Freddie Bryant started playing guitar at age 8 and has continued to play ever since. Although he started his training in classical guitar at an early age, Freddie soon began jazz lessons in junior high school. He continued his dual studies through high school and college, learning the various techniques and musical styles individually and fully. This resulted in a deep understanding and mastery of each idiom. He continued his classical performance schedule while focusing on jazz guitar after college. He received his Masters degree from Yale School of Music a few years later. These two methods began to merge during this period. His compositions for the classic guitar showed more jazz influences in harmony and improvisation, as he began playing Brazilian jazz. Although he is still a jazz guitarist, his music is challenging the established labels in the industry. Artists from many backgrounds are now seeking his talents. He recently recorded a CD with Roseanna Vitro of Ray Charles songs, and toured in concert with Giora Feidman, the Klezmer clarinetist, and Salif Keita, the legend of African music. It is a thrilling period in his career, marked by great music. Perhaps his most important contribution to his musical development is his family’s musical experience. His mother, Beatrice Rippy, an opera and concert singer, performed alongside his father, Carroll Hollister, the pianist. At the age of 6, Freddie made his debut as a page turner at New York’s Town Hall. Like his mother, her repertoire was diverse. Although she didn’t sing jazz, she sang in seven languages. He was involved in music from an early age with his parents. This gave him a good understanding of the performance process and a deeper insight into the emotional content music. His most vivid and memorable memory was listening to his mother sing “My Man’s Gone Now”, from Gershwin’s song “Porgy and Bess”. His father was an accompanist to many singers and violinists, including Robert Merrill and Robert McFerrin (Bobby’s father), John Charles Thomas, and Micha Elman. Freddie grew-up in New York City, where he studied classical guitar with Jeff Israel, Gene Bertoncinni, and Ed Byrne. He later studied jazz guitar with Ted Dunbar. Summa cum Laude was his Amherst College graduation. Phillip de Fremery, a classical guitarist, was his teacher and he has remained a mentor for him to this day. He received his Masters degree from Yale School of Music and was awarded the Havemeyer Scholarship. He also collaborated with Frederic Hand, guitarist and composer. Over the past 15 years, Freddie was active in New York’s Jazz scene. He has performed with Wynton Maralis, Max Roach and Lonnie Smith, as well as guitar legend Kenny Burrell. He has also led groups with Jonny King and his own name. His groups have included saxophonists such as Ralph Moore and Don Braden, Steve Wilson, Steve Wilson, and Don Braden. Claudio Roditi and Randy Brecker, both trumpeters, and Renee Rosnes and pianist Kevin Hays are some of the other musicians. 1994 saw the release of Freddie’s first Japanese CD, Take Your Dance Into Battle. Steve Wilson and Don Braden were the saxophonists. Ira Coleman played bass and Billy Drummond played drums. Freddie was on electric guitar. He formed the Brooklyn Rain Forest with Randy Brecker, David Sanchez and Portinho, who was also the bassist for Dennis Irwin. The music featured original compositions as well as jazz standards, with Brazilian rhythms. It was his first use of the classical guitar in jazz settings. His second CD, Brazilian Rosewood, was born from this experience. Although the personnel and instrumentation are different than the Brooklyn Rain Forest’s, the repertoire is the exact same. The CD features Edward Simon, a pianist, and Gilad, a percussionist. This gives it a greater variety of textures and colors. Freddie is also an active sideman in the studio. He recorded with Steve Wilson, Kevin Hays, Cecilia Smith (vibraphonist), Roseanna Vitro (vocalist), Bonnie Strickman, and Kate Scott (vocalists). Freddie still focuses on classical guitar playing despite all of this. He has made it a point of investing in his classical guitar development. He has performed in churches and schools throughout the northeast, as well as at the Frank Colleymore Hall (Barbados) and the Summer Wind Arts Festival (Oklahoma). He was honored to perform in the 1996 New Faces concert series at Long Island’s Tilles Center. He has been a composer all his life. His first CD featured nine original songs, while his second one features seven. Kithara editions will publish his “Suite For Nia Andrea”, which he has written for classical guitar. The forthcoming book “The Real New Standards” will feature four of his jazz compositions. He has also written music for solo guitar and his jazz bands, as well as for a 15-piece jazz orchestra, which includes poetry and dance performances, and for film. from www.freshsoundrecords.com
