Hello once again everyone! I have returned to the world of the writer from what I can best describe as the writing equivalent of a catatonic state with another foray into the world of jazz as the driving force behind my return. Now let’s get going! 

The name Ramsey Lewis may be familiar to you or it may not – even outside of the world of jazz he had a number of crossover hits with soul and funk superstars Earth, Wind And Fire during their heyday in the 1970s and on quite a few occasions his songs from across his multi decade long career were sampled by hip-hop and R&B artists of all stripes – but no matter what he was regarded as one of the great elder statesmen of jazz for a number of years before his eventual passing in 2022. 

Gentleman Of Jazz is a biography (you could argue the title of autobiography although i’ll err on the side of caution) of Ramsey adapted from a series of interviews conducted by Aaron Cohen during the jazz man’s later years. Cohen is a writer who hails from Chicago much like Ramsey, albeit a quite different generation, who has also written a highly regarded book Move On Up: Chicago Soul Music And Black Cultural Power (2019) about the entwining of the music in question with the growing movement of black consciousness during the period. 

Cohen’s writing in Gentleman of Jazz is wonderfully done with a stream of consciousness feel to it as though Ramsey is telling you the story personally in-between spins of the records in question or a short caress of the Steinway piano across the room. Ramsey’s words are always in first person when discussing himself and quite often in a manner that either attempts to downplay his contributions or makes sure to credit as many of the other contributors as possible be it Redd Holt from the original Ramsey Lewis Trio, Maurice White future Earth, Wind And Fire frontman or Bill Dickens, a electric bassist who was a member of the trio and quartet in the 1980s among others. Be it a discussion of the famous Sun Goddess album, his days releasing albums under the Argo imprint in the 1960s or joining the Urban Knights fusion group in the 1990s all kinds of topics come up.

Another aspect of the book is that even when something that is either definitely or most likely Ramsey’s fault comes up in conversation, the topic isn’t dodged. Ramsey gives his side of the story and then allows others to have their say be it his children, fellow band members or an entire section dedicated to his second wife and how the change in his family dynamics affected the lady in question, his children and his first wife. 

This is something I feel I must give some special mention because a lot of musician biographies often try to either sugarcoat everything and be the PG version of history fit for a Hollywood biopic or alternatively put all the blame and evil actions on people long since dead who can’t have their say.

Another aspect of this audiobook I feel I must praise is the narration by Dion Graham. Graham is an extremely prolific narrator who has been narrating audiobooks alongside his TV and film work since the year 2000. He has won numerous awards over the years including 71 Earphone awards, a place in Audible’s Narrator Hall Of Fame and 11 Audie Awards (essentially the Oscars for audiobooks narration) and in my opinion? All the above is completely warranted. 

His voice is one that fits narration perfectly. His narration when reading the sections from Ramsey’s perspective make Ramsey almost come across as a close friend who has personally invited you to a recital of the book. Smooth, calm, relaxing and friendly. I couldn’t think of higher praise for an audiobook narrator. Having listened to interviews with Ramsey available on YouTube while writing this section his voice is also a close match for the man himself. Having listened to this audiobook I now fully intend to listen to more audiobooks narrated by Graham be it 3 Shades Of Blue a book on the history of the genre of cool jazz by James Kaplan, Pack Up The Moon by Kristan Higgins or Boca’s Brain by Carl Sagan among others just to name some random examples. I will need to keep an eye out for that name.

In conclusion I highly recommend this book. It is a short listen or read and flows by like a boat on the river. It might be worth tracking down some of the albums mentioned in the book as well be it An Hour With The Ramsey Lewis Trio, Ivory Pyramid or Live At The Savoy and give them a spin or a stream while you listen. It helps you appreciate the artistry of the man now he’s gone. Here’s hoping some of you join me in appreciating a man who was one of the icons of smooth jazz and ended up being integral to what became jazz funk and jazz fusion and modern day R&B. Any man who can either be the main star of or contribute to more than 80 albums over their career deserves respect. Let’s hope there is still some space for – to quote the initial Urban Knights album – some old school jazz razzmatazz.