Features
Keyboard Hero
Tulsa, Okla., is honoring its hometown hero keyboardist Brian Lee with a “Show of Love” this Sunday. Lee, who tours with singer-songwriter Leon Russell, was involved in a hit-and-run collision Feb. 7. Although the crash left Lee with broken ribs and other injuries, the musician – who is blind – still managed to help rescue his driver out of their wrecked car.
In addition to touring with Russell, Lee also does solo work, plays in local bands including Freakshow and is known for his “dueling piano” shows.
After performing at the Jive and Wail piano bar in St. Louis Feb. 6, Lee was returning to Tulsa, along with his driver Kurt Wise, for a Sunday morning church performance.
Wise and Lee had traveled about 20 minutes outside of St. Louis when Wise’s vehicle was hit by a white sedan that was traveling over 100 miles per hour, according to Tulsa World. After being struck, Wise’s car rolled five times and then skidded 150 feet on its roof. The accident occurred on Interstate 44 around 2 a.m.
The crash left Wise’s door jammed shut and he was forced to exit the vehicle through the passenger-side window. Lee helped guide him out of the car by yelling directions to him.
“Make no mistake, it was Brian’s clear head that allowed us both to exit the vehicle,” Wise told the Tulsa World.
“He’s really a hero,” said Brian’s wife, Lisa Lee. “Brian had enough presence of mind to help. He remembers everything about the wreck.”
Witnesses told St. Louis police the other driver fled the scene after the collision. The paper noted that the other driver is suspected to have been driving drunk.
Although police haven’t yet found the other driver, authorities have some clues to work with. The crash left behind “a partial impression of the other vehicle’s license plate on Wise’s bumper.”
Wise told Tulsa World that the other driver’s “radiator was ruptured and tracked to a specific neighborhood, so we are confident that he will be caught soon.”
Wise suffered minor injuries. Lee suffered “severe road rash” abrasions on both knees, two broken ribs, lung contusions and other injuries.
Lisa Lee said that she was relieved that “his hands are in perfect shape. There was no head injury.”
Lee was treated at St. John’s Mercy Hospital. After his lung contusions developed into pneumonia, Lee was moved to an intensive care unit and monitored on a ventilator. His wife said he was put on a respirator but then taken off of it a few days later.
The pianist was expected to return home from the hospital Feb. 12. To celebrate his quick recovery, his fellow musicians are throwing a “Show of Love” on Sunday at Pickle’s Pub and Grill.
The event is set to feature a silent auction with items donated by Merf Music Group in addition to a raffle, food, drinks and music from local artists including Freakshow, Joe Modica & The Real Band, Travis Kidd,Travis Fite, Jared Tyler, The Salty Dogs, Marc Brisson & The Third Estate, Dave Armstrong and Friends, Ray Hamilton, Chloe Johns with Bryan McMasters and Max Campbell. Admission is free.