Kenneth Lyons "Kenny" Kersey, born Ken Kersey on April 3, 1916 in Harrow, Ontario, was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer who spent most of his career in the United States. He began learning piano under his mother's tutelage before studying at the Detroit Institute of Musical Arts. In 1936, Kersey moved to New York City where he initially worked as a trumpeter but soon transitioned to piano, collaborating with notable figures such as Billie Holiday on "You're Too Lovely to Last" (1939). He replaced Mary Lou Williams in Andy Kirk's band in 1942. During his career, Kersey participated in early bebop sessions with Dizzy Gillespie and Don Byas in 1941, and toured with Jazz at the Philharmonic from 1946 to 1949. Due to a bone disease, he retired from music at the end of the 1950s.
