Q&A / RAMSEY LEWIS, musician: Doing his part to keep jazz vital

Local jazz fans have had little to sing about lately.

A lot of music clubs have closed and the smooth jazz radio station, WJZZ-FM/107.5, is no longer on the air.

But tonight there’s some good news. Longtime jazz aficionados can see Grammy Award-winning pianist Ramsey Lewis perform at the Rialto Center for the Arts.

The 73-year-old jazz great has seen music evolve since Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker were household names. Lewis once performed on the same bill as Ella Fitzgerald and has collaborated with Nancy Wilson and Earth, Wind & Fire.

Although jazz music gets less airplay these days, the Chicago native has helped to keep the genre alive and relevant through two syndicated radio shows, “Legends of Jazz With Ramsey Lewis” and “The Ramsey Lewis Morning Show.”

And he’s still writing music. Tonight’s show includes music written for the Joffrey Ballet.

The Ramsey Lewis Trio, which includes drummer Leon Joyce and bassist Larry Gray, will play audience favorites “Wade in the Water” and “The In Crowd.”

Lewis recently talked about the state of jazz music.

Q: Why does jazz appear to be less popular today?

A: Jazz is alive and playing very well. But music isn’t a big deal in our schools or our house anymore. Now we go to our peers to see what’s popular. It’s like getting to eat dessert all the time. Nobody is saying that you got to eat the meat and potatoes, too.

Q: And what is the dessert?

A: Eighty percent of what we call pop music today is over-simplified —- easy to take; easy to leave. There are only a handful of pop/rock artists today who continue year over year. Most are forgotten a year after they come out. The record companies don’t invest in careers anymore and say, “We need to invest in this act because she can really sing.”

Q: Are smooth and traditional jazz starting to merge?

A: No. A lot of smooth jazz is influenced by traditional [jazz] music. And smooth jazz listeners are prepared for the music to move to another level. There is not a large crop of up-and-coming smooth jazz musicians. But in traditional jazz there are teenagers that you can call on now, who are studying the music.

IN CONCERT

The Ramsey Lewis Trio 8 tonight. $36-$62. Rialto Center for the Arts, 80 Forsyth St. N.W., Atlanta. 404-413-9849, www.rialtocenter.org.