Lanny Hartley is a jazz pianist, conductor and composer who began his career as the pianist for his church in Burlington, New Jersey. With a solid gospel music background he went on to study Music Education at Indiana University.

Jazz piano became his love and he performed with such great Jazz artists as Wes Montgomery, Lorez Alexandria, Ernie Andrews, Jon Hendricks, Lou Rawls, Linda Hopkins, and Ernestine Anderson. Lanny has also played for such Pop Artists as Thelma Houston, The Fifth Dimension, Joe Tex, Syreeta Wright, Al Wilson, and David Clayton Thomas. He has been the Musical Conductor/Director for such shows as Ain't Misbehavin‚ (Alaska): Tracks (Yolanda King); The Late Great Ladies of Blues and Jazz (Sandra Reeves): The Della Reese Musical Tour; and Dinah Was (New York, Los Angeles, and Williamstown).

Recordings that he has performed on and arranged include: Linda Hopkins and Her Black and Blue Band; and Live at Spaghettinis, Yvette Freeman A Tribute to Dinah Washington, Mack Avenue Records the Legacy Lives On and for an up coming recording by Bluiett Baritone Nation. Hartley's screen credits include the television movie Sinatra, as a blind piano player, the motion picture Harlem Nights as a piano player, as the church organist in the ABC television series Soul Man, starring Dan Ackroyd and appearances in Paradise Alley, Private Benjamin, Dallas, and Home Front. Lanny has scored music for the films, "Remember"; "The Blessing Way"; "Hideous Scream"; and "Cherry". Currently Lanny is orchestrator, pianist and arranger for the celebrated Luckman Jazz orchestra.