LP-686

The Ramsey Lewis Trio - Never On Sunday

Released 1961

Recording and Session Information

Ramsey Lewis Trio
Ramsey Lewis, piano; Eldee Young, bass; Redd Holt, drums
Chicago, August 10 & 11, 1961

11138 The ripper
11139 I got plenty o' nuttin'
11140 Water boy
11141 Thanks for the memory
11142 Cielito lindo
11143 You just don't care
11144 Never on Sunday
11145 You've changed
11146 The breeze and I
11147 Exactly like you

Track Listing

The Ripper	Ramsey Lewis	August 10 & 11 1961
I Got Plenty Of Nothing	Gershwin, Gershwin	August 10 & 11 1961
Waterboy	Arranged By – Ramsey Lewis	August 10 & 11 1961
Thanks For The Memory	Robin, Rainger	August 10 & 11 1961
Ceilito Lindo	Arranged By – Isaac Holt	August 10 & 11 1961
You Just Don't Care	El Dee Young	August 10 & 11 1961
Never On Sunday	Hadjaidakis	August 10 & 11 1961
You've Changed	Carey, Fischer	August 10 & 11 1961
The Breeze And I	Stillman, Lecuona	August 10 & 11 1961
Exactly Like You	Fields, McHugh	August 10 & 11 1961

Liner Notes

THERE are two kinds of music listeners in the world of jazz as in all other kinds of entertainment. First, there is the social devotee who spins his "sides" whenever the notion strikes his fancy. He has the discretion of selecting what he wants to play, when and for how long. His record collection is the bona fide guide to his personal taste in waxing pleasure. There is little room for pretense or pretext here. The social devotee shells out cash on the line for his records and each niche filled on his record shelf represents a corresponding void in his bank account.

On the other hand, there is the professional listener. He listens, literally, for years on end. At times it seems as though the mountain of music to be listened to is never-diminishing. His collection is multitudinous. It is comprised primarily of records he has had to play. Few of the dozens of records received regularly ever reach that special corner in the record library rcscrved for those albums one wants to listen to again, if ever that mountain diminishes!

As a jazz disc jockey for some several years, I suppose I have developed a tolerant ear of the professional listener. Occasionally, a musical unit along which has that spark of vitality and freshness, mixed with just the proper portion of talent and musical presence, to stand these rather blasé old ears on their ---s, to put it precisely.

The Ramsey Lewis Trio story is one of those made-in-Hollywood tales heard much too infrequently in real life. The three, healthy young men of the same environment decide to improve their lot through playing music. They band together and find that the trio has an unbelieveable, scintillating cohesion right off the bat. They receive influential backing from prominent entertainment leaders, and are booked into and play to SRO audiences in a sophisticated downtown nightclub. A record contract follows and their albums plummet them into the national spotlight. A successful trip around the jazz circuit and growing audience appeal firmly establish the trio as one of the jazz units which is here to stay in an era when groups crop up, blossom and die like an Ephemerida.

This album will give ample evidence of why the trio has continually renewved its lease on public appeal. All of the spontaneous, alive, animation which characterizes the Ramsey Lewis Trio is here faithfully reproduced. As you listen, note that accepted traditions in jazz serve only as guideposts for these three, adventuresome young musicians. Mood, rhythm, instrumentation, utilization of personnel are skillfully manipulated to show off the tune to its best advantage. The material recorded here is deliberately varied and comprehensive. This unit has no "groove" in which they are compelled to play. True, the one word most often associated with their efforts is "funky," this is a treatment rather than a restrictive style. The selections here range from showtunes to folk songs to gutty, earthy blues. Each tune is treated with its own special. portion of the Lewis magic; and becomes an infectious, delightful listening experience.

It is really no wonder that the Ramsey Lewis Trio is the mutual choice of both the social and the professional listener when one wishes to listen for sheer delightful enjoyment.

There must be one word of caution added. Much has been said of the carefree ease with which the unit rollicks through its chores. This is a deceptive ease acquired from mastery of their instrumnents and the material hand. At times, one is startled at the precision and unity of musical approach which marks their work. The interplay between instruments, the uncanny complimentary support, the deliberate dips into rhythmic variety; all indicate the self assurance and musical maturity which grows more evident with each recording.

This is their latest offering and by virture of the above stated reasoning, it must be conceded that this is their most challenging. They approached the task with responsibility, and the recording will undoubtedly find a haven in the preferred record nooks of listeners of all types.