US piano icon Ramsey Lewis has died at home in Chicago US media report citing the musician's son Bobby who said that his father was ''at peace''. The multiple Grammy winner best known for his accessible piano trio and above all ultimate clapalong The In Crowd was 87. He began the trio with the record Ramsey Lewis and the Gentle-Men of Swing in 1956. Named a NEA Jazz Master (the highest jazz honour in the US) in 2007 Lewis was steeped in gospel and classical music. Lewis’ The In Crowd was a pop hit both as a single and as an album in 1965 for Ramsey with bassist Eldee Young (1936-2007) and drummer Redd Holt (born 1932) and began a trend towards soul-jazz using pop songs in jazz settings. Compared sometimes to Ahmad Jamal, Ramsey recorded the classic album at Washington DC venue the Bohemian Caverns and encouraged by a waitress who played it on a cafe's jukebox decided to cover Dobie Gray’s 'The In Crowd' where a late set crowd took to it most and whose contribution counted in the overall effect.
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