Eric Lewis
Encyclopedia
Eric Robert Lewis better known by his stage name
ELEW, is an American
jazz
pianist
who has found crossover success playing rock and pop music. He is known for his unconventional and physical playing style, which eschews a piano bench and includes reaching inside the piano lid to pull at the strings directly, as well as the creation that he calls Rockjazz, a genre that "takes the improvisational aspect of jazz and 'threads it through the eye of the needle of rock.'"
Lewis began his career as a jazz purist, playing as a sideman for jazz luminaries like Wynton Marsalis
, Cassandra Wilson
, Elvin Jones
, Jon Hendricks
, and Roy Hargrove
as well as performing as a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. However, he eventually became interested in rock music and embarked on a solo career as a crossover musician, quickly gaining recognition for his instrumental "Rockjazz" piano covers of mainstream rock hits like The Rolling Stones
' "Paint It, Black
" and The Killers' "Mr. Brightside
". He released his first album of instrumental covers, entitled ELEW Rockjazz Vol. 1, on his own label, Ninjazz Entertainment, in March 2010.
His distinctive style has helped him to amass a large following of celebrity fans, including Barack
and Michelle Obama
(for whom he has played at the White House), Leonardo DiCaprio
, Donna Karan
, Tea Leoni
, David Duchovny
, Hugh Jackman
, Forest Whitaker
, and Gerard Butler
. Throughout his career, he has performed with musicians such as Sting, The Roots
, Natalie Cole
, and Esperanza Spalding
. In the spring of 2011, he joined singer-songwriter Josh Groban
as the opening act on the American leg of the singer's Straight to You Tour
. Around the same time, he appeared as a contestant in an audition
on the NBC
reality series America's Got Talent
, where he received a standing ovation from the crowd and positive scores from all three judges. Despite his positive reception, he ultimately dropped out of the competition in order to tour with Groban.
in 1973, where he studied piano as a child. He graduated from Overbrook High School in 1991 and then received a Full Merit Scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music
, where he graduated on the Deans List in 1995. He then began touring with Wynton Marsalis
and Cassandra Wilson
. In 1999 at age 26 he won the Thelonious Monk
International Piano Competition. During this time in his career, he performed with an array of prominent jazz figures that included Elvin Jones
, Roy Hargrove
, Jon Hendricks
, Clark Terry
, Betty Carter
, Donald Byrd
and Ornette Coleman
.
's Meteora
, which made a profound impression on his musical sensibilities. Taking the stage name ELEW, he set about creating a musical style that blended instrumental jazz with his newfound passion for rock and pop, and he named the unique product Rockjazz. Adjusting his stage presence accordingly, he grew an afro
and adopted a distinctive style of dress, wearing armored vambraces over tailored suits. He discarded his piano bench and began to play standing in front of his instrument, reaching inside to grab and the strings and beating on its wooden case like a percussion instrument.
His first taste of mainstream recognition came when he played two songs, a cover of Evanescence
's "Going Under
" and an original composition, as a featured speaker at the Long Beach TED Conference in 2009. While the videos of these performances on the TED Conference website and YouTube channel began to gain Lewis attention in the online world, including a write-up in The Guardian
, his appearance also drew the interest of one TED conference attendee in particular: fashion designer Donna Karan
, who immediately asked the pianist to compose an original piece inspired by her fall 2009 collection and play it live on the runway
at her next New York City fashion show
. White House Social Secretary
Desiree Rogers
happened to be attending the Donna Karan fashion Show at which Lewis performed, and she invited him to play in the East Room
of the White House
for the President
and the First Lady
.
In March 2010, Lewis released his first album as ELEW on the independent label he founded that same year: Ninjazz Entertainment. Entitled ELEW Rockjazz Vol. 1, his debut solo LP features thirteen covers of rock and pop songs by artists such as Coldplay
, The Knife
, and Radiohead
. The music video for his cover of Nirvana
's "Smells Like Teen Spirit
" was directed by Japan
ese filmmaker Ryuhei Kitamura
, the director of such films as Midnight Meat Train, Versus
, Godzilla: Final Wars
, and Azumi
.
