Justin Lees

Justin Lees started playing guitar professionally in the late 70’s and studied guitar with several local prominent guitarists in Washington D.C., including Rick Whitehead, Paul Bollenbach (local to DC at the time), Bill Biesecker, Danny Gatton, and guitarists not so local (including Herb Ellis and Emily Remler).

Although stylistically diverse, Justin’s main focus is on a straight ahead approach to jazz steeped in the fifties tradition of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and rooted in the styles of Charlie Christian and T Bone Walker. The feeling of Swing and the Blues is a constant. While in Washington D.C., he worked as a freelance musician with a variety of people that have included Ron Holloway, Dick Morgan, Keeter Betts, Cindy Cain and others. At that time, you could here him every Monday night with his own trio at the One Step Down, Washington D.C.’s premier Jazz club, until it’s closing. He performed at Blues Alley, 219 Club, and Constitution Hall plus.