Each Friday I pick a song–new, old, borrowed, blue–that’s been on my mind and in my ears, and write a short post about it.

This is “Living for the City” by Ramsey Lewis & Band:

What do you do when you take on one of Stevie Wonder’s best and most famous songs? For three minutes you play it pretty straight, piano following the vocal line of the original, doing some nice loud-quiet-loud (like Ramsey Lewis had been listening to the Pixies in 1990, too? probably not, but maybe, but nah, but still).  Then you bring out the jazz and let rip.  Here’s another of his versions; Ramsey Lewis plays an electric piano on this one and his a bit more of a soul-disco feel to it.