Loston Harris is an American jazz pianist and vocalist. Harris plays primarily from the
Great American Songbook
The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant early-20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes.
Definition
According to the Great American Songbook Foundation: The "Great American Songbook" is ...
in a traditional style. He is a regular performer at various venues in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
including
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Jazz at Lincoln Center is part of Lincoln Center in New York City. The organization was founded in 1987 and opened at Time Warner Center in October 2004. Wynton Marsalis is the artistic director and the leader of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orches ...
, has recorded five albums, and appeared in a feature film.
Biography
Loston Harris began his studies at
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...
as a percussion major. After hearing Harris playing the piano, visiting professor
Ellis Marsalis urged the percussionist to switch instruments. Harris later transferred to
Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...
where he studied piano with
Geri Allen
Geri Antoinette Allen (June 12, 1957 – June 27, 2017) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. In addition to her career as a performer and bandleader, Allen was also an associate professor of music at the University of Pittsburgh ...
and
Billy Taylor
Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the ...
.
In 1995 Harris toured with
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awar ...
, and in 1996 with
Marcus Roberts
Marthaniel "Marcus" Roberts (born August 7, 1963) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and teacher.
Early life
Roberts was born in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. His mother was a gospel singer who had gone blind a ...
. He has released five albums, the most recent in 2013. Additionally, he appeared as himself in the 2005 film ''
Little Manhattan
''Little Manhattan'' is a 2005 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mark Levin and written by Jennifer Flackett, starring Josh Hutcherson and Charlotte Ray Rosenberg. It is set in Manhattan, and follows a ten-year-old boy as he expe ...
''. Harris currently leads the house band at the
Carlyle Hotel
The Carlyle Hotel, known formally as The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel, is a combination luxury apartment hotel located at 35 East 76th Street on the northeast corner of Madison Avenue and East 76th Street, on the Upper East Side of New York City. O ...
’s
Bemelmans Bar.
Discography
*''Stepping Stones'' (1996)
*''Comes Love'' (1998)
*''Timeless'' (2003)
*''Why Try to Change Me Now?'' (2010)
*''Swingfully Yours'' (2013)
External links
Official websiteYanow, Scott. “Loston Harris Biography.” Allmusic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Loston
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Virginia Commonwealth University alumni