Lawrence Elliott Willis, born December 20, 1940 in New York and died September 29, 2019, Baltimore. He was an American jazz composer and pianist. His performances included jazz fusion, Afro Cuban Jazz and bebop. Willis was born in New York City. He began performing with Jackie McLean after his first year of music theory studies at the Manhattan School of Music. McLean’s Right Now was his first jazz recording after he graduated. In January 1965, McLean’s Right Now! featured two Willis compositions. However, his first recording of any kind was as a singer in the Music and Arts Chorale Ensemble performing an opera by Aaron Copland, under Leonard Bernstein’s direction. Because of the difficulty for African American musicians to find work in concert music, he decided to focus on jazz. He performed with many musicians throughout his career, including as a keyboardist for Blood, Sweat, and other bands.
