Richard 'Bluesman' Bryant  

      keyboards/synth - vocals - backup       

BIO:

Richard was born into poverty in Marlboro, Massachusetts. Shortly thereafter, they shut down the maternity ward at the hospital there.  Guess they didn’t want to take any more chances after Richard’s arrival.

As a baby, he was a bother to his mother and she used to put him in a high chair and sit him in front of a piano. He loved to bang on that piano and kept himself entertained while his mother got her household chores done.  About the age of 3, she started hearing songs coming out, nursery rhymes mostly. Mary Had a Little Lamb, etc. At the age of 4, she approached a local piano teacher, Miss Ruby Hamlin, who said she’d teach him to read music. Richard was thus launched on his musical life’s journey.  He grew musically and played many recitals starting at age 5. Growing up in Milford, Massachusetts, which was home to many of the big band era musicians, he was exposed to jazz standards and by age 14, his now not-so-poor parents found themselves driving his 5-piece dance band to gigs. He rocked in his high school band, accompanist to world-famous comedian Jack Carter   at age 17,  at age 19 played twice for Ella Fitzgerald  helping her select current material for her nightclub act. In his 20’s played Hammond Organ with a million-seller group called the G-clefs from Boston,  and EVERETT MILES and the SCREAMERS, composed and recorded soundtracks for TR PRODUCTIONS/CAROLL "ED" SPINNEY (BIG BIRD, OSCAR THE GROUCH ON SESAME STREET)  Played with a number of headliner bands in the Boston and New England area, members of the PLATTERS, ALLMAN BROTHERS, PAT METHANY, TOMMY AND JIMMY DORSEY ORCHESTRAS, STAN KENTON ORCHESTRA, in concert with the Florida West Coast Symphony Orchestra. Graduate and teacher at Butler Conservatory of Music, Sarasota, Florida and Sherwood Music, Chicago, Illinois. Arranger and coach for numerous other bands and performers. Performance coach for Florida's voted #1 Country Band for two years running, THE WHISKEY BENT BAND. Other credits include: 6 National Commercials, producer/arranger for the Bel-Airs Billboard #2 hit "The Time Has Come" (Beatles had #1, 3 & 4 at the time) featuring UK vocalist "Scotty Briggs".  

Richard, recently led and played with Florida’s premier group, The GrooveMasters  and in pickup bands for Roy Gaines    (California Bluesman)  and the Danny and the Juniors 50^th anniversary show.  He also performs as a solo act in a one man, audience interactive “Blues” show, as a solo pianist playing Standards and Jazz and as a performance coach for singers and bands.

AVAILABLE FOR SUB WORK, SESSIONS, TOURS AND AS A SINGLE PLAYING BLUES, CLASSIC ROCK, R & B, OLDIES, JAZZ, LATIN, STANDARDS FOR CLUBS, DINNER MUSIC OR FUNCTIONS.

my phone  865-951-0169 or cell 865-556-4225

my email   richard@bluemailboxfarm.com

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