Larry Willis
@ the PizzaExpress Jazz Club
12 March 2014
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Biography
Born in 1942 in Harlem, Larry Willis grew up around
music; jazz was popular in his neighborhood, and closer to home,
he had a brother who played piano. As a child, Willis noodled around
on the piano that was in the house, but his talent seemed to lie
in singing.
Willis was accepted into New York's High School
of Music and Art as a voice major. His career there was very successful,
and included a performance of a Copland opera with the Music and
Arts Choral Ensemble conducted by Leonard Bernstein. His senior
year, Willis found his way back to the piano. Later that year, he
started gigging around town with his fellow classmates, Al Foster
and Eddie Gomez.
Willis continued his musical studies at the Manhattan
School of Music, where he switched his concentration from voice
to music theory. He also spent more time at the keyboard and soon
began studying with John Mehegan, Willis’ first and only piano
teacher.
At the age of 19, Willis was discovered and recruited
by saxophonist Jackie McLean, and made his jazz recording debut
on McLean’s Blue Note release, “Right Now”! The
album also included two of Willis’ compositions. From that
auspicious start, Willis went on to play with jazz greats such as
Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Shaw, Cannonball Adderley, Stan Getz, Carmen
McRae, and Shirley Horn. From 1972 to '79, Willis was the keyboardist
for the fusion group Blood Sweat and Tears. He’s also been
a crucial part of the Grammy-nominated Afro-Cuban jazz group Fort
Apache and formed a strong friendship with Hugh Masekela contributing
to his classic album “Home Is Where The Music Is”. In
all, Willis has appeared on 300-plus albums, with more than 20 recordings
as a leader.
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