Biography
-
Born
13 May 1973 (age 50)
-
Born In
Camden, Camden County, New Jersey, United States
ELEW, born Eric Lewis, is a rockjazz pianist, who brings elements of classical music into popular culture. He was the first musician to play in the Obama White House. he is very notable for his trademark power gauntlets which he wears regularly to all performances, if you don't see them in a performance they're still under his sleeves.
Not 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 are fast catching insular music communities’ attention. His possessed, finger-bloodying performances have erased a few old taboos, too: Miles Davis and Linkin Park suddenly seem less dissimilar. He has tour with Josh Groban and was given a standing ovation from the full crowd and america's got talent.
Before discovering this latent passion for pop and rock music, Lewis has been the must-watch up-and-comer on the jazz circuit, playing with Elvin Jones, Roy Hargrove, Cassandra Wilson and Wynton Marsalis before winning the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, the world’s largest.
“His playing was playful but also serious to a point of being spiritual.”
- Wynton Marsalis in the New York Times
Artist descriptions on Last.fm are editable by everyone. Feel free to contribute!
All user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.
