Jeanie Bryson

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Jeanie Bryson
Born (1958-03-10) March 10, 1958 (age 63)
New York City, U.S.
GenresJazz, pop, Latin
Occupation(s)Singer
Years active1993–present
LabelsKoch, Telarc

Jeanie Bryson (born March 10, 1958) is an American singer who sings a combination of jazz, pop, and Latin music. Her repertoire is based on jazz and pop standards from the Great American Songbook and Peggy Lee and Dinah Washington.

Life and career[]

Bryson is the daughter of composer Connie Bryson and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.[1][2] Her paternity was kept a secret until after Gillespie's death because he was married, but she occasionally saw him growing up.[3] In 1998 Bryson filed a lawsuit against his widow, Lorraine Willis, after her lawyer found court records from 1965 in which Gillespie admitted he was her father. She reached a settlement with his estate.[4]

Bryson grew up in East Brunswick, New Jersey.[3] She began playing instruments at a young age, piano in first grade and then flute in fifth grade.[3] Bryson attended East Brunswick High School. She studied ethnomusicology at Livingstone College; graduated in 1981.[3][1] That year, she performed with her father in Salem County, singing "God Bless the Child" by Billie Holiday.[3] After college she worked in a post office during the week and sang on weekends, by the end of the 1980s she was singing full-time.[3] Bryson released her debut album, I Love Being Here With You, on Telarc in 1993. Her mother contributed the lyrics to two songs on the album.[3] Bryson also sang on an album by Terence Blanchard devoted to Billie Holiday songs.[1]

Bryson has a son, Radji Birks Bryson-Barrett, from the first of her two marriages.[3] Her husband, guitarist Coleman Mellett, died in the February 2009 crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407.[5] The couple lived in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey.

Discography[]

Year Title Genre Label Notes
1993 I Love Being Here With You Jazz Telarc [6]
1994 Tonight I Need You So Jazz Telarc [7]
1996 Some Cats Know: Jeanie Bryson Sings Songs of Peggy Lee Jazz Telarc [8]
2001 Deja Blue Jazz Koch [9]
2006 Live at the Warsaw Jamboree Jazz Festival 1991 Jazz Import [10]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Yanow, Scott. "Jeanie Bryson". AllMusic. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  2. ^ Vogel, Charity (February 14, 2009). "Passengers and crew aboard Flight 3407: Their stories". Buffalo News. Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Smith, Richard D. (March 28, 1993). "Dizzy's Daughter Has Her Own Career in Jazz". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  4. ^ Smith, Greg B. (January 5, 2000). "Dizzy Gillespie Was Dad, She Sez, and Sues". nydailynews.com. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  5. ^ "N.J. musicians among victims of Continental plane crash near Buffalo". nj.com. February 13, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  6. ^ Bryson, Jeanie (1993). I love being here with you. OCLC 696841593.
  7. ^ Bryson, Jeanie (1994). Tonight I need you so. Telarc Jazz. OCLC 44082501.
  8. ^ Bryson, Jeanie (1996). Some cats know: Jeanie Bryson sings songs of Peggy Lee. Telarc Jazz. OCLC 36635599.
  9. ^ Bryson, Jeanie (2001). Deja blue. Koch Jazz. OCLC 49605176.
  10. ^ Bryson, Jeanie (2005). Jeanie Bryson - Live at Warsaw Jazz Festival. Cascade. OCLC 699639173.

External links[]

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