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Fresno’s ‘Jazz Queen’ Comes Home for Tower Theatre Show

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Jazz saxophonist Jeanette Harris and flutist Althea René will perform Saturday at the Tower Theatre. (GV Wire composite/Paul Marshall)
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Fresno native Jeannette Harris is bringing the first-ever “Saxy Summer Night” show to the Tower Theatre on Saturday, and some tickets are still available.

Harris, a jazz saxophonist, will perform alongside flutist Althea René as the Queens of Soul Jazz.

Born in Fresno in 1979 to Floyd and Annette Harris, Jeanette Bertha Harris got her musical start when her father, a church organist, put a guitar in her hands. A year later she started piano lessons, and in the fourth grade she saw a photo of Grover Washington Jr. with his alto sax while listening to his music and was hooked on the instrument.

Harris was introduced to Latin jazz at Roosevelt High, where she played lead alto in the school’s Latin Jazz Band, and she was featured saxophonist at one of Bullard High School’s appearances at the Monterey Jazz Festival. She graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 2001 with a Bachelor of Music degree, majoring in performance.

She released her first CD, “Here and There,” on the J&M Record label. Her second CD, “Jeanette Harris Live at Platinum Live” and her newest release, “Down Route 99,” are on the Sweet Music record label.

Her return to Fresno on Saturday comes in the midst of a series of shows across the nation, including the East Coast and Midwest.

Watch: Queens of Soul Jazz

Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

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