Brian Lemon
b. 11 February 1937, Nottingham, England. After playing piano in and around his home town, Lemon moved to London in the mid-50s where he joined the Freddy Randall band. During the late '50s and early '60s he played with several bands ranging from those of a traditional bent through to the mainstream and into post-bop. Amongst the leaders with whom he has worked are Betty Smith, Al Fairweather, Sandy Brown, Dave Shepherd, Danny Moss, George Chisholm and Alex Welsh. A regular member of the house band at leading London venues such as the Pizza Express and Ronnie Scott's, he has also backed visiting Americans jazz musicians, including Benny Goodman, Ben Webster, Milt Jackson and Buddy Tate. Always displaying considerable flair and switching styles with rare ease, by the '70s Lemon had become a familiar and popular figure on the UK jazz scene, a role he maintained throughout the '80s and into the early '90s. He is also in demand as a session musician on radio, performing and writing music within and beyond the framework of jazz.