Ray Bryant Trio

Jazz pianist and composer Ray Bryant was born on December 24, 1931, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is now acknowledged as one of the jazz greats who helped take the genre into the mainstream. Studying classical piano from the age of six, he played gospel music in church, as well as double bass and tuba in his school band. Drawn to concentrate on jazz in his teens, he was 14 when he joined Jimmy Johnson's band and became actively involved in the Philadelphia jazz scene, playing with John Coltrane and Ben Golson. Hired by bandleader Mickey Collins, his major breakthrough came in 1953 when he became house pianist at Philadelphia's leading jazz club Blue Note where he accompanied luminaries such as Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins and Lester Young. Encouraged by them he moved to New York and began his recording career with Blue Note and Prestige, playing with many jazz greats like Coleman Hawkins and Roy Eldridge. He spent two years on the road accompanying singer Carmen McRae and toured with Dizzy Gillespie before forming his own trio, who released their self-titled debut album in 1956. With a variety of line-ups, the Ray Bryant Trio released many albums over the next 40 years. Their catalog includes Piano Piano Piano Piano (1957), Ray Bryant Plays (1959), Little Susie (1960), Con Alma (1961), Cold Turkey (1964), Sound Ray (1969), All Blues (1978), and many others. In between trio sessions, Ray Bryant also recorded solo and with other formations (quintet and sextette) but would always return to the comforts of a trio. His last release with his trio was 1997’s Ray’s Tribute to His Jazz Piano Friends. Ray Bryant died on June 2, 2011, at the age of 79.

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