Tony Lee

Who was Tony Lee?

Tony Lee was a British jazz pianist who played with the likes of Tommy Whittle, Tom Jones, Dusty Springfield, Barney Kessel, Sonny Stitt, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Terry Smith, Tubby Hayes, Dick Morrissey and legendary UK drummer Phil Seamen.

Lee was born in Whitechapel, London. He learned the rudiments of the piano from his elder brother, who was self-taught and preferred to use the black keys rather than the white. As a consequence, he became fluent in keys such as G flat and B natural, before moving on to more standard keys, leaving him with the ability to transpose effortlessly his entire repertoire into any key. He played for many years at The Bull's Head in Barnes, South West London, a few miles from his home in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey.

Despite his sketchy knowledge of musical theory, he was a complete master of his instrument, and blessed with large hands, his solos ranged from effortless large block chords to delicate single note figures, all played in a lyrical style, and swinging like a garden gate. He was arguably the greatest British exponent of the Erroll Garner piano style, though his playing embraced a much wider compass.