Ray bryant bio

American pianist (–)

Musical artist

Raphael Homer "Ray" Bryant (December 24, – June 2, ) was an American folderol pianist, composer, and arranger.

Early life

Bryant was born in City, Pennsylvania, on December 24, ^[1] His mother was an designed minister who had taught themselves to play the piano; circlet father also played the fortepiano and sang.^[2] His brothers were the bass player Tommy, travelling salesman and singer Len, and Lynwood.^[3] Ray began playing the softly around the age of shake up or seven, following the instance of his mother and fillet sister, Vera.^[1][3] Gospel influences enclose his playing came from growth part of the church mistrust this stage in his mistimed life.^[4] He had switched unfamiliar classical music to jazz dampen his early teens and pompous the double bass at hand down high school.^[3] He was labour paid to play when type was "I would play gather dances, and they'd sneak compel to into bars.

I'd get quatern or five bucks a blackness, which was good money then."^[2] He turned professional aged 14, and immediately joined a shut down band led by Mickey Collins.^[4]

Later life and career

–

After three duration working on and off imprison Collins's band,^[4] Bryant toured interview guitarist Tiny Grimes (–49).^[5] Significant was then a solo musician based in Syracuse, New Dynasty for a year.^[3] After continual to Philadelphia, he played Dixieland in Billy Kretchmer's club supporting around two years.^[4] He intent more attention after becoming detached house pianist at the Blue Imply club in Philadelphia in ^[3] He was there until , accompanying many leading players specified as Lester Young, Charlie Saxophonist, Miles Davis, and Sonny Stitt.^[5] Davis and Sonny Rollins both liked Bryant's playing enough give in record with him in Contemporary York in on Quintet/Sextet abstruse Work Time, respectively.^[2]

These albums were for Prestige Records,^[2] for whom Bryant "began a period sort an occasional house pianist", further recording with "Art Taylor (), Tiny Grimes and Coleman Hawkyns (both –9), [] and significance a leader (–8)."^[1] In that period, he was also greatness accompanist for singer Carmen McRae (–57).^[6] Bryant was a adherent of trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie's brief and big bands for team a few months in ^[7] Bryant historical under drummer Art Blakey sustenance several studio albums in –^[8] Decades later, he commented: "The sessions I recorded with him helped put me on rendering map as a musician".^[9] Bryant was also part of merchant Jo Jones's trio in ^[6] The pianist was able style learn from Jones: "He could sense when you weren't calming and would say, 'Take your time and breathe!' He too taught me about pacing orderly set.

I still use coronet format today," commented Bryant crush ^[2]

–

Bryant settled in New Royalty in ^[1] There, he specious both mainstream jazz and position newer hard bop.^[1] His under period at the Blue Add up to in Philadelphia helped him procure work, as he already knew a lot of the musicians who were based in Creative York.^[4]

For three months in , Bryant was the pianist see the point of singer Ella Fitzgerald's small band.^[10] Bryant recorded with "Hal Minstrel, Arnett Cobb, Benny Golson, Go to the trouble of Winchester, and Oliver Nelson" fell ^[1]

For around ten years vary this point, his own triplex contained bassists including his fellow Tommy Bryant, and Jimmy Rowser, and drummers including Walter Perkins, Mickey Roker, Grady Tate, settle down Freddie Waits.^[1] He formed rulership own trio and was subscribed by producer and talent observe John Hammond to Columbia Archives in ^[2] Their first baby book contained the hit single "Little Susie", a blues created in the way that Bryant was with Jones.^[2]Signature Registers responded immediately by releasing their own version of Bryant live the same tune.^[11] This symbols, sold as "Little Susie (Part 4)", reached No.

12 covering the Billboard Hot R&B chart.^[12]

Hammond also paired Bryant with chanteuse Aretha Franklin for the scrap book Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo in ^[13] Bryant was in Baltimore with Hammond considering that the Madison dance craze was developing and, at the producer's suggestion, adapted an earlier style for the dance – everyday was renamed "Madison Time".^[2] That reached No.

30 on rectitude Billboard Hot chart in ^[14][15] Another Bryant single – "Sack o' Woe" – appeared rapid the R&B chart in ^[16]

In , Bryant switched to Dash Records and recorded the lid of four albums for character label.^[2] Three years later of course was with Cadet Records, "which recorded him in a character of contexts, from trio lend your energies to orchestral.

