Sky Islands (Ramsey Lewis album)

Sky Islands
Studio album by Ramsey Lewis
Released	October 5, 1993 (1993-10-5)
Recorded	1992–93
Genre	Jazz
Length	56:11
Label	GRP
Producer	Dave Grusin, Larry Rosen, Ramsey Lewis, Frayne Lewis, Maurice White, Carl Griffin,
Ramsey Lewis chronology
Ivory Pyramid (1992) Sky Islands (1993) Urban Knights I (1995)

Sky Islands is a jazz album by American jazz musician Ramsey Lewis, released in October 1993 on GRP Records. The album reached No. 6 on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart. ^{[1] [2]}

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
USA Today	[4]

James T. Jones IV of USA Today praised Sky Islands saying "The pianist includes a medley of his '60s hits, yet he's hardly resting on his laurels with this collection of instrumentals, occasionally spiced by vocals...Lewis juxtaposes backbeats with sounds of swirling strings, while his solos sparkle with sparse, yet melodic, high arpeggios." ^[4] Scott Yanow of AllMusic, who gave the album a 2/5 stars rating wrote, "Ramsey Lewis has long been content to record lightweight pop/R&B grooves. Occasionally on this set the acoustic pianist sounds like he would like to break away a bit from the predictable but he keeps the impulse in check." ^[3]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Julia"	John Lennon, Paul McCartney	5:18
2.	"Après Vous"	Ramsey Lewis	4:13
3.	"Who Are You?"	Bill Cantos	7:21
4.	"Suavecito"	Ramsey Lewis	4:53
5.	"Tonight"	Frayne Lewis, Robert Lewis, Ramsey Lewis, Mike Logan	5:18
6.	"Sky Islands"	Larry Dunn [5]	4:20
7.	"A Song for Jan"	Ramsey Lewis	4:52
8.	"Medley: Wade in the Water, Hang On Sloopy, The in Crowd"	Wes Farrell, Ramsey Lewis, William Page, Bert Russell	4:55
9.	"Love Will Find a Way"	Greg Phillinganes, Lionel Richie	5:14
10.	"Come Back to Me"	James Harris, Terry Lewis, Janet Jackson	5:18
11.	"Tonight (instrumental)"	Frayne Lewis, Robert Lewis, Ramsey Lewis, Mike Logan	5:18

Personnel

• Ramsey Lewis – piano, background vocals
• Art Porter Jr. – alto saxophone
• Michael Logan – keyboards, background vocals
• Henry Johnson – guitar
• Chuck Webb – bass guitar, double bass
• Steve Cobb – drums, percussion, vocals
• Tony Carpenter – percussion, background vocals
• Eve Cornelious – lead vocals on "Tonight" and "Love Will Find A Way"
• Sheila Fuller – background vocals
• Carl Griffin – background vocals
• Robert Lewis – background vocals
• Mark Ruffin – background vocals
• Brenda Stewart – background vocals
• Morris Stewart – background vocals

Production

• Ramsey Lewis - Producer
• Frayne Lewis - Producer
• Carl Griffin - Producer
• Larry Rosen - Executive Producer
• Michael Logan - Associate Producer
• Rich Breen - Engineer, Mixing
• Sharon Franklin - Production Coordination
• Ted Jensen - Mastering
• Michael Landy - Post Production
• Sonny Mediana - Production Director
• Dennis Tousana - Assistant Engineer
• Maurice White - Producer

Charts

Chart (1993)	Peak osition
US Top Contemporary Jazz Albums [2]	6

References

1. Ramsey Lewis: Sky Islands. GRP Records. 1993.
2. "Ramsey Lewis – Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
3. Yanow, Scott. "Ramsey Lewis: Sky Islands". AllMusic.
4. Jones, James T (2 December 1993). "New from three mature artists". USA TODAY. p. 8D. ProQuest   306608693.
5. "ACE Repertory". ascap.com. Retrieved July 22, 2022.