In 2011, singer-songwriter Josh Groban
saw a video of Lewis playing on YouTube
and asked the pianist to be the opening act for the American section of his 2011 Straight to You Tour
, consisting of sixty appearances across the United States at arenas including the STAPLES Center
and Madison Square Garden
.
In the spring of 2011, Lewis participated in the New York Auditions for America's Got Talent, where his rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd
's "Sweet Home Alabama" was greeted with a standing ovation and won acclaim from all three judges, even prompting Piers Morgan
to call him "a bit of a genius." However, he was ultimately forced to drop out of the competition as it conflicted with the Straight To You Tour.
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
ELEW, is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
who has found crossover success playing rock and pop music. He is known for his unconventional and physical playing style, which eschews a piano bench and includes reaching inside the piano lid to pull at the strings directly, as well as the creation that he calls Rockjazz, a genre that "takes the improvisational aspect of jazz and 'threads it through the eye of the needle of rock.'"
Lewis began his career as a jazz purist, playing as a sideman for jazz luminaries like Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...
, Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field" by incorporating country, blues and folk music into her...
, Elvin Jones
Elvin Jones
Elvin Ray Jones was a jazz drummer of the post-bop era. He showed interest in drums at a young age, watching the circus bands march by his family's home in Pontiac, Michigan....
, Jon Hendricks
Jon Hendricks
Jon Hendricks is an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is considered one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and replaces many instruments with vocalists...
, and Roy Hargrove
Roy Hargrove
Roy Anthony Hargrove is an American jazz trumpeter. He won worldwide notice after winning two Grammy Awards for differing types of music, in 1997, and in 2002...
as well as performing as a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. However, he eventually became interested in rock music and embarked on a solo career as a crossover musician, quickly gaining recognition for his instrumental "Rockjazz" piano covers of mainstream rock hits like The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
' "Paint It, Black
Paint It, Black
"Paint It, Black" is a song released by The Rolling Stones on 13 May 1966 as the first single from their fourth album Aftermath. It was originally titled "Paint It Black" without a comma. Keith Richards has stated that the comma was added by the record label, Decca.The song was written by Mick...
" and The Killers' "Mr. Brightside
Mr. Brightside
"Mr. Brightside" is a song performed by Las Vegas-based rock band The Killers. The song is featured on the group's debut album Hot Fuss and was written by Brandon Flowers and Dave Keuning....
". He released his first album of instrumental covers, entitled ELEW Rockjazz Vol. 1, on his own label, Ninjazz Entertainment, in March 2010.
His distinctive style has helped him to amass a large following of celebrity fans, including Barack
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States...
(for whom he has played at the White House), Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
, Donna Karan
Donna Karan
Donna Karan is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels.-Early life:...
, Tea Leoni
Téa Leoni
Elizabeth Téa Pantaleoni , better known by her stage name Téa Leoni, is an American actress. She has starred in a wide range of films including Jurassic Park III, The Family Man, Deep Impact, Fun with Dick and Jane, Spanglish, Bad Boys, and Ghost Town.-Early life:Leoni was born in New York City...
, David Duchovny
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny is an American actor, writer and director. He has won Golden Globe awards for his work as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files and as Hank Moody on Californication.-Early life:...
, Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
, Forest Whitaker
Forest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...
, and Gerard Butler
Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler is a Scottish actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television. A trained lawyer, Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies , which he followed with steady work on television, most notably in...
. Throughout his career, he has performed with musicians such as Sting, The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
, Natalie Cole
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...
, and Esperanza Spalding
Esperanza Spalding
Esperanza Spalding is an American multi-instrumentalist best known as a jazz bassist and singer, who draws upon many genres in her own compositions...
