Plenty of people study music but Eric Lewis inhabits it. Eric’s intuitive genius in melding modern day rock and jazz on piano, combined with impeccable technique, has made him one of today’s most sought-after musicians.
Eric won a full scholarship to the esteemed Manhattan School of Music, and immediately upon graduation began touring with Cassandra Wilson. Working constantly in his twenties, Eric toured the world, recorded, and performed continuously with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Elvin Jones, Roy Hargrove, and Joe Henderson among others. He won the Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition, effectively crowning him a Master Musician at age 26 and ushering in a new age for Eric Lewis.
Since branching out on his own three years ago, Eric played the National Anthem live in front of a crowd of more than 110,000 people at a NASCAR race in Sonoma Valley, and under his own creative suggestion, did so on a piano encased by the shell of a racecar. Eric has continued on with his innovative creative approach – both artistically and skillfully – making him a premier performer on all fronts.
Today – in the jazz tradition of interpreting popular tunes of the day, much like Art Tatum and John Coltrane – Eric manipulates and performs renditions of rock and pop songs by artists such as Coldplay, Evanescence, The Killers, and Linkin Park among others. A musical contortionist, Lewis' compositions twist, turn, and careen between styles, sounds, and emotions, resulting in a stunning aural experience.
Eric is also innovating the modern music and film industry, attempting to reinvigorate its roots. This Camden, NJ, native has contributed to the soundtrack of Denzel Washington’s “The Great Debaters," he appeared and performed in Robert DeNiro’s “The Good Shepherd†and just completed the score for “Four Seasons Lodge,†a documentary based on a true story of 100 Holocaust survivors living in a colony in the Catskills for over 30 years – written and directed by Pulitzer prize-winning NY Times reporter, Andrew Jacobs. His music can also be heard on the CW network’s hit series “Girlfriends†and “The Game." He is currently scoring The Stage™ 6 3-D horror film, “The Dark Country,†directed by and starring Thomas Jane. To cap it off, Eric is composing a 30-minute piece of music for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre.