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The Quiet One
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Rusty Bryant Returns
By the time Rusty Bryant signed with Prestige Records in 1968, nearly a decade had passed since his time at Dot Records. After Hank Marr...
Drew Layman
