"The In Crowd", "Hang on Sloopy": US jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis is dead

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Ramsey Lewis in Chicago in 2005

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Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

The American jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis is dead. According to his management, the three-time Grammy award winner died "peacefully" on Monday morning at his home in Chicago, Illinois.

He was 87 years old.

Lewis was born in Chicago in May 1935.

At the age of four he received piano lessons.

As a student he joined the jazz band The Clefs, which formed the Ramsey Lewis Trio in the 1950s.

In addition to Lewis, bassist Eldee Young and drummer Redd Holt were also members.

Her cross-genre style also mixed pop, blues and soul elements.

The band released their first album, Ramsey Lewis and His Gentlemen of Jazz, in 1956.

In 1965 she became known worldwide with the hit »The In Crowd«.

Other big hits were "Hang on Sloopy" and "Wade in the Water".

In later years, the line-up of the trio around Lewis changed several times.

Lewis has shared the stage with Aretha Franklin, Tony Bennett, Al Jarreau and Pat Metheney, among others.

He was involved in around 80 albums and toured the world with his music.

He also worked as a radio and television presenter.

When then US President Bill Clinton received his Brazilian counterpart in 1995, Lewis provided the musical accompaniment.

In 2007, Lewis received the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Award for his life's work.

According to his management, the musician was recently working on a new album, which is due to be released on November 11th.

The publication of his memoirs is also planned for 2023.

Title: "Gentleman of Jazz".

His son Bobby Lewis told the AP news agency that his father's love and passion for the piano gave him a long life.

"He recognized the gift that God had given him."

aar/dpa