About Us

Dennis Britton (guitar) – Starting with a few cowboy chords and folk songs as a young boy in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Dennis was influenced by Andres Segovia and jazz artists Howard Roberts and Wes Montgomery. Over the years, he studied classical guitar, jazz guitar, jazz musicianship and improvisation, and recently with jazz guitarist Tony Mata. He taught guitar in Northern Virginia for 25 years and also played in several jazz bands at the many wineries in the area and at private functions. Dennis was also an associate producer for the Smithsonian Collection of Recordings and later worked for the Library of Congress in the U.S. Copyright Office, Performing Arts Section. Since living in Williamsburg, he has enjoyed playing with Lily Loves Jazz and meeting and jamming with jazz musicians at local venues.

Jim Lesnick (bass) – After a dozen years playing double bass across many genres, Jim sold his bass to help make medical school tuition.  Now, nearly 40 years later and having retired from neurosurgery and health system administration, he is enjoying playing again.  He prefers a melodic style and is most heavily influenced by the great bassist, Israel Crosby.  In addition to playing bass, he manages recordings and the website for Lily Loves Jazz

Aaron Koehl (keyboards) – Aaron has been tickling the ivories in Hampton Roads for a quarter of a century! He learned his craft under the watchful eye (or ear?) of a guy named Harris Simon. Now, I don’t know about you, but I picture Harris as some sort of piano Yoda, teaching Aaron the ways of the musical force. He has notched over 100 weddings as a soloist. Aaron’s also been known to strut his stuff at the Inn at Warner Hall. That’s right, he’s played there so often they probably have a designated piano-shaped dent in the floor. (They do.) In addition to frequent duo engagements at area restaurants, you may have also caught him with the bands Hot House, Good Shot Judy, Timeline, Charles Darden, or Southern Gospel. He served as the pianist at Severn Church for 27 years. Finally, when not playing piano, Aaron can be found as a professor at William and Mary or slinging data for Riverside Health System.

Lily (stuffed toys ) – A wonderful, sweet, jazz-loving dog. 13 Jun 2011 – 15 Aug 2023