Lafayette Harris Jr. is known as a “go to” pianist by many musicians, including legendary saxophonist Houston Person, for whom he has recorded on three albums. Lafayette has toured with some of the greatest musicians of all time including the luminary Max Roach; jazz, funk pioneer, trumpeter Donald Byrd; trombone plunger master Al Grey; John Gordon’s Trombones Unlimited that featured: Slide Hampton, Al Grey and Curtis Fuller, amongst others; and the Duke Ellington Legacy Orchestra. He has recorded and toured with four-time Grammy nominee – the late, great, Ernestine Anderson. Lafayette is currently a regular member of Archie Shepp’s band. He also records and performs with his own bands that include Lonnie Plaxico, Jazzmeia Horn, Willie Jones III, Peter Washington and Lewis Nash. Lafayette has been the musical director for dance tap organization, Tapology, since 2013 where he orchestrates and conducts the diverse musical ensemble. Lafayette has released many of his own albums. One more recent release, “You Can’t Lose With The Blues,” was #1 for two weeks on the Jazzweek Jazz Chart in February 2020, and remained on the top ten for 14 weeks.

Hailing from Baltimore, Maryland, Lafayette has a Bachelor of Music in Piano from Oberlin Conservatory and a Master of Music from Rutgers University. As an educator, Lafayette believes that everyone can make progress as a musician – it all depends on how much they want to do it.