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Ronnell Bright

Ronnell Bright played piano from a young age and won a piano competition when he was nine years old. In 1944, he played with the Chicago Youth Piano Symphony Orchestra. He studied at Juilliard, graduating early in the 1950s. Moving back to Chicago, he played with Johnny Tate and accompanied Carmen McRae before moving to New York City in 1955. There he played with Rolf Kuhn and assembled his own trio in 1957. In 1957–58 he was with Dizzy Gillespie and acted as an accompanist for Sarah Vaughan, Lena Horne, and Gloria Lynne over the next few years. His compositions were recorded by Vaughan, Cal Tjader, Horace Silver, and Blue Mitchell. In 1964, he became Nancy Wilson's arranger and pianist after moving to Los Angeles. Later in the decade he found work as a studio musician, playing in Supersax from 1972 to 1974. Source: Wikipedia

Coleman Hawkins: The Hawk Relaxes

Read "The Hawk Relaxes" reviewed by Samuel Chell

by Samuel Chell
April 9, 2007

Coleman Hawkins had every right to rest on his laurels by the time of this 1961 recording. But The Hawk Relaxes finds the father of the tenor saxophone--aka Hawk or Bean--doing anything but clinging to his perch. He may no longer be soaring in search of prey but he's gliding on buoyant and vital air-streams, performing to near-perfection an all-ballad program that rewards the attentive listener at each turn.

When the history of the tenor saxophone was being ...

Video / DVD

Ronnell Bright: 10 Clips

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
August 17, 2021

Ronnell Bright's passing last week was so sad. Even in my business, where I'm interviewing top artists each week, Ronnell was special. Today, I want to share Ronnell's playing with you in 10 clips: Here's Ronnell on piano accompanying Nancy Wilson on What Kind of Fool Am I, from TV's Burke's Law in 1965... Here's Ronnell accompanying Sarah Vaughan in Amsterdam in 1958 on Over the Rainbow, They All Laughed, Lover Man, Cherokee and Sometimes I’m Happy... Here's Ronnell and ...
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Obituary

Ronnell Bright (1930-2021)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
August 16, 2021

Ronnell Bright, a jazz pianist and composer who accompanied many of the finest mid-century female jazz vocalists, including Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson, Lena Horne, Lorez Alexandria and Anita O'Day and subbed for Count Basie on several albums and tours, died on August 12. Ronnell was 91. His wife, Dianne Bright, said the cause was dementia. When I started this blog in 2007, part of my motive was to track down favorite jazz artists few people knew much about ...
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Video / DVD

Sassy and Ronnell Bright

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
July 17, 2015

I had a lovely phone chat with Ronnell Bright last week. As is the case whenever we talk, the conversation turned to Sarah Vaughan. Ronnell accompanied Sassy in the late 1950s and early '60s before working with Nancy Wilson. As readers of this blog know, Ronnell is my favorite accompanist. I love his chord voicings and how he lushly supported singers without getting in their way. In the case of Vaughan, their choreography is remarkable. Ronnell is there but he ...
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Interview

Ronnell Bright: Japan, 1990

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
September 11, 2013

As long-term readers of this blog know, I'm a huge Ronnell Bright fan. My love for the pianist's playing is well documented in my interviews with him (go here) and in videos in which I've been asked about him. It all started with my passion for Sarah Vaughan's After Hours at the London House (1958)—an album of exquisite singing by the vocalist and extraordinary playing by Ronnell, her accompanist at the time. It's in my Top 10 jazz albums of ...
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