. In the spring of 2011, he joined singer-songwriter Josh Groban
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
as the opening act on the American leg of the singer's Straight to You Tour
Straight to You Tour
The Straight to You Tour is the fourth concert tour by American recording artist Josh Groban. Visiting North America, Europe and Africa, the tour will support Groban's fifth studio album, Illuminations.-Background:...
. Around the same time, he appeared as a contestant in an audition
Audition
An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performing artist.Audition may also refer to:* The sense of hearing* Adobe Audition, audio editing software...
on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
reality series America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
, where he received a standing ovation from the crowd and positive scores from all three judges. Despite his positive reception, he ultimately dropped out of the competition in order to tour with Groban.
Early life and career
Lewis was born in Camden, New JerseyCamden, New Jersey
The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...
in 1973, where he studied piano as a child. He graduated from Overbrook High School in 1991 and then received a Full Merit Scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
, where he graduated on the Deans List in 1995. He then began touring with Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...
and Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field" by incorporating country, blues and folk music into her...
. In 1999 at age 26 he won the Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
International Piano Competition. During this time in his career, he performed with an array of prominent jazz figures that included Elvin Jones
Elvin Jones
Elvin Ray Jones was a jazz drummer of the post-bop era. He showed interest in drums at a young age, watching the circus bands march by his family's home in Pontiac, Michigan....
, Roy Hargrove
Roy Hargrove
Roy Anthony Hargrove is an American jazz trumpeter. He won worldwide notice after winning two Grammy Awards for differing types of music, in 1997, and in 2002...
, Jon Hendricks
Jon Hendricks
Jon Hendricks is an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is considered one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and replaces many instruments with vocalists...
, Clark Terry
Clark Terry
Clark Terry is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, NEA Jazz Masters inductee, and recipient of the 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award...
, Betty Carter
Betty Carter
Betty Carter was an American jazz singer renowned for her improvisational technique and idiosyncratic vocal style...
, Donald Byrd
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...
and Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
.
Later career and "Rockjazz"
Eventually becoming disillusioned with the jazz world after a solo record deal failed to materialize, Lewis struck out on his own to find success. It was around this time that he heard his first rock album, Linkin ParkLinkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
's Meteora
Meteora (album)
Meteora is the second studio album by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released on March 25, 2003 through Warner Bros. Records, following Reanimation, a collaboration album which featured remixes of songs included on debut studio album Hybrid Theory...
, which made a profound impression on his musical sensibilities. Taking the stage name ELEW, he set about creating a musical style that blended instrumental jazz with his newfound passion for rock and pop, and he named the unique product Rockjazz. Adjusting his stage presence accordingly, he grew an afro
Afro
Afro, sometimes shortened to fro and also known as a "natural", is a hairstyle worn naturally by people with lengthy kinky hair texture or specifically styled in such a fashion by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair...
and adopted a distinctive style of dress, wearing armored vambraces over tailored suits. He discarded his piano bench and began to play standing in front of his instrument, reaching inside to grab and the strings and beating on its wooden case like a percussion instrument.
His first taste of mainstream recognition came when he played two songs, a cover of Evanescence
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording private albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 17 million copies worldwide...
's "Going Under
Going Under
"Going Under" is a song by American rock band Evanescence. It was released on September 9, 2003, as the second single from their debut album Fallen. It was written by Amy Lee, David Hodges and Ben Moody, while production was handled by Dave Fortman...
" and an original composition, as a featured speaker at the Long Beach TED Conference in 2009. While the videos of these performances on the TED Conference website and YouTube channel began to gain Lewis attention in the online world, including a write-up in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, his appearance also drew the interest of one TED conference attendee in particular: fashion designer Donna Karan
Donna Karan
Donna Karan is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels.-Early life:...
