"Legends Of Jazz With Ramsey Lewis"s will air on American Public Television beginning this April, announced LRSmedia, the Chicago based independent music entertainment company.
The much anticipated series, the first weekly network jazz related show in 40 years, will feature intimate conversations with performances by some of the world's leading musicians. GRAMMY Award-winning composer / pianist Ramsey Lewis will host the series, which is produced in multi-camera HDTV and Dolby Surround 5.1 audio in association with WTTW, Chicago's premier public television station.
The 13-week debut season will air nationally beginning in April 2006 on public television stations across America to coincide with National Jazz Appreciation Month. Each show in the series is theme based and includes conversation and performances by today's most important jazz and jazz related musicians, including: Tony Bennett, Chick Corea, Al Jarreau, Dave Brubeck, Dr. Billy Taylor, David Sanborn, Phil Woods, Pat Metheny, Jim Hall, George Duke, Marcus Miller, Lee Ritenour, Clark Terry, Roy Hargrove, Chris Botti, Ivan Lins, Eddie Palmieri, Ray Barretto, Dave Valentin, Keb Mo, Robert Cray, Jane Monheit, John Pizzarelli, Kurt Elling, Benny Golson, Chris Potter, Joey DeFrancesco, Dr. Lonnie Smith, and many more.
“This is America's art form, ” Mr. Lewis said. “Jazz continues to provide inspiration to musicians around the globe and to influence artists in a wide range of fields. This series is a foot-tapping tour through a variety of musical formats while also providing an extraordinary look at the history of jazz, what's hot now, and the promise of a prolific future.”
The final episode in the series, the NEA Jazz Masters 2006, featuring Tony Bennett, Chick Corea, and Ray Barretto, was taped before a live audience on January 12, coinciding with the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) conference in New York City. The NEA Jazz Masters 2006 gala, which took place on Friday, January 13 at IAJE, included highlights from the LEGENDS OF JAZZ series.
Guest artists who have taped appearances on LEGENDS OF JAZZ have been uniformly effusive in their praise for the new series and highly enthusiastic about the return of jazz to national television.
Dave Brubeck, who joins Dr. Billy Taylor for The Piano Masters episode, said: “This is a long overdue series that combines new and established artists sharing what they have most in common - a love for this music - and discussing some of the great musicians and people who have influenced their art. I'm honored to be included.”
Al Jarreau, who appears in The Jazz Singers episode with Kurt Elling, said: “This is a great series because it allows the artists behind the music to tell their stories - what influenced them, who influenced them, and what they are doing today. It brings the history of this art form to life. I can't wait to see the other episodes.”
Chris Botti, who teamed up with Clark Terry and Roy Hargrove in The Golden Horns episode, said, “It was a true honor to appear with Clark Terry and Roy Hargrove. Their music and playing have been so influential. The opportunity to sit and talk with them and Ramsey and to perform will remain a high point for me.”
Marcus Miller, who joined Lee Ritenour and George Duke in The Contemporary Jazz episode, said: “There's a depth to this series that people will really appreciate. Finally there's a place to go to hear today's musicians talking about what they do and what really got them going.”
Nancy Wilson, an NEA Jazz Master and multiple GRAMMY Award winner featured in the one-hour special, The Jazz Masters, states: “It's nice to know that LEGENDS OF JAZZ will be out there to honor these great musicians. And it is wonderful to see it being filmed for public television, so that audiences will get to know more about the people that make the music.”
Larry Rosen, co-chairman of LRSmedia with Ramsey Lewis, and the executive producer and creator of the series, said, “Our goal is to bring together some of the greatest jazz artists working today and allow them to combine conversation and performances in a way that shared their art while also providing some insight into what they do and how they do it. We're hopeful that the series will excite jazz lovers while also reaching others who may have not been fully exposed to this art form because of its absence from our airwaves for decades.”
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