Lafayette Harris

Lafayette Harris Jr. is a pianist, arranger, and composer regarded as one of New York's most sophisticated and in demand jazzmen. Born in Philadelphia and raised in Baltimore, he earned a degree from the Oberlin Conservatory and a master's from Rutgers, where he studied with Kenny Barron, before settling in New York in 1985. He spent nearly a decade touring with the drummer Max Roach, who called him a phenomenal new voice, and has worked with Donald Byrd, Al Grey, and Houston Person. He leads his own groups and has recorded some ten albums, among them the chart topping You Can't Lose With the Blues and Swingin' Up in Harlem.