(Editor’s Note: Betty Bryant is the real thing, a master of vocals and piano, keeping the torch of old school jazz shining bright. She takes you back to some 1950’s dark, smoke filled jazz cellar in the wee hour of the night.)
Kansas City, Missouri and Los Angeles, California have been historically rich jazz and blues music hubs in the United States. Musical stars such as Count Basie, Charlie Parker and Jay McShann helped put Kansas City on the map. And the West Coast sound was famously represented by icons such as Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Chet Baker and Charles Mingus, among many others.
Betty Bryant sings “Let Me Love You” from her “Iteration” album
During these pivotal times in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s bebop, cool and all forms of jazz were increasingly weaving their way through the fabric of American culture. And young Kansas City native Betty Bryant was among the emerging generation of budding artists that were absorbing its influence and carrying the torch.
The singer-songwriter/pianist began playing in nightclubs around Kansas City and was mentored by the great pianist/vocalist McShann. Eventually her career really took off when she got married and moved to Los Angeles. There she met many musicians on the jazz circuit and became a fixture in the club scene there.
Betty Bryant sings “No Regrets” from her “No Regrets” album
And, at the remarkable age of 96, she is still out there performing, having recorded and just released her 15th album entitled “Nothin’ Better to Do” (City Hall Records/AMPED/Alliance Entertainment). It’s a stunning and diverse entertainment experience that seems to encompass the many sides of Bryant’s musical oeuvre. Co-produced by Alan Eichler and Bryant’s long-time saxophonist/flautist composer and collaborator Robert Kyle, it’s a smorgasbord of classic jazz and bluesy delights, with originals by Bryant and Kyle and rare covers of tunes by Frankie Laine, Miguel Prado, Nat King Cole and Burt Bacharach/Hal David. Be it salsa, swing, ballads or Kansas City-flavored blues, “Cool Miss B,” –as her friend and musical mainstay Kyle has dubbed her—still brings it mightily to the studio and the stage every time!
Taking a step back Bryant shared her humble beginnings in Kansas City and the impetus that really motivated her to develop her craft as a musician and performer upon first meeting with McShann. “It’s hard to say how I first met him,” recalls Bryant. “He used to play at a place called Johnny’s in Kansas City. This was about the same time that I started playing anywhere publicly, period. One night I just decided to stop by and they welcomed me and put me on the stage. I don’t even know how it all started, really, but somehow or another they found out I could play piano. So I was just hanging out with the band and playing. I just sort of became part of the band from that beginning.”
Betty Bryant sings “Don’t Fall In Love With Me” from her ”Mostly Me” album
Kansas City, like a lot of the United States in the early ‘50s, was challenging for a solo working female in the jazz world. And the stark specter of racism was omnipresent as well.
“When I started out I was playing clubs, but they were not too impressive,” says Bryant. “I was just getting a gig wherever I could find it, here and there. The place I was playing was called the Uptown Interlude. And it was way out near the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. And at that time it was still segregated. So, I was like a black person playing in a white club out there. But nobody black could come and see me. The same thing happened with Jay where he was playing in a white club. So when I went in, they put me on the stage because I couldn’t sit in the audience. And so I just started hanging out with the band. And on breaks we would go down in the basement. That was the way it was back then. Nobody questioned it. It wasn’t a big deal.”
Betty Bryant sings “Love Came & Went” from her “Project 88” album
Bryant grew up in a household where education was prioritized and celebrated. She studied classical music and attended Washburn University, but really put her career in high gear when she married a man from the Los Angeles area and concurrently made a splash on the local music scene. There she quickly met a number of musicians that were fixtures on the nightclub circuit like Hampton Hawes and Gerald Wiggins.
A real turning point in terms of gainful employment came in the form of a fellow pianist from Kansas City named Earl Grant. He had moved out to Los Angeles as well and had a regular gig playing at a nice trendy boutique club called Ye Little Club. As luck would have it, Grant got Bryant into the club to play on his nights off. And that act of kindness opened the door for the young jazz chanteuse in so many ways.
The uber talented and personable Bryant soon became a fixture at Ye Little Club in addition to playing a number of key nightspots in beach towns up and down the coast from Santa Monica to Laguna. Her initial success in the Los Angeles region spread to worldwide acclaim. She has performed in the Middle East and Brazil. And, for many years, Bryant was a regular attraction at the upscale Tableaux Lounge in Tokyo, Japan. She had a long-standing engagement at celebrity chef Susan Feniger’s Hollywood restaurant “Street” in 2009, and in 2012 she was featured at the Boquete Jazz and Blues Festival in Boquete, Panama. Also, “The Betty Bryant Birthday Bash” is still a hugely popular annual event at Los Angeles’ famed Catalina Jazz Club, and she also performs monthly at the historic L.A. Athletic Club and semi-yearly at Herb Alpert’s posh Vibrato Jazz Club.
Betty Bryant sings “You Are Not My First Love” from her “Nothin’ Better to Do” album
At 96 years young, the vibrant singer-songwriter/pianist reflects on her style of music, where it came from and her approach to songwriting and recording. “I don’t think I’ve changed all that much over the years,” says Bryant. “Maybe I’ve changed a little bit, but I’m basically the same person. I still do a lot of blues. I like words. I’ve always liked words and am really hung up on lyrics. And so I don’t know if I’ve evolved or whether I just listen for new things all the time. Because, with a lot of my lyrics, either I wrote them myself or they’re really old songs by other songwriters. So what I always try to do is zero in on the lyrics. I like storytelling and stay away from nonsense. I also focus on things that I can jam on that can create a hook where everybody has fun. We inspire each other. It’s not just about one person. I like everybody having fun within the piece or structure of a song.”
And that collective sentiment and spirit is definitely shared by Bryant’s main music associate Kyle and current session band, including bassists Richard Simon and Hussain Jiffry, drummers Kevin Winard and Aaron Serfaty, trumpeter Tony Guerrero, guitarist Kleber Jorge, violinist/violist Luanne Homzy, and cellist Ned Taro.
Betty Bryant sings “He May Be Your Man” from her “Mostly Me” album
“You know, I have to also mention my dear friend and collaborator Robert Kyle,” says Bryant. “We’ve known each other over 30 years. He’s a major component in everything I do. Robert has become a part of me, especially now that I’ve lost my sight and everything. He reads everything to me if I need it or he comes by and picks me up and takes me out to lunch. Even when we’re not working we’re the best of friends. I can’t say enough good things about him. My son Adam Marino, who is like my alter ego, has worked with me on my albums from the beginning. And then he and Robert sort of collaborated on production. Now, neither Robert nor Adam will do anything on a project without my okay. It is truly a blessing to have them in my life.”
It is onward and upward for “Cool Miss B” as she is currently rolling out the new album “Nothin’ Better to Do,” with signature live dates in and around the Los Angeles area in the coming months. For the latest scoop on her music catalog and activities, just head on over to www.bettybryant.com .
