Composer/Lyricist/Guitarist Freddie Bryant's Ambitious Musical Journey Through The Gentrification Of The Upper West Side

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FREDDIE BRYANT

UPPER WEST SIDE LOVE STORY COVER ART

Freddie Bryant Readies Epic Piece for Chamber/Jazz Ensemble; Double CD 'Upper West Side Love Story' Set for July 7th -“A monumental work”:

NEW YORK, NY, USA, April 20, 2023/einpresswire.com / -- A Profound, Resonant Musical Journey Through the Gentrification of the Upper West Side, as Envisioned by a Lifelong Resident; Composer/Lyricist/Guitarist freddie bryant Readies Epic Piece for Chamber/Jazz Ensemble

Double CD 'upper west side love story ' Set for Release July 7th

Featuring Steve Wilson, Donny McCaslin, Regina Carter, Carla Cook, Gwen Laster, Akua Dixon, John Benitez and Alvester Garnett

“A love story is about beginnings, about excitement and nurturing growth – love through joy and adversity over many years. And sometimes it's about growing distant, rejection and the search for the magic that seems to fade into distant memories. Either way, change is ceaseless and forever and love hopes to survive. This piece is a love story dedicated to the neighborhood that raised me from birth to where I am now.” Freddie Bryant

Every neighborhood in New York City has a story to tell, but few have as eloquent and soulful a musical narrator as composer, lyricist and guitarist Freddie Bryant. On his upcoming double CD 'Upper West Side Love Story', Bryant crafts a profound work of art - deep, textured and resonant - written from the perspective of someone, from childhood to adulthood, navigating the simple joys, increasing confusion, and, ultimately, the simmering resentments of growing up in a neighborhood that is changing before his very eyes.

Bryant's opus, an ambitious work for chamber-jazz ensemble, takes the form of a 16-movement song cycle, constructed as hiakus and long form poems, each of which tells a vivid and authentic tale of the beloved neighborhood where he lived most of his life. From childhood memories of his local playground on 87th Street (actually an abandoned space between two buildings,) to post-gig middle-of-the-night walks up Columbus Avenue, to living across the street from legendary artists, to witnessing homelessness and the uprooting of families due to gentrification, 'Upper West Side Love Story' spans the emotional spectrum, with music and lyrics by an artist with a tangible, visceral knowledge of the neighborhood and its idiosyncrasies. At times a wistful valentine and at others a melancholy break-up note, the song cycle is ultimately a complicated love letter to the home Bryant lived in for fifty-four years, from birth until 2019, when he moved to the Bronx.

Commissioned by Chamber Music America's New Jazz Works program, 'Upper West Side Love Story' features an all-star nonet: Carla Cook – vocals, Regina Carter – violin, Donny McCaslin and Steve Wilson on saxophones and flutes, Gwen Laster and Akua Dixon filling out the string section on viola and cello with the rhythm section of bassist John Benitez and drummer Alvester Garnett. The project is set for release on July 7th by Tiger Turn, and is a tour-de-force, conceived by Bryant and executed brilliantly by his remarkable band.

Veteran critic Bill Milkowski, in his companion essay to the upcoming release, describes the diversity of Bryant's compositions:“Musically, Bryant's song cycle ranges from Afro-Cuban bembé and changüí rhythms (“We Used to Dance,”“Love Can't Live on Nostalgia”) to jaunty swing (the Thelonious Monk-inspired medley of songs based on“Lulu's Back in Town,”“Bright Mississippi and“Green Chimney's on“A Walk in the Hood”) to soothing ballad to bossa to climactic power ballad (“My Home Sings”), crackling uptempo swing (“High-Rise Kiss”), Afrobeat (“Kidz's Rhymes: Remember This?”), Brazilian samba groove (“Roses and Rubies: The Cost of What We Lost”), earthy blues (“His Bed Is a Box”) and reggae (“Central Park Life”). Elsewhere, he channels a searching, latter day John Coltrane spirit on“Moses the Pharaoh: Who Will Stay and Who Will Go?,”, then conjures up a Chick Corea-like Latin vibe on“Finale - Spoken Word” and summons a Trane-like“Naima” vibe on the wistful ballad“Last Song: It's Time to Say Goodbye.” Taken as a whole, Upper West Side Love Story stands as a crowning achievement in his career.” Full text of Milkowski's expansive essay is below.

A comprehensive accompaniment to the project, including lyrics, artist notes, images and more, is here: . On the official site, 'Upper West Side Love Story' is further described as“a personal history of memories from Bryant's youth and upbringing as well as a commentary on development and gentrification that is happening world-wide. It covers children's playground rhymes, the world-renowned musicians and artists who have lived there, the culture and joys of community as well as the challenges of homelessness and crime throughout the 70s/80s until today. It also contextualizes the development and gentrification that has been underway since the early 60s when Lincoln Center was built, discussing issues of race and class.”

'Kid'z Rhymes' will be the first track released from the project, and will premiere April 20th. Watch a new video, here:
Freddie Bryant shares these song notes on :
“My memories of playing on the street as a child, from 6 to 16 roughly...remember that Fire Engine playground mentioned above? Kids of all ages, hanging in packs, parents down the block seeming miles away...The music is inspired by West African and Malian griot music, specifically the beautiful mode of the pentatonic scale that the melody draws from – so simple yet not in our“western” vocabulary. Half way through you'll hear a transition to the U.S. with an African-American hambone-like a capella/hand clap jam of rhymes of memories from childhood. The same five notes are the building blocks of this section but in a more familiar form before we return to the African version.”

Freddie Bryant received a master's degree in classical guitar from Yale School of Music and is in demand in the New York jazz and Brazilian scenes where he has worked with Eliane Elias, Tom Harrell and many others. He was a member of Ben Riley's Monk Legacy Septet and has played with the Mingus Orchestra for two decades. He leads his own group, Kaleidoscope, and has released eight CDs as a leader. His impressive array of guitar styles have been featured on numerous CDs showcasing his work on acoustic and electric guitars.

Seth Cohen
Seth Cohen PR

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KID'Z RHYMES MUSIC VIDEO

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