalists. More than one have offered the group steady employment and the chance to team up as a vocal-instrumental unit. The offers do not appeal even slightly to the pianist.

"No good," he said. "There're only a couple I dig playing for under any circumstances, and I don't think I could make it as regular accompanist for anybody. So many singers are just not together with their music. Things like arrangements, keys, pace — these things just don't seem to mean that much to a lot of them. They just expect to walk right in and have everything fall into place. Well, it usually doesn't happen like that."

The implied need for attention to technique and training is most explicit in the preoccupation with rehearsals and study in the unit. They have recorded 16 albums for Argo, utilizing more than 100 compositions, many of which are originals. Most of these are by Lewis though Young and Holt are free to offer for rehearsal and possible recording any original material they feel is good for the trio.

"We try to consolidate our ideas for the group," the leader said. "But there's still room for individual expression outside the unit. Each man has his own record date in which he can do anything he wants to do. Eldee, for example, has many, many ideas of his own beyond the group. Eventually, we get everything worked out so everybody has had his say."

There is plenty of time for experimentation, for this is a relatively young group. In spite of its impressive track record, the average age of the trio members is less than 33. On May 27 Lewis will be 30.

There is a mundane solidarity in the lives of these three musicians who earn their livelihood in the razzle-dazzle of night life. Each man is married to a high-school or childhood sweetheart, and, aside from the extended tours, the performers continue to participate in community activities and civic affairs throughout Chicago.

Jazz is a business to Lewis, not a way of life. Currently his business is making possible a most agreeable way of life for his family.

"I admire Armstrong and Duke and Basie," he said thoughtfully. "But I can't see staying out on the road all my life. I want to get to the place where financially I can afford to stay home. I think I know my failings and my abilities. I wouldn't say that I'm so different from every other pianist and I know I'll make it; but I like to believe I have sort of an original style and a good chance."

Humility is admirable, but cold fact must tell the man that he has become an important, bread-and-butter commodity in at least two of the shops that guide the trio.

While Argo hedges a direct answer, the most casual survey of the company's recording activity in recent years reveals that the consistently selling trio is prime, valuable stock in the jazz department of a record company primarily and profitably pop and rhythm-and-blues based.

The group's personal manager, John Levy, molder of many stars, is currently struggling through a phase, unfortunately all too familiar in entertainment — artistic disenchantment resulting in the explosive or unexpected exodus from his fold of the money-makers. Ironically, while the time period between obscurity and stardom can be considerably shortened by a knowledgeable personal manager, frequently, the artist's mental grasp and business acumen develop by leaps and bounds. Once there, the artist finds he has "outgrown" the need for the same personal manager. Lewis has declined to join the stampede.

"You just don't forget," he stated. "On our second trip to New York, John Levy stepped into the picture, and I learned how important a real manager can be. And for us, John was the best. All we had to do was go to work. Before I saw the room, I knew it was all right. I knew the piano was right. He saw to it that that was part of the contract. . . . All the details, he handled. So now, we just can't walk out."

A rare loyalty in the music business.

The trio works continuously now, which indicates a growing audience and an entry into broader markets than those offered by jazz. They are on the road approximately 42 weeks a year, play Chicago four, and vacation the rest. That's a good year.

Ultimately though, the pianist has other ambitions.

"Ideally," he explained, "I would like to work six months a year, take a break for a couple of months, then seriously woodshed three or four months. I try not to draw only from jazz, maybe because I studied classics — but there's so much meat there and in folk music and naturally the old masters. I'd like to experiment with these ideas a while."

Until this is achieved, he travels, listens to records whenever he gets a chance, steals time from music for recreation with his family, and very occasionally plays tennis. Though the grind is tough, he said he still prefers the hubbub of night clubs to concert work because "usually concerts have so many artists or you're allotted only a certain amount of time. You go on cold. Now, it's a cinch you have to warm up. Before you know it, your time is shot and you often haven't done your best. So I guess I'd rather work night clubs until the right kinds of concerts come along."

This, too, is in the offing. Things could hardly be better now. . . . Well, yes they could. Take away the stings of the typewriters, and Ramsey Lewis will be a happier man.”