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49-454: Ray Bryant Trio can refer to two albums released by pianist Ray Bryant : Ray Bryant Trio (1956 album) , released on Epic Records Ray Bryant Trio (1957 album) , released on Prestige Records Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Ray Bryant Trio . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

98-616: A bebop pianist, continued to record albums in the early 1960s, while Gordon's Our Man in Paris became "one of his most iconic albums" for Blue Note. Other musicians who contributed to the hard bop style include Donald Byrd , Tina Brooks , Sonny Clark , Lou Donaldson , Blue Mitchell , Sonny Rollins , and Sonny Stitt . David Rosenthal considers six albums among the high points of the hard bop era: Ugetsu , Kind of Blue , Saxophone Colossus , Let Freedom Ring , Mingus Ah Um , and Brilliant Corners , referring to these as being some of

147-669: A bedrock vamp. Even in a bebop setting, he favored the ringing tonalities of the gospel church." "In his solo playing, [...] he often played blues figures in the right hand against stride or boogie-woogie patterns in the left. On his recordings as an accompanist the influence of blues and boogie-woogie is less strong and he plays in a variety of styles." Bryant was also a composer, with well-known themes such as "Cubano Chant", "The Madison Time", "Monkey Business", and "Little Susie" to his credit. He said that he did not consciously endeavor to compose music: "An idea will just come to me while I'm doing something else and if it sticks, I develop it into

196-614: A cover version of Bobbie Gentry 's " Ode to Billie Joe " in 1967. The crossover success that Bryant had irritated some jazz purists, but the pianist maintained that he was unconcerned and had been playing such material in clubs for years before the recordings became commercially successful. Tommy and Ray Bryant formed a trio, with Oz Perkins as the back-up band, for the off-Broadway run of the comedy show Cambridge Circus , at Square East in 1964. The show starred John Cleese , Bill Oddie , Tim Brooke-Taylor , David Hatch , Jo Kendall , Graham Chapman , Jonathan Lynn , and Jean Hart . "It

245-457: A fast tempo" and is associated with Griffin's reputation as "the world's fastest saxophonist." In 1956, The Jazz Messengers recorded an album titled Hard Bop , which was released in 1957, including Bill Hardman on trumpet and saxophonist Jackie McLean , with a mix of hard bop compositions and jazz standards . Shortly after, in 1958, The Jazz Messengers, with a new line-up including Lee Morgan on trumpet and Benny Golson on saxophone, recorded

294-610: A more relaxed lifestyle in California, while driving bop typified the New York scene. Some writers, such as James Lincoln Collier , suggest that the style was an attempt to recapture jazz as a form of African American expression. Whether or not this was the intent, many musicians quickly adopted the style, regardless of race. According to Nat Hentoff in his 1957 liner notes for the Art Blakey Columbia LP entitled Hard Bop ,

343-505: A period as an occasional house pianist", also recording with "Art Taylor (1957), Tiny Grimes and Coleman Hawkins (both 1958–9), [...] and as a leader (1957–8)." In this period, he was also the accompanist for singer Carmen McRae (1956–57). Bryant was a member of trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie 's small and big bands for four months in 1957. Bryant recorded under drummer Art Blakey for several studio albums in 1957–58. Decades later, he commented: "The sessions I recorded with him helped put me on

392-435: A response to cool jazz and West Coast jazz . As Paul Tanner , Maurice Gerow, and David Megill explain, "the hard bop school...saw the new instrumentation and compositional devices used by cool musicians as gimmicks rather than valid developments of the jazz tradition." However, Shelly Manne suggested that cool jazz and hard bop simply reflected their respective geographic environments: the relaxed cool jazz style reflected

441-461: A tune." Ed Berger wrote in JazzTimes that his compositions "share many of the attractive melodic and rhythmic qualities that make his playing so widely accessible", and vary in style from Latin, blues-based, to more lyrical ballads, waltzes and calypsos. Hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using

