Jeanie Bryson (born March 10, 1958) is an American singer who sings a combination of jazz, pop, and Latin music. Her repertoire is based on jazz and pop standards from the Great American Songbook and Peggy Lee and Dinah Washington.
Jeanie Bryson | |
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Born | (1958-03-10) March 10, 1958 (age 64) New York City, U.S. |
Genres | Jazz, pop, Latin |
Occupation(s) | Singer |
Years active | 1993–present |
Labels | Koch, Telarc |
Bryson is the daughter of composer Connie Bryson and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.[1][2] Her paternity was kept a secret until after Gillespie's death because he was married, but she occasionally saw him growing up.[3] In 1998 Bryson filed a lawsuit against his widow, Lorraine Willis, after her lawyer found court records from 1965 in which Gillespie admitted he was her father. She reached a settlement with his estate.[4]
Bryson grew up in East Brunswick, New Jersey.[3] She began playing instruments at a young age, piano in first grade and then flute in fifth grade.[3] Bryson attended East Brunswick High School.[5] She studied anthropology and ethnomusicology at Livingston College, Rutgers University, graduating in 1981.[3][1] That year, she performed with her father in Salem County, singing "God Bless the Child" by Billie Holiday.[3] After college she worked in a post office during the week and sang on weekends, by the end of the 1980s she was singing full-time.[3] Bryson released her debut album, I Love Being Here with You, on Telarc in 1993. Her mother contributed the lyrics to two songs on the album.[3] Bryson also sang on an album by Terence Blanchard devoted to Billie Holiday songs.[1]
Bryson has a son, Radji Birks Bryson-Barrett, from the first of her three marriages.[3] Her husband, guitarist Coleman Mellett, died in the February 2009 crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407.[6] The couple lived in East Brunswick, New Jersey.
Year | Title | Genre | Label | Notes |
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1993 | I Love Being Here with You | Jazz | Telarc | [7] |
1994 | Tonight I Need You So | Jazz | Telarc | [8] |
1996 | Some Cats Know: Jeanie Bryson Sings Songs of Peggy Lee | Jazz | Telarc | [9] |
2001 | Deja Blue | Jazz | Koch | [10] |
2006 | Live at the Warsaw Jamboree Jazz Festival 1991 | Jazz | Import | [11] |
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