{"id":2343,"date":"2019-06-19T22:15:50","date_gmt":"2019-06-19T22:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/needletothegroove.net\/?p=2343"},"modified":"2019-06-19T22:15:50","modified_gmt":"2019-06-19T22:15:50","slug":"unsung-heroes-ramsey-lewis-funky-serenity-lp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/needletothegroove.net\/index.php\/2019\/06\/19\/unsung-heroes-ramsey-lewis-funky-serenity-lp\/","title":{"rendered":"Unsung Heroes: Ramsey Lewis &#8211; Funky Serenity LP"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Unsung Archives: Ramsey Lewis \u2013 Funky Serenity (Columbia, 1973)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>If his 1965 hit \u201cThe In Crowd\u201d is your only exposure to Chicago jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis, <em>Funky Serenity<\/em>, released just eight years later, will largely sound like the work of another artist. To be fair, a lot had changed in the jazz world in that short amount of time. Miles had gone electric, and jazz fusion had become a viable exploratory offshoot for musicians looking to expand their musical scope. Lewis and his band capture the spirit of the era beautifully with a nine-song set that delves into the more wide-open aspects of jazz \u00a0at the time without altogether subverting their signature sound.<\/p>\n<p>Make no mistake \u2013 there are still glimpses of his group\u2019s crowd-pleasing, blues-tinged small ensemble playing (\u201cWhat it Is!\u201d and album closer, a cover of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway\u2019s hit \u201cWhere Is the Love\u201d)\u00a0 but the most satisfying moments on the album come when Lewis and his bandmates test new territory and veer outward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDreams,\u201d a nearly 10-minute excursion that seems to even break free from tempo until the band expertly returns with a tight, rhythmically rich groove on cue, is a clear standout. In those untethered moments, Lewis seems to be reaching for what Herbie Hancock was doing with his Mwandishi band circa <em>Sextant <\/em>and <em>Crossings<\/em>, eschewing strong melody for thoughtful texture. The track was certainly a key moment for hip hop\u2019s Golden Age: portions of the track were sampled in hits from A Tribe Called Quest (\u201cElectric Relaxation\u201d) and the Fugees (\u201cHow Many Mics\u201d) and chopped by other notables like Goodie Mob (\u201cSesame Street\u201d) and Lord Finesse (\u201cGameplan\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>Lewis and his ensemble cleanse the musical palette afterward, closing out the album with a cover of the Stylistics\u2019 hit \u201cBetcha By Golly, Wow\u201d and the aforementioned \u201cWhere is the Love.\u201d \u00a0The former walks a fine line, respectful of its source material without appearing too schmaltzy. On an album that\u2019s really been ensemble driven, Lewis\u2019 keys seize center stage. His performance proves how thoughtfully he can drive a musical narrative when emulating a vocal line. He adds his flourishes but remains tasteful.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s plenty of Ramsey available via Spotify to get caught up on his vast catalog. <em>Funky Serenity <\/em>is unfortunately not among those titles, but you can find a stream on <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/PyfzaXZ4tYU\">YouTube<\/a> if you\u2019re curious. The album\u2019s a great introduction to the boundless curiosity present in jazz from the 1970s, and a subtle introduction into its freer, more avant-garde moments without throwing the listener into the deep end.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Words by: Brandon Roos<br \/>\n@brandiathan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unsung Archives: Ramsey Lewis \u2013 Funky Serenity (Columbia, 1973) &nbsp; If his 1965 hit \u201cThe In Crowd\u201d is your only exposure to Chicago jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis, Funky Serenity, released just eight years later, will largely sound like the work of another artist. To be fair, a lot had changed in the jazz world in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":0,"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[43,148,149,93,147,146],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/needletothegroove.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/needletothegroove.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/needletothegroove.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/needletothegroove.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/needletothegroove.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2343"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/needletothegroove.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2345,"href":"https:\/\/needletothegroove.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343\/revisions\/2345"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/needletothegroove.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/needletothegroove.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/needletothegroove.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/needletothegroove.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}