Ramsey Lewis To Host Legends Of Jazz

By I May. 2, 2005

LRSmedia and WTTW National Productions are set to launch a new television series, Legends Of Jazz, hosted by Ramsey Lewis. This national PBS series will debut on June 16 with a one-hour special, showcasing winners of the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters award. The 13 weekly 30-minute episodes will debut in the fall, marking the first time in 40 years that jazz has been the focus of a national network weekly series.

Produced in state-of-the-art HDTV and Dolby Surround 5.1 audio, the series is unique in combining live performance, intimate conversation and archival material to provide a fascinating and entertaining first-hand accounting of some of the most memorable moments in jazz.

The PBS series premieres with Legends of Jazz: The Jazz Masters, sponsored by Verizon and the National Endowment for the Arts. The historic hour-long special spotlights five recipients of the NEA Jazz Masters award, the highest national honor in this art form, presented annually since 1982. The celebrated guests are vocalist Nancy Wilson (NEA Jazz Master 2004); saxophonist James Moody (1998); vocalist Jon Hendricks (1993); Latin jazz artist Paquito D’Rivera (2005); and Newport Jazz Festival founder George Wein (2005). In addition, teen jazz vocal sensation Renee Olstead, who made her major label debut in 2004, appears as a special guest, providing a counterpoint to the established jazz superstars on the program.

“One of the most important reasons for me doing this series aside from the pure entertainment value—is to document and archive this incredible wealth of experience,” said Lewis, a three-time Grammy Award winner and host of the popular Legends of Jazz nationally syndicated radio program, heard by more than 5 million listeners each week. “It’s an incredible feeling listening to great artists like Nancy, Moody, Jon, Paquito and so many others as they recount their memories and speak about their influences. These people, and those legends who came before them, are jazz, and so it really is like being treated to an oral history of the genre.”

Larry Rosen, co-chairman of LRSmedia and creator and executiveproducer of Legends of Jazz, said, “This series not only serves to pay homage to the established legends of jazz, but also provides a national platform for audiences to be exposed to new, exciting young artists who are building upon the legacy of these greats. Now, for the first time in nearly 40 years, we are bringing jazz back to U.S. network television, and we are doing it with HDTV and 5.1 Surround production technology.”

Legends of Jazz is co-produced by LRSmedia and WTTW National Productions, the award-winning PBS affiliate in Chicago. Hosted by Lewis, each weekly episode features a guest star performing several numbers with Ramsey and his trio. In between these informal performances, Ramsey and his guest artist chat casually about topics related to the show’s theme. Weekly episodes will focus on a single instrument, style or element of jazz.