Gerry Bryant joins Big Round Records with ONE DAY I’LL FLY AWAY, a map of the passage of time explored through a blend of classical, jazz, and popular music arrangements for piano. Bryant reflects on his love of music today, tomorrow, and in the forever he hopes to fly to, leaving behind his music for the world to enjoy.
Today, Gerry is our featured artist in the “Inside Story,” a blog series exploring the inner workings and personalities of our composers and performers. Read on to learn what he hopes listeners will gain from his recent release and why rest is often his greatest source of inspiration…
If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing?
I can’t imagine not being a musician, as it defines everything about me as a person. Whilst I have done — and I continue to do — myriad endeavors that I thoroughly enjoy and get much satisfaction from, if I wasn’t a musician, I wouldn’t exist.
What advice would you give to your younger self if given the chance?
Practice, practice! Oh, and did I say, practice?!
What emotions do you hope listeners will experience after hearing your work?
Passion, longing, inspiration, enlivenment, joy, motivation, pleasure, enchantment, and serenity.
Where and when are you at your most creative?
Interestingly enough, after I’ve just awakened, whether it’s from having slept overnight or from having taken a short, all-too-infrequent midday siesta. For whatever reason, my creative juices have been awakened, enlivened, and flow freely afterwards.
What are your other passions besides music?
All things arts and culture: visual arts, theater, dance, film, literature, etc.
How have your influences changed as you grow as a musician?
From a compositional standpoint, my influences have always been and continue to be my favorite composers of the Romantic Era, i.e., Chopin (who tops the list), Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, etc. That said, and though she wasn’t of the Romantic era, having only recently discovered her and other Black classical music composers who have historically been underrecognized and under appreciated, I have added the wonderfully expressive Florence Price to my list of influences.
In terms of pianists and with respect to my piano playing itself, my influences continue to consist primarily of jazz pianists who, like me, incorporate classical elements in their music, i.e. Keith Jarrett (who has also recorded numerous solely classical albums), and the late legends Ramsey Lewis and Joe Sample.
Gerry Bryant has been described by many as a renaissance man. Multi-talented Bryant graduated cum laude from both Phillips Andover Academy and Harvard, and received two graduate degrees (J.D. & M.B.A.) from UCLA. His musical influences range from masters of the Romantic Period in classical music (in particular Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff), to jazz legends Nat King Cole and Duke Ellington, to contemporary pianists Keith Jarrett and Ramsey Lewis. He describes his original music as “Third Stream,” a term coined in 1957 by composer Gunther Schuller to describe a musical genre that is a synthesis of classical music and jazz.