, who immediately asked the pianist to compose an original piece inspired by her fall 2009 collection and play it live on the runway
Runway (fashion)
Runway or catwalk describes a narrow, usually flat platform that runs into an auditorium, used by models to demonstrate clothing and accessories during a fashion show In fashion jargon, "what's on the catwalk" or similar phrasing can refer to whatever is new and popular in fashion.- Exclusive...
at her next New York City fashion show
Fashion show
A fashion show is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase his or her upcoming line of clothing during Fashion Week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter seasons. This is where the latest fashion trends are made...
. White House Social Secretary
White House Social Secretary
The White House Social Secretary is responsible for the planning, coordination and execution of official social events at the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States.-Function:...
Desiree Rogers
Desirée Rogers
Desirée Glapion Rogers is an American business executive who is the Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Publishing Company. In November 2008 she was selected by Barack Obama's office as the White House Social Secretary for the incoming administration, the first person of African American descent...
happened to be attending the Donna Karan fashion Show at which Lewis performed, and she invited him to play in the East Room
East Room
The East Room is the largest room in the White House, the home of the president of the United States. It is used for entertaining, press conferences, ceremonies, and occasionally for a large dinner...
of the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
for the President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and the First Lady
Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States...
.
In March 2010, Lewis released his first album as ELEW on the independent label he founded that same year: Ninjazz Entertainment. Entitled ELEW Rockjazz Vol. 1, his debut solo LP features thirteen covers of rock and pop songs by artists such as Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
, The Knife
The Knife
The Knife are a Swedish electronic music duo from Gothenburg, formed in 1999. The group consists of siblings Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer, who together also run their own record company, Rabid Records. They first received international attention after their song "Heartbeats", covered by...
, and Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
. The music video for his cover of Nirvana
Nirvana
Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...
's "Smells Like Teen Spirit
Smells Like Teen Spirit
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American grunge band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, Nevermind , released on DGC Records...
" was directed by Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese filmmaker Ryuhei Kitamura
Ryuhei Kitamura
-External links:*...
, the director of such films as Midnight Meat Train, Versus
Versus
Versus, often abbreviated v. or v, vs. or vs may refer to:- Media :* Versus , a United States sports channel, to be renamed NBC Sports Network in 2012* Versus , a Japanese action/horror film...
, Godzilla: Final Wars
Godzilla: Final Wars
is a 2004 Japanese science fiction-kaiju film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, written by Wataru Mimura and Isao Kiriyama and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. It is the twenty-eighth film in the Godzilla film series, and the sixth in terms of the series' Millennium era...
, and Azumi
Azumi
is a Japanese manga series created by Yū Koyama in 1994. The manga was originally published by Shogakukan and serialized in Big Comic Superior, and was later adapted to two feature films starring Aya Ueto, a video game and a stage play. Azumi received an Excellence Prize at the 1997 Japan Media...
.
In 2011, singer-songwriter Josh Groban
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
saw a video of Lewis playing on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and asked the pianist to be the opening act for the American section of his 2011 Straight to You Tour
Straight to You Tour
The Straight to You Tour is the fourth concert tour by American recording artist Josh Groban. Visiting North America, Europe and Africa, the tour will support Groban's fifth studio album, Illuminations.-Background:...
, consisting of sixty appearances across the United States at arenas including the STAPLES Center
Staples Center
Staples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles...
and Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
.
In the spring of 2011, Lewis participated in the New York Auditions for America's Got Talent, where his rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band prominent in spreading Southern Rock during the 1970s.Originally formed as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, Freebird...
's "Sweet Home Alabama" was greeted with a standing ovation and won acclaim from all three judges, even prompting Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan , known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children....
to call him "a bit of a genius." However, he was ultimately forced to drop out of the competition as it conflicted with the Straight To You Tour.
External links
- ELEW Official Website
- Eric Lewis at IMDB
- Eric Lewis and his 'Rockjazz' Piano on CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
- How Eric Lewis, Jazz Pianist, Became ELEW on NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
- TED Talks: Eric Lewis strikes chords to rock the jazz world at TEDTED (conference)TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
in February 2009 - Eric Lewis performs his original tune "Thanksgiving" on NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...