Rodney Lee is a keyboard player, producer, and recording artist living in Los Angeles. He has made a name for himself in L.A. circles as a remarkably versatile player. He is equally at home in jazz, R&B, funk, pop, and electronica. Rodney’s sound is honed from years of work on the road and in the studio with diverse artists such as Anastacia, Jody Watley, Mindi Abair, Chante Moore, El DeBarge, Dakota Moon, Chris Standring, Marc Antoine, Terence Trent D’Arby, The Solsonics, The B-Sharp Jazz Quartet, Freddie Hubbard, and the Jazz Crusaders.
In 1994, Rodney began a five-year stint with the critically acclaimed L.A. based post-bop jazz group B-Sharp. He recorded three CD’s with B-Sharp and toured extensively through America and Europe. In May 1996 Sonic Images records released an acid jazz project entitled “solarsystem” written and produced by Rodney and Chris Standring. In 1998, Lee produced soul jazz vocalist Jeff Robinson’s debut release “Any Shade of Blue” for Wild West Records. The CD was released to rave reviews, surpassing expectations from abroad (London). Also in 1998, Rodney co-produced the debut release for jazz guitarist Chris Standring. The first single from which reached the top 10 on the Gavin/R&R charts.
The new millennium has seen four new releases from Chris Standring -- singles from all four CDs reached the top ten on the radio charts. Rodney has also co-produced three CDs for pop soul diva Jody Watley. The latest single from Jody Watley’s “Makeover” CD reached the top 5 on Billboard’s Club/Dance chart in 2008. In addition, there was the release of his first solo record of soul and jazz infused electronica entitled “Innocent Bystander”. Rodney completed production on Jeff Robinson’s sophomore release “Eyewitness” which was released in 2005. In the past few years, Rodney has begun composing music for television and film. He scored the reality based show “Beyond Tough” for The Learning Channel (TLC). The show, hosted by Ice T, began airing in September 2002.
Currently, Rodney can be seen on tour with contemporary jazz saxophonist Mindi Abair, as musical director for Jody Watley, or performing with one of his latest solo projects: Alien Chatter is a unique blend of Jazz and Asian Underground, and The Satellite Orchestra is a cinematic journey into jazz-tronica with Lee navigating from a Fender Rhodes electric piano. Rodney’s music has become a regular on KCRW, Los Angeles’ premiere radio station for modern music. In addition to the above, Rodney’s television appearances include The Tonight Show, BBC’s Top of the Pops, The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Rosie O’ Donnell Show, and Entertainment Tonight.
Finally, Rodney has released an e-book entitled "Money Magic for Musicians". It's all about how to achieve a life-long AND prosperous career in the arts. Yes, you can actually build wealth while doing it!
Rodney began studying piano at age 10. After earning both a B.S. and M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering, Rodney spent a few years as an integrated circuit designer for Bell Laboratories. However, his musical ambition inspired Lee to leave corporate America and pursue a career in music. Heralding from Austin, Texas with a background in both classical and jazz piano, Rodney relocated to Los Angeles in the 1990’s to take his music talents to a wider audience.