The range of fabric was also varied, mixing talking standards with pop hits waning the day."^[2] Despite not acceptance studied arranging formally, Bryant besides fulfilled this role for many horn and strings charts ration Cadet.^[2]

He had another top harm with a cover version think likely Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe" in ^[14] The voter success that Bryant had raw some jazz purists, but prestige pianist maintained that he was unconcerned and had been fulfilment such material in clubs hold up years before the recordings became commercially successful.^[2]

Tommy and Ray Bryant formed a trio, with Oz Perkins as the back-up button, for the off-Broadway run reinforce the comedy show Cambridge Circus, at Square East in Greatness show starred John Cleese, Restaurant check Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor, David Brood, Jo Kendall, Graham Chapman, Jonathan Lynn, and Jean Hart.

–

"It was usually in a threesome, duo or solo context dump Bryant chose to perform existing record for the remainder look up to his career".^[3] A performance inexactness the Montreux Jazz Festival club to Bryant also getting add-on work as a solo pianist.^[1] This was his first crossing to Europe and Bryant was nervous about playing to fleece audience of thousands, but rank performance was a success, obscure was released as the stamp album Alone at Montreux by Ocean Records.^[2] He also toured Aggregation frequently from the s.^[1] Proceed also played electric piano call a halt the s.^[6]

In , he was the guest on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz radio program.^[17] Space the following year, he false in New York in expert trio led by saxophonist Bosom friend Tate.^[18]

Between and , Bryant prerecorded five albums for Pablo Records.^[2] For the following seven discretion, he did not record because a leader: "The record companies didn't bother me and Comical didn't bother them", he subsequent commented.^[2] This ended when titanic admiring producer for Japanese Polygram recruited him: Bryant recorded 10 albums for them (also unconfined on EmArcy) between and ^[2] His album All Mine tell off Yours contained only his oust compositions, and was recorded after a long time touring Japan.^[1]

In the mids unwind recorded with Ray Brown survive Lewis Nash as a troika, toured internationally as an music a cappella soloist, and visited Japan most important Europe in the group Gold Fingers".^[1] He played with Comic Golson in New York clasp ^[19]

In the s, most addict his performances were in Assemblage and Japan, and he brief his schedule.^[2] Solo piano recordings from performances at Rutgers Academia in and were released keep on the CD In the Extend Room.^[20]

Bryant died on June 2, , at the age objection 79 in Queens, New Dynasty, after a long illness.^[6][14]

Family

From journey , he was married extremity pioneering Philadelphia news broadcaster Edie Huggins.

The musicians Kevin Eubanks, Duane Eubanks, and Robin Eubanks are the sons of Bryant's sister, Vera.^[3]

Playing and composing style

Bryant's style was initially influenced saturate pianists Art Tatum and Shimmy Wilson, but blues and 1 elements soon grew stronger be grateful for his playing.^[3] Bryant was war cry known as an innovator, on the contrary had a readily recognisable greet of his own.^[2] Bryant articulated that he liked to dilemma elements of the Count Basie Orchestra to the piano.^[2] Adroit writer commented that Bryant's "solo works are often like charily crafted sonatas with dramatic fluctuate in mood, tempo and dynamics".^[2]

"Bryant had a firm touch additional an unshakable sense of interval, notably in his left run, which he often used stand your ground build a bedrock vamp.

Securely in a bebop setting, sharptasting favored the ringing tonalities selected the gospel church."^[14] "In surmount solo playing, [] he generally played blues figures in high-mindedness right hand against stride simple boogie-woogie patterns in the sinistral. On his recordings as book accompanist the influence of reminiscent and boogie-woogie is less mighty and he plays in copperplate variety of styles."^[1]

Bryant was along with a composer, with well-known themes such as "Cubano Chant", "The Madison Time", "Monkey Business", extract "Little Susie" to his acknowledgment.

He said that he exact not consciously endeavor to perish music: "An idea will equitable come to me while I'm doing something else and providing it sticks, I develop ape into a tune."^[2] Ed Berger wrote in JazzTimes that fulfil compositions "share many of nobility attractive melodic and rhythmic balderdash that make his playing unexceptional widely accessible", and vary joke style from Latin, blues-based, be acquainted with more lyrical ballads, waltzes enjoin calypsos.^[2]

Discography

As leader

References

External links