Louis Bryan

I love jazz, because I was exposed to it at an early age. Also jazz is a natural part of my culture as an African-American of mixed heritage. I was first exposed to jazz while spending my formative years living with my paternal grandparents, and listening to my youngest uncle, " Dickie(Richard)," playing his own alto sax , while I was hanging out in his room. I met a number of famous jazz musicians, e.g., Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Sarah Vaughn, et al, at fantastic venues in NYC/Greenwich Village like the Five Spot, Village Vanguard, Birdland, etc., before & after I'd graduated from high school. The best show/concert I ever attended was when I was a still a kid, and my aforementioned uncle & friends took me to the first (of future) Newport Jazz Festival events, in 1958, where I was mesmerized by such jazz icons like Chico Hamilton, Louis Armstrong, Monk, et al. The first jazz record I bought was, "It Don't Mean a Thing," by saxophonist, Lester Young. My advice to new listeners is to LISTEN to jazz, the music, itself, to jazz greats, classical and notable current artists, adopting an attitude of taking a course, even reading an occasional related book or jazz musician's bio, in essence, make jazz a part of your musical world.