Johnny Pearson

b. 18 June 1925, Plaistow, London, England, d. 20 March 2011. A composer, arranger, conductor and pianist, Pearson was one of the most respected personalities on the U.K. music scene for more than 50 years. A prodigious talent on the piano from an early age, when he was nine he won a scholarship to the London Academy of Music, where he studied for four years under the renowned English concert pianist Solomon. This intensive training enabled him to give classical recitals while still in his early teens, but he subsequently became interested in jazz, and formed his own group, th...