ELEW AND TO THE REPUBLIC
Released September 9, 2016

Sometimes it takes an outsider to show the current pecking order what is amiss. There are revelations to be heard by those who distance themselves from their native tongue to find a place for themselves. A return can then be revelatory to both the outsider and the republic, as it stands….

Available at all major online retailers

February 11, 2016 by PATRICK JARENWATTANANON • Eric Lewis’ career has circulated both in and out of what he calls “the jazz republic.” Performing under his given name in the 1990s, Lewis was a powerful up-and-coming pianist who toured in the bands of Wynton Marsalis and Elvin Jones. As his career progressed — or failed to, from a business perspective — he found that a lot of contemporary rock music also spoke to him deeply. So, performing under the name ELEW, he devised a new theatrical, high-energy method of solo piano he called rockjazz, and his cover songs took him to TED Conferences, national tours, America’s Got Talent, celebrity gatherings and the White House. But he never left the late-night straight-ahead jam sessions: In fact, he’s just recorded And To The Republic, a return to the jazz trio format featuring some major players.Jazz Night In America follows ELEW to the studio, and to Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola within Jazz at Lincoln Center, where his burning band includes Reginald Veal on bass and Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums.

NPR Article

ELEW’s collaboration with Lil Wayne on “IANAHB,” the opening track on the rapper’s I Am Not A Human Being II, has been getting rave reviews from a variety of influential music magazines and blogs. Below are just a few of our favorite quotes from the coverage.

XXL: “Wayne’s always been great at opening his album, and the opener here certainly sets a tone. Over some experimental improvisation by jazz pianist Eric Robert Lewis, Wayne stretches out with some rhyme calisthenics and snarls his way through the nearly 6-minute track. This is Wayne at his most innovative, going heads-up with an equally unique musician and working off one another like jazz improvisers.”

Spin: “Opening track ‘IANAHB’is the highlight and sole true head-spinner, the lone moment to reach those dizzying Wayne-we-all-loved heights. As quasi-classy piano twinkles, he mind-melds with an increasingly avant-garde plink-plonk figure…It’s a creative take on the does-a-lot-of-drugs, bitches-ain’t-shit hip-hop upon which he’s increasingly reliant.”

Consequence Of Sound: “‘IANAHB’ is a striking five minutes of Weezy riffing verse after verse to some impressive piano soloing by producer/pianist ELEW…The track is an unexpected blitz, and one of his more memorable recordings to date.”

Hit The Floor: “Kicking off the set, the intro and title track doesn’t just perfectly represent the album, but is also the definitive Lil Wayne experience. Jazz pianist ELEW, is credited as producer, but should be given a larger credit of collaborator. He creates a moody instrumental that builds and twists, with Wayne confidently striding in at every turn. This track hints at the next level.”