Photo courtesy of Bennet Morgan and Associates Jazz pianists Ramsey Lewis and Billy Taylor will play to night at the Lied Center for the Performing Arts. Lewis, Taylor tour acclaimed Piano duo to bring 30 years of jazz to Lied By Michael Stock Senior Reporter Ramsey Lewis and Billy Taylor bring dueling pianos and nearly 30 years of jazz to the Lied Center to night, marking the beginning of this season’s Artists of the Lied Festival. Lewis and Taylor paired up for the first time in 1988, touring success fully as a piano duo. This year’s tour is spawned from the critically-ac claimed 1988 tour and promises to be just as successful. The duo has slated performances of Taylor originals as well as works by Harold Arlen, John • .. .i Lewis, Oscar Peterson, Denny Zeitlin, Johnny Greene and Horace Silver. Neither performer is a newcomer to the ever-evolving world of jazz. Lewis has recorded more than 60 albums in the last 30 years. His al bums, “Hang On Sloopy,” “Hold It Right There” and “The ‘In’ Crowd,” received Grammy Awards. Mixing classical jazz forms with modern technology has given Lewis one of the most innovative identities in jazz. “I think I’ve been able to success fully harmonize all the elements of a thriving city or urban cultural music scene. Music affords me the opportu nity to communicate with people everywhere,” Lewis says in his press biography. Taylor is credited for making jazz more accessible, serving as an on-air arts correspondent for CBS. He also is a member of the International Commission of Distinguished Ameri can Composers and Educators. The Ramsey Lewis and Billy Taylor performance tonight is the first in a continuing series of Lied appearances as part of the Artists of the Lied Festival. This year’s Festival marks the second annual festival designed to feature some of the nation’s finest performers. Other artists scheduled to appear at the Lied Center as part of the Festival include Stars of the New York City Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Co., the Broyhill Chamber Ensemble, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis. Tickets for the performance are available for $20, $16 and $12; half price for UNL and Wesleyan students and youth 18 and under. Tickets are available at the Lied box office, 12th and R streets. Box office hours are 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays and 90 minutes before curtain. ---r ■fgtJ f %*#* 599.99ea. sharp MINI COMPONENT ^S-g-tis, .. TABLETOP STEREO ; J § I\§lt%zf'I . ! « 2 ;.£ . * ft • Auto reverse tope deck • disc magazine style CD changer 1 • 2 way speakers, bass ‘ super woofer • Dual 5 band equalizer (Mfr #CD-C500) -----31 m iio-sai COMPONENTS % SONY CD PLAYER WITH REMOTE no SEARSCHARG€N I JJW*, 149.99a™ I-1 (Mtf. #COf-49t) Throogh Sop*. U PIONEER 40 WATT RECEIVER ♦ TECHNICS DUAL CASSETTE DECK