Lezlie Harrison: The Voice of a Movement
Lezlie Harrison – vocalist, WBGO announcer, and co-founder of The Jazz Gallery – has lived a life steeped in music from the beginning. Her grandfather was a minister in a Methodist church, where music was woven into worship and daily life. Her mother played piano and organ, and sang; her uncle joined in. Her father, a music lover himself, filled their home with the sounds of Motown and more. “There was music in the house all the time,” she recalls. “I loved the radio.”
Raised in Spanish Harlem, Harrison’s musical journey began in church choirs and living rooms where gospel met funk and Caribbean rhythms spilled into the streets. Her childhood was underscored by the pulse of New York’s El Barrio, where the sounds of Latin music drifted throughout the neighborhood and Tito Puente’s band members doubled as babysitters. “There was always music coming out of the windows and on the streets — even the music of the traffic,” she says. Summers in North Carolina brought spirituals and soul, while a move to Boston in the ‘70s expanded her ear. She couldn’t get enough of radio and records, drawn to voices like Grover Washington, the Blackbyrds, and anything that moved with groove and purpose.
Harrison’s own voice found its place not just behind the mic, but on stage and in the music scene. She became part of a creative circle that included Dale Fitzgerald and rising star Roy Hargrove. Together, the trio helped launch The Jazz Gallery. “Dale and I had conversations about a space rooted in jazz, Black art, and creative freedom,” she says. What began as a rehearsal loft for Hargrove, who was “always having issues with his neighbors, playing his trumpet at all hours,” gained new life when Bradley’s, a beloved jazz club, closed its doors. Its piano, owned by Paul Desmond, was brought to The Jazz Gallery. “That’s when it morphed into a performance space,” Harrison recalls. Another key turning point came when Fitzgerald hired Rio Sakairi as curator. “That’s when it really shifted.” Under Sakairi’s artistic vision, The Jazz Gallery became a launchpad for talent with residencies and mentorships.
Harrison’s radio career traces back to college, where she worked in radio while studying to be an actress. “I didn’t have eyes on radio — but apparently, I was good at it,” she laughs. After returning from UMass Amherst, she was in a car with saxophonist Marion Brown when he pointed to a New York Times article about WBGO’s commitment to 24-hour jazz programming. “Lady Mahogany (my radio name), you should work at this radio station,” he told her. She did. And never looked back.
Today, Harrison is one of WBGO’s most recognized voices, curating jazz with the perspective of someone who’s lived it. She brings that same authenticity to the stage, having sung with the Roy Hargrove Big Band and performed with artists across the NoMad Jazz Festival lineup, including guitarist Saul Rubin. “I think I’ve played with someone in each of the groups performing. And if I haven’t, I’ve seen and heard them,” she says.
As emcee for NoMad Jazz Festival’s Sunday mainstage, she sees the festival as something special. “To make it a two-day festival is kinda hip,” she says. “And it’s free. Now, people can see and hear what’s happening in NoMad.”
At the bottom of her website’s Bio page, there’s a simple sign-off added by her friend and fellow WBGO host James Browne: Pay Attention! Because when Lezlie Harrison is in the room, something real is about to happen – she is always evolving, always worth listening to.
Illustration by Velicia Gourdin.