Ronnell Lovelace Bright (July 3, 1930 – August 12, 2021)
/ref> was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

pianist. He made cameo appearances in the TV shows ''

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history, ...

'' and ''

Sanford and Son ''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom '' Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC One in the Unit ...

'', also working on ''

The Carol Burnett Show ''The Carol Burnett Show'' is an American variety/sketch comedy television show that originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 279 episodes, and again with nine episodes in fall 1991. It starred Carol Burnett, Har ...

''.

Career

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 The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

, graduating early in the 1950s. Moving back to Chicago, he played with Johnny Tate and accompanied

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...

before moving to New York City in 1955. There he played with

Rolf Kühn Rolf Kühn (29 September 1929 – 18 August 2022) was a German jazz clarinetist and saxophonist. He was the older brother of the pianist Joachim Kühn. He lived in the United States from 1956 to 1959. John Hammond favourably compared him wit ...

and assembled his own trio in 1957. In 1957–58 he was with

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but a ...

and acted as an accompanist for

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and " The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine Grammy Award ...

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...

, and Gloria Lynne over the next few years. His compositions were recorded by Vaughan,

Cal Tjader Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. ( ; July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) was an American Latin Jazz musician, known as the most successful non-Latino Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, even as he continued to perform music of Afro-Jazz, ...

Horace Silver Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sc ...

, and

Blue Mitchell Richard Allen "Blue" Mitchell (March 13, 1930 – May 21, 1979) was an American trumpeter and composer who worked in jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock and funk. He recorded albums as leader and sideman for Riverside, Mainstream Records, and ...

. 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 Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a t ...

, playing in

Supersax Supersax was an American jazz group, created in 1972 by saxophonist Med Flory and bassist Buddy Clark as a tribute to saxophonist Charlie Parker. The group's music consisted of harmonized arrangements of Parker's improvisations played by a saxoph ...

from 1972 to 1974.

Discography

As leader

* ''Bright's Spot'' (Regent, 1957) * ''Bright Flight'' (Vanguard, 1957) * ''The Ronnell Bright Trio'' (Polydor, 1958)

As sideman

With

* ''After Hours at the London House'' (Mercury, 1958) * ''Vaughan and Violins'' (Mercury, 1958) * ''No Count Sarah'' (Mercury, 1959) With others *

Buddy Collette William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Early life William Marcel Collette was born in L ...

, ''Jazz for Thousand Oaks'' (UFO-BASS, 1996) *

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

, ''

The Hawk Relaxes ''The Hawk Relaxes'' is an album by saxophonist Coleman Hawkins which was recorded in 1961 and released on the Moodsville label.

'' (Moodsville/Prestige, 1961) *

, ''Streamline'' (Vanguard, 1956) *

Charles Kynard Charles Kynard (20 February 1933 – 8 July 1979) was an American soul jazz/ acid jazz organist born in St. Louis, Missouri. Kynard first played piano then switched to organ and led a trio in Kansas City including Tex Johnson (flute, sax) an ...

, ''Where It's At!'' (Pacific Jazz, 1963) *

Anita O'Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band app ...

, ''A Song for You'' (Emily, 1984) * Anita O'Day, ''I Get a Kick Out of You'' (Evidence, 1993) * Johnnie Pate, ''The Johnnie Pate Trio'' (Talisman, 1956) * Johnnie Pate, ''Subtle Sounds'' (GIG, 1956) * Shirley Scott, '' Workin'' (Prestige, 1967) * Shirley Scott, '' Stompin'' (Prestige, 1968) *

, ''Supersax Plays Bird'' (Capitol, 1973) * Supersax, ''Salt Peanuts'' (Capitol, 1974) *

Buddy Tate George Holmes "Buddy" Tate (February 22, 1913 – February 10, 2001) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. Biography Tate was born in Sherman, Texas, United States, and first played the alto saxophone. According to the website All A ...

, '' Groovin with Buddy Tate'' (Swingville, 1961) *

Frank Wess Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 – October 30, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. In addition to his extensive solo work, Wess is remembered for his time in Count Basie's band from the early 1950s into the 1960s. Critic ...

Harry Edison Harry "Sweets" Edison (October 10, 1915 – July 27, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. His most important contribution was as a Hollywood studio musician, whose muted trumpet can be heard backi ...

, ''Dear Mr. Basie'' (Concord Jazz, 1990)

References

External links

* Ronnell Brightat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

* * * as Ronnie Bright {{DEFAULTSORT:Bright, Ronnell 1930 births 2021 deaths American jazz pianists American male pianists Musicians from Chicago Savoy Records artists 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Illinois 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians