Concert honors jazz legend Lillette Jenkins-Wisner
Jazz legend Lillette Jenkins-Wisner, dubbed Queen of the Keys by Duke Ellington, was honored Sept. 20 with a concert hosted by her family and friends at the Fairfield Inn in Rehoboth Beach.
Her granddaughter, Tanya “Toni” Stargell, created a CD with three songs to commemorate her grandmother and benefit the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. The CD includes the last recording they made together, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” in 2016.
It also includes two songs from one of Jenkins-Wisner’s previous albums, “Flight of the Bumblebee” and “My Prayer,” which was written and arranged by Jenkins-Wisner.
CDs are still for sale for $10, with $5 of every sale befitting the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. To purchase a CD, email Lilsfoundation2@aol.com.
Lillette Jenkins-Wisner was born Feb. 6, 1924, and passed away Aug. 25, 2020.
An internationally renowned concert pianist and vocalist, Jenkins-Wisner began to play piano at the age of 4. While she was initially trained as a classical musician, she developed an affinity for gospel and jazz while studying at the Manhattan School of Music.
Her career took her around the world performing with the Special Services Unit of the United States Army during World War II, at Carnegie Hall in concert for the United Negro College Fund Choir, in the Lorraine Hansberry Concert Series, at European jazz festivals and for touring engagements with the Around the World Concert Cruise Series and Floating Jazz Festival.
She was music director for the Off-Broadway musical hit “One Mo’ Time,” and music director and performer in “The Life Story of Thomas A. Dorsey,” known as the father of Black Gospel music. Other shows included, “The Sarah Vaughn Jazz Festival,” “Sparrow in Flight” and the Crossroads Theatre production of “Eubie.” In addition, she was in several movies including “The Cotton Club” and appeared regularly as a jazz pianist on the ABC television soap series, “All My Children.”
She had several recordings, including “Meditation,” “Lillette Jenkins Live at Chez Josephine,” “Lillette Plays Music of Lil Armstrong,” and most recently “Lillette ‐ In Peace
and Love.”
Jenkins-Wisner served as director and organist of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church Gospel Choir in Newark, N.J., for 25 years.
