Eric Robert Lewis (born May 13, 1973), popularly known as ELEW, is an American jazz pianist who has found cross-over 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.'"[1]
IANAHB 2 Piano Sheet Music
Lewis began his career as a jazz purist, playing as a sideman for jazz artists 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.
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 Park's Meteora, which made a profound impression on his musical sensibilities. Taking the stage name "ELEW",[9] 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.[2] 2ff7e9595c
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