Lillette Jenkins-Wisner

Lillette Jenkins-Wisner (1924-2020) was an American vocalist and jazz pianist. Duke Ellington dubbed her the “Queen of the Keys”.

Early life and education
Jenkins-Wisner was born February 6, 1924, in Harlem, New York. She began playing classical piano at age three and went on to learn gospel, ragtime, jazz and popular music. Jenkins-Wisner began performing publicly at age six. She attended the Manhattan School of Music.

Career
Jenkins-Wisner regularly performed with musicians including Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, and Cab Calloway. She also traveled with the Special Services Unit of the United States Army during World War II.

Together with her husband, Bud Harris, Jenkins-Wisner opened the first black-owned club in Reno, Nevada, in 1945. In 2017, their family honored their relationship through the stage production ''Lillette’s Rhythm Club. ''

While working in theatre, Jenkins-Wisner served as the music director for the Off-Broadway musical One Mo’ Time, The Sarah Vaughn Jazz Festival, Sparrow in Flight, Eubie!, and The Life Story of Thomas A. Dorsey, which she also performed in. She also performed in the 1984 film The Cotton Club and regularly served as a pianist for the television series All My Children.

For 25 years, Jenkins-Wisner served as the director and organist for the Newark, New Jersey-based Mt. Zion Baptist Church Gospel Choir.

Personal life
Jenkins-Wisner married actor Bud Harris, with whom she had at least two children: Michele Carter and Adrienne Lillette Harris.

Nat King Cole’s song "Lillette" was written about Jenkins-Wisner.

Jenkins-Wisner died from Alzheimer's disease on August 25, 2020. At the time of her death, she was living in Orlando, Florida. Her family members founded the Lillette Arts and Alzheimer’s Foundation.