Brian Lemon (11 February 1937 – 11 October 2014) was a British jazz pianist and arranger.
Biography Lemon was born in Nottingham, England. After leaving school in the 1950s, he began playing professionally at Nottingham's Palais de Danse and other local venues.
He moved to London, aged 19, in 1956 to join Freddy Randall's group."Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 September 2014. After that he worked with George Chisholm, Kenny Baker and Sandy Brown. Over the years, he also worked with Benny Goodman, Charlie Watts, Scott Hamilton, Buddy Tate, Milt Jackson, Ben Webster, and Digby Fairweather. From 1961 to 1963, he led his own trio at the comedian Peter Cook’s club, The Establishment, in Soho, London.
He led an octet which played songs by Billy Strayhorn. Lemon worked as a regular session musician with many groups which were recorded at the BBC's Maida Vale Studios in London for broadcast on Sunday night's BBC Radio 1's Sounds of Jazz introduced by Peter Clayton in the early 1970s.
Lemon recorded a sequence of 27 albums for Zephyr over 10 years from 1994, though not always as leader. Lemon had a remarkable skill as an accompanist, together with his in-depth knowledge of the classic American song repertoire. Zephyr was set up by retired businessman John Bune, to specifically record Lemon's work.Obituary: Brian Lemon, Daily Telegraph, 5 November 2014 Lemon retired from music around 2005 after the development of severe osteoarthritis in his hands.
Adelaide Hall recorded an album with The Brian Lemon Half-Dozen. A rare copy is at the British Library.
Personal life Lemon married Debby Holley in 1965. They eventually separated although did not divorce. Holley, her son and Susan Burgess, his partner, all survive him.
Lemon died in October 2014, at the age of 77.
Discography As leader Year recordedTitleLabelNotes1970Our Kind of Music77 RecordsIllustrated 77 Records discography, Wirz.de, Retrieved 8 June 2013. 1983 Jazz-London 29 / 30 BBC Transcription Service Live. Split album with Nucleus.1995Over the RainbowZephyrwith Derek Watkins1995A Beautiful FriendshipZephyrwith Roy Williams1995How Long Has This Been Going OnZephyrwith Roy Williams1996Old Hands, Young MindsZephyrwith Alan Barnes1996Lemon Looks BackZephyr1999–2000My Shining HourZephyr
As sideman Cookin' (Bellaphon, 1989) – live Charly Antolini Meets Dick Morrissey (Bell, 1992) – live The Great British Jazz Band (Candid, 1993) In Town, Spike Robinson (Hep Jazz, 1993) Love Walked In, Tony Coe (Zephyr Records, 2008)
References
External links BBC Music Discography