Primary Instrument: Keyboard
Keyboardist and composer, Dave Bryant is best known for his work as a member of Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time group. Bryant’s addition to the group marked Ornette Coleman’s first extended work with a keyboard instrument in decades. Starting in 1990, Bryant toured as part of the group and performed on the Prime Time “Tone Dialing” CD. During Bryant’s tenure with Prime Time, the band also performed with Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson, and numerous symphony orchestras throughout the world, including the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Kurt Mazur. Bryant’s first CD project was a self-titled debut album with his trio Shock Exchange in 1986, featuring bassist John Turner, percussionist Chris Bowman, and liner notes by Coleman. In 1999, Bryant released a second CD, “The Eternal Hang,” recorded with Turner, Bowman, saxophonist George Garzone, drummer Bob Gullotti, and noted recording engineer Roger Nichols. He has also recorded an as-yet unreleased project featuring Turner, Bowman, and Gullotti, this time joined by fellow Prime Time alumni Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Badal Roy, Bern Nix, and Ken Wessel. In 1999 he performed on the John Tchicai /Charlie Kohlase Quintet CD, “Life Overflowing,” which was named Boston Music Awards Jazz Album of the Year. Other credits include performances with Wadada Leo Smith, Leroy Jenkins, Gregg Bendian, and Eric Person. Bryant has also composed and performed scores for silent films including Battleship Potemkin, Greed, Metropolis, and Pandora’s Box. He now produces and performs in a monthly concert series at Outpost 186 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, featuring many long-time associates as well as special guests. Dave Bryant attended Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music before moving to Boston, where he attended Berklee College of Music, graduating with a B.M. in Jazz Piano Performance in 1982. He began studies with Ornette Coleman in 1983. Bryant has conducted master classes in harmolodic theory and performance at Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, and the Longy School of Music. Currently serving as a faculty member at the Longy School of Music, Bryant resides with his family in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Source: Dave Bryant
