On the heels of announcing his retirement in 2018, the then-83-year-old
Ramsey Lewis entered the studio with his longtime crossover funk outfit
Urban Knights to record 2019's earthy and stylistically expansive
VII. A group originally conceived in the early '90s in the vein of such iconic ensembles as
Donald Byrd's
Blackbyrds and
Joe Sample's
Jazz Crusaders,
Urban Knights found
Lewis collaborating with a bevy of younger musicians and star guests over the years, and
VII continues this fruitful tradition. Joining
Lewis here is a newly convened
Urban Knights ensemble featuring a lineup of noted Chicago-area performers including keyboardist Tim Grant, guitarist
Henry Johnson, bassist
Joshua Ramos, and drummer
Charles Heath. Together they play a vibrant blend of soul-jazz that evokes
Lewis' classic '70s and '80s albums like 1974's
Sun Goddess, 1977's Love Notes, and 1981's Three Piece Suite. In fact, on
VII,
Lewis revisits a handful of his past tracks including the disco-era title track to his 1977 album "Tequila Mockingbird," "Baby What You Want Me To Do" off 1981's Live at the Savoy, and "Sharing Her Journey" off 2009's
Songs from the Heart: Ramsey Plays Ramsey. He achieves yet more old-school flavor elsewhere reworking
Sting's "Shape of My Heart" with vocalist
Dee Alexander, and offering a burnished, loungey reading of
the Beatles' "And I Love Her." Also evocative is "The Rose," a laid-back and soulful groover featuring trumpeter
Maurice Brown. There are two superb solo numbers from
Lewis in "Dear Lord" and "Trees," both of which spotlight his elegant, deeply lyrical piano artistry. While it may come in the wake of
Lewis entering the final years of his career,
VII sparks with the energy and vitality of an artist at the peak of his abilities. ~ Matt Collar