490-460: A young Freddie Hubbard , who would go on to become "a hard bop stylist." Blue Train was described by Richard Havers as "Coltrane's Hard-Bop Masterpiece," although an edit made to one of the album's records caused controversy following disapproval from sound engineer Rudy Van Gelder. In the early to mid-1960s, prior to his death, Coltrane experimented in free jazz but again drew influences from hard bop in his 1965 album A Love Supreme . Coltrane

539-416: The 1970s to "[t]he rise of commercial rock and the consolidation of most of the independent record labels." With rock groups such as The Beatles capturing hard bop's charisma and avant-garde jazz , which had limited appeal outside jazz circles, bringing "division and controversy into the jazz community," Davis and other former hard boppers left the genre, only for the new fusion genre to itself shrink within

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588-689: The 1970s. He also played electric piano in the 1970s. In 1982, he was the guest on Marian McPartland 's Piano Jazz radio program. In the following year, he played in New York in a trio led by saxophonist Buddy Tate . Between 1976 and 1980, Bryant recorded five albums for Pablo Records . For the following seven years, he did not record as a leader: "The record companies didn't bother me and I didn't bother them", he later commented. This ended when an admiring producer for Japanese Polygram recruited him: Bryant recorded 10 albums for them (also released on EmArcy) between 1987 and 1995. His 1989 album All Mine and Yours contained only his own compositions, and

637-404: The 1990s, and by the 1990s, hard bop's revival had become so prominent that Yanow referred to it as "the foundation of modern acoustic jazz." Joe Henderson, for instance, was described by Yanow as a "national celebrity and a constant poll winner" in jazz circles after signing for Verve in the 1990s, largely due to changes in marketing. Rosenthal observed that "[t]he years 1955 to 1965 represent

686-688: The Blue Note in Philadelphia helped him get work, as he already knew a lot of the musicians who were based in New York. For three months in 1959, Bryant was the pianist in singer Ella Fitzgerald 's small band. Bryant recorded with " Hal Singer , Arnett Cobb , Benny Golson , Lem Winchester , and Oliver Nelson " in 1959. For around ten years from this point, his own trio contained bassists including his brother Tommy Bryant , and Jimmy Rowser , and drummers including Walter Perkins , Mickey Roker , Grady Tate , and Freddie Waits . He formed his own trio and

735-684: The CD In the Back Room . Bryant died on June 2, 2011, at the age of 79 in Queens, New York , after a long illness. From 1975 to 1982, he was married to pioneering Philadelphia news broadcaster Edie Huggins . The musicians Kevin Eubanks , Duane Eubanks , and Robin Eubanks are the sons of Bryant's sister, Vera. Bryant's style was initially influenced by pianists Art Tatum and Teddy Wilson , but blues and gospel elements soon grew stronger in his playing. Bryant

784-662: The album Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo in 1960. Bryant was in Baltimore with Hammond when the Madison dance craze was developing and, at the producer's suggestion, adapted an earlier composition for the dance – it was renamed "Madison Time". This reached No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1960. Another Bryant single – "Sack o' Woe" – appeared on the R&;B chart in 1961. In 1963, Bryant switched to Sue Records and recorded

833-439: The broader world of bop by saying that "[t]empos could be just as blazing but the melodies were generally simpler, the musicians (particularly the saxophonists and pianists) tended to be familiar with (and open to the influence of) rhythm & blues and the bass players (rather than always being stuck in the role of a metronome) were beginning to gain a little more freedom and solo space." Hard bop has been seen by some critics as

882-452: The church, and traditional gospel music elements such as "amen chords" (the plagal cadence ) and triadic harmonies that seemed to suddenly appear in jazz during the era. Leroi Jones noted a combination of "wider and harsher tones" with "accompanying piano chords [that] became more basic and simplified." He cited saxophonist Sonny Rollins ' playing as one of the best examples of the style. Jazz critic Scott Yanow distinguished hard bop from

931-433: The dominant forms of black American music. Prominent hard bop musicians included Horace Silver , Clifford Brown , Charles Mingus , Art Blakey , Cannonball Adderley , Miles Davis , John Coltrane , Hank Mobley , Thelonious Monk , Lee Morgan , Wes Montgomery , Pat Martino and others. Hard bop is sometimes referred to as "funky hard bop". The "funky" label refers to the rollicking, rhythmic feeling associated with

980-462: The double bass at junior high school. He was first paid to play when he was 12: "I would play for dances, and they'd sneak me into bars. I'd get four or five bucks a night, which was good money then." He turned professional aged 14, and immediately joined a local band led by Mickey Collins. After three years working on and off in Collins's band, Bryant toured with guitarist Tiny Grimes (1948–49). He

1029-587: The early development of hard bop was Silver's composition " The Preacher ", which was considered "old-timey" or "corny", such that Blue Note head Alfred Lion was hesitant to record the song. However, the song became a successful hit. Miles Davis, who had performed the title track of his album Walkin' at the inaugural Newport Jazz Festival in 1954, would form the Miles Davis Quintet with John Coltrane in 1955, becoming prominent in hard bop before moving on to other styles. Other early documents were

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1078-525: The fact Miles Davis lived in the city from 1953 to 1954. Billy Mitchell , a tenor saxophone player, organized a band that played at the Blue Bird Inn during the early 1950s that "anchored the city's Jazz scene" and attracted hard bop musicians to the city. Michael Cuscuna maintains that Silver and Blakey's efforts were in response to the New York bebop scene: Both Art and Horace were very, very aware of what they wanted to do. They wanted to get away from

1127-408: The first of four albums for the label. Three years later he was with Cadet Records , "which recorded him in a variety of contexts, from trio to orchestral. The range of material was also varied, mixing jazz standards with pop hits of the day." Despite not having studied arranging formally, Bryant also fulfilled this role for several horn and strings charts for Cadet. He had another top 100 hit with

1176-497: The genre's "masterpieces." Scott Yanow described hard bop in the late 1960s as "running out of gas." Blue Note Records' sale and decline in the late 1960s and early 1970s, combined with the rapid ascendance of soul jazz and fusion , largely replaced hard bop's prevalence within jazz, although bop would see a major revival in the 1980s known as the Young Lions Movement . Yanow also attributes hard bop's temporary decline in

1225-468: The genre's broader circle. West Coast Jazz's diminishing influence during the late 1950s accelerated hard bop's rise to prominence, while the transition to 33-RPM records facilitated the shifts toward longer solos that were typical of hard bop albums. During a fifteen-year stretch from 1952 to 1967, Blue Note Records recruited musicians and promoted hard bop described by Yanow as "classy." A critical album that cemented hard bop's mainstream presence in jazz

1274-461: The jazz scene of the early '50s, which was the Birdland scene — you hire Phil Woods or Charlie Parker or J. J. Johnson , they come and sit in with the house rhythm section , and they only play blues and standards that everybody knows. There's no rehearsal, there's no thought given to the audience. Both Horace and Art knew that the only way to get the jazz audience back and make it bigger than ever

1323-425: The jazz world, particularly saxophonists Joe Henderson and Wayne Shorter ; Morgan formed a "long-standing partnership" with the latter. Meanwhile, in the late 1950s to early 1960s John Coltrane was a prominent saxophonist within the hard bop genre, with albums such as Blue Train and Giant Steps exemplifying his ability to play within this style. His album Stardust (1958), for instance, included on trumpet

1372-436: The last period in which jazz effortlessly attracted the hippiest young black musicians, the most musically advanced, those with the most solid technical skills and the strongest sense of themselves, not only as entertainers but as artists." In the same text he laments hard bop's "many detractors and few articulate defenders," describing some of the comments made by its critics as "derogatory cliches." Alternatively, Yanow suggests

1421-505: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ray_Bryant_Trio&oldid=777256025 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Ray Bryant Bryant was born in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , on December 24, 1931. His mother

1470-438: The map as a musician". Bryant was also part of drummer Jo Jones 's trio in 1958. The pianist was able to learn from Jones: "He could sense when you weren't relaxed and would say, 'Take your time and breathe!' He also taught me about pacing a set. I still use his format today," commented Bryant around 2004. Bryant settled in New York in 1959. There, he played both mainstream jazz and the newer hard bop . His earlier period at

1519-629: The mid-1950s, "the bop world clearly was not the 'closed' circle it had been in its earliest days." This coincided with a competitive spirit among bop musicians to play with "virtuousity and complexity," along with what Ake calls "jazz masculinity." The broadening influence of hard bop coincided with a generation of jazz pianists who rose to prominence in the late 1950s – among them Tommy Flanagan , Kenny Drew , and Wynton Kelly – who took "altered" approaches to bebop. Although these musicians did not work exclusively or specifically within hard bop, their association with hard bop saxophone players put them within

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1568-416: The next decade. Davis led other jazz musicians toward the fusion genre, particularly other trumpet players. For example, Donald Byrd's shift toward commercial fusion and smooth jazz recordings of the early 1970s, while celebrated within some circles, was considered a "betrayal" by fans of hard bop. His album Black Byrd (1973), Blue Note's most successful album, neared #1 spot on the R&B charts despite

1617-402: The opposition of jazz purists. However, in 1985, the filmed concert One Night with Blue Note brought together thirty predominantly hard bop musicians including Art Blakey, Ron Carter , Johnny Griffin, and Freddie Hubbard. Following fusion's decline, younger musicians started a bop revival, the best-known proponent of this being trumpeter Wynton Marsalis . The revival was a "resurgence" by

1666-597: The phrase was originated by music critic and pianist John Mehegan , jazz reviewer of the New York Herald Tribune at that time. Hard bop first developed in the mid-1950s, and is generally seen as originating with the Jazz Messengers , a quartet led by pianist Horace Silver and drummer Art Blakey . Alternatively, Anthony Macias points to Detroit as an early center in the rise of bop and hard bop, noting Detroit musicians Barry Harris and Kenny Burrell and

1715-607: The quintessential hard bop album Moanin' , with the album pioneering in soul jazz. Golson and Morgan formed their own bands and produced further records in the hard bop genre: Golson's Jazztet with Art Farmer on trumpet recorded the album Meet the Jazztet in 1960, which was given a five-star rating by AllMusic , and Morgan explored hard bop and sister genres in records like The Sidewinder , known for its "funky, danceable groov[e] that drew from soul-jazz, Latin boogaloo , blues, and R&B." Morgan's albums attracted rising stars in

1764-451: The style. The descriptor is also used to describe soul jazz , which is commonly associated with hard bop. According to Mark C. Gridley, soul jazz more specifically refers to music with "an earthy, bluesy melodic concept and...repetitive, dance-like rhythms. Some listeners make no distinction between 'soul-jazz' and 'funky hard bop,' and many musicians don't consider 'soul-jazz' to be continuous with 'hard bop.'" The term " soul " suggests

1813-415: The term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues , gospel music , and blues , especially in saxophone and piano playing. David H. Rosenthal contends in his book Hard Bop that the genre is, to a large degree, the natural creation of a generation of African-American musicians who grew up at a time when bop and rhythm and blues were

1862-574: The two volumes of the Blue Note albums A Night at Birdland , also from 1954, recorded by the Jazz Messengers at Birdland months before the Davis set at Newport. Clifford Brown , the trumpeter on the Birdland albums, formed the Brown-Roach Quintet with drummer Max Roach . Among the pianists in the band were Richie Powell and Carl Perkins , both of whom died at a young age. David Ake notes that by

1911-481: Was A Blowin' Session (1957), including saxophonists Johnny Griffin , John Coltrane, and Hank Mobley; trumpeter Lee Morgan; pianist Wynton Kelly; bassist Paul Chambers ; and Art Blakey. Described by Al Campbell as "one of the greatest hard bop jam sessions ever recorded" and "filled with infectious passion and camaraderie," it was the only studio session ever recorded including all three saxophonists. It cemented "Coltrane's ability to navigate complex chord changes over

1960-402: Was a longtime member of Miles Davis' band, which bridged the gap between hard bop and modal jazz with albums such as Milestones and Kind of Blue . These albums represented a transition toward more experimental jazz, but Davis maintained core ideas of hard bop, such as the "call-and-response theme" found on one of Kind of Blue 's best-known tracks, " So What ." The earlier album Milestones

2009-490: Was an ordained minister who had taught herself to play the piano; his father also played the piano and sang. His brothers were the bass player Tommy , drummer and singer Len , and Lynwood. Ray began playing the piano around the age of six or seven, following the example of his mother and his sister, Vera. Gospel influences in his playing came from being part of the church at this stage in his early life. He had switched from classical music to jazz by his early teens and played

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2058-570: Was described as "indebted to hard bop" due to its "fast speeds, angular phrases and driving rhythms." In the early 1960s, Joe Henderson formed a band with Kenny Dorham , which recorded for Blue Note Records, and played extensively as a sideman in the bands of Horace Silver and Herbie Hancock ; however, he received less recognition after he moved to San Francisco and began recording for Milestone . Other hard bop musicians went to Europe, such as pianist Bud Powell (elder brother of Richie Powell) in 1959 and saxophonist Dexter Gordon in 1962. Powell,

2107-490: Was not known as an innovator, but had a readily recognisable style of his own. Bryant said that he liked to transfer elements of the Count Basie Orchestra to the piano. A writer commented that Bryant's "solo works are often like carefully crafted sonatas with dramatic changes in mood, tempo and dynamics". "Bryant had a firm touch and an unshakable sense of time, notably in his left hand, which he often used to build

2156-522: Was recorded while touring Japan. In the mid-1990s he recorded with Ray Brown and Lewis Nash as a trio, toured internationally as an unaccompanied soloist, and visited Japan and Europe in the group 100 Golden Fingers". He played with Benny Golson in New York in 1997. In the 2000s, most of his performances were in Europe and Japan, and he reduced his schedule. Solo piano recordings from performances at Rutgers University in 2004 and 2008 were released on

2205-523: Was signed by producer and talent scout John Hammond to Columbia Records in 1960. Their first album contained the hit single "Little Susie", a blues created when Bryant was with Jones. Signature Records responded immediately by releasing their own version of Bryant playing the same tune. This version, sold as "Little Susie (Part 4)", reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot R&;B chart. Hammond also paired Bryant with singer Aretha Franklin for

2254-744: Was then a solo pianist based in Syracuse, New York for a year. After returning to Philadelphia, he played Dixieland in Billy Kretchmer's club for around two years. He attracted more attention after becoming house pianist at the Blue Note club in Philadelphia in 1953. He was there until 1956, accompanying many leading players such as Lester Young , Charlie Parker , Miles Davis , and Sonny Stitt . Davis and Sonny Rollins both liked Bryant's playing enough to record with him in New York in 1955: on Quintet/Sextet and Work Time , respectively. These albums were for Prestige Records , for whom Bryant "began

2303-500: Was to really make music that was memorable and planned, where you consider the audience and keep everything short. They really liked digging into blues and gospel, things with universal appeal. So they put together what was to be called the Jazz Messengers. David Rosenthal sees the development of hard bop as a response to both a decline in bebop and the rise of rhythm and blues: The early fifties saw an extremely dynamic Rhythm and Blues scene take shape.... This music, and not cool jazz,

2352-474: Was usually in a trio, duo or solo context that Bryant chose to perform and record for the remainder of his career". A performance at the 1972 Montreux Jazz Festival led to Bryant also getting more work as a solo pianist. This was his first trip to Europe and Bryant was nervous about playing to an audience of thousands, but the performance was a success, and was released as the album Alone at Montreux by Atlantic Records . He also toured Europe frequently from

2401-452: Was what chronologically separated bebop and hard bop in ghettos. Young jazz musicians, of course, enjoyed and listened to these R & B sounds which, among other things, began the amalgam of blues and gospel that would later be dubbed ' soul music .' And it is in this vigorously creative black pop music, at a time when bebop seemed to have lost both its direction and its audience, that some of hard bop's roots may be found. A key recording in

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