Jazz old and new at Weill Hall

Jazz fans who see pianist Ramsey Lewis at the Green Music Center later? this month can look forward to an evening that includes the best of the old and the new.

Lewis, 79, scored hits in the ’60s with “The In Crowd,” “Hang on Sloopy” and “Wade in the Water,” but he has gone on to compose new music for the Joffrey Ballet and in 2009 created a commemorative composition for the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.

Singer Cécile McLorin Salvant, 25, made her mark as the winner of the 2010 Thelonious Monk International Vocals Competition. She’ll open for Lewis and his quintet Sept. 20 in Weill Hall at Green Music Center.

Lewis has worked with Salvant a couple of times before, and he’s not shy about singing her praises.

“Cécile will be remembered as one of the great singers 50 years from now, along with Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington,” Lewis said by phone from his Chicago home.

“She’s that kind of singer. She’s not there at the moment, but she has what it takes. It’s fun to see someone so young and so talented who has both feet on the ground.”

Lewis knows something about great singers, having recorded with Nancy Wilson and performed with Roberta Flack.

While the veteran musician embraces the new, he also sticks with what works for him.

“I got an electronic keyboard, and I was going to do great things with it, but it took me so far from my Steinway that it made me understand that acoustic piano is my first love,” Lewis said. “I don’t play electric now. I have someone else who plays keyboards in my band. It’s really a whole different thing.”

Lewis composes new music continuously, but still plays his fans’ old favorites.

“Three songs I must play at every show are ‘Wade in the Water,’ ‘The In Crowd’ and ‘Sun Goddess,’ the one I did with Earth, Wind and Fire. I’ve gotta do it,” Lewis said.

“I write a lot of my own stuff . Every day I’m at the piano, and if I’m not practicing, I’m composing. It’s all new stuff.”

He also has a new deluxe edition of the 2011 album “Ramsey, Taking Another Look” coming out next year.

The pianist also serves as artistic director of “Jazz at Ravinia,” an annual feature at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Ill.

After a lifetime of touring, Lewis said he has slowed down a little.

“When I was younger, I would go out and do 20 shows in a row. Now I’ll play maybe three to five a month. Then I’ll play a couple in November, and I won’t do any in December,” he said.

“I am very fortunate because there isn’t anything I dream of doing someday. Everything I’ve ever wanted to do, I’ve either done or I’m doing it now.”

You can reach staff writer Dan Taylor at 521-5243 or dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com.