Eric Lewis -- who reinvented himself as ELEW a decade into his career -- began his musical journey as a jazz pianist, winning the Thelonious Monk competition and performing alongside Wynton Marsalis and Elvin Jones, and as a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.
Inspired by rock, ELEW began melding his classically trained piano skills with modern rhythms, creating a genre of music he calls "Rockjazz." Known for eschewing a piano bench and plucking strings inside his piano, his intense playing style has mesmerized fans in venues around the world -- including the White House, where he played for Barack and Michelle Obama in the East Room. In 2016, he received The Novus Award at the UN for his contributions to global art and music.
Eric Lewis (who plays the White House tonight!) explores the piano’s expressive power as he pounds and caresses the keys (and the strings) in a performance during the 2009 TED Prize session. He plays an original song, a tribute to ocean and sky and the vision of the TED Prize winners. (Recorded at TED2009, February […]
Continue readingTEDIndia’s Lakshmi Pratury will be interviewing two TED speakers next week in the Bay Area: + March 30, 2009, hear TED2009 speaker Nandan Nilekani, the founder of Infosys and the author of Imagining India, at the Crowne Plaza Cabana in Palo Alto, 6:30-8pm. Tickets: $15 members, $25 nonmembers. Premium tickets (includes reception, book and priority […]
Continue readingNot without a struggle (and a measure of healthy angst), acclaimed pianist Eric Lewis is driving the next evolution of jazz — forging new musical alloys of classic blue note scuttles, delicate improvisations and heady alt rock hooks. Now, with a roster of sold-out shows and a growing list of celebrity supporters, his iconoclastic arrangements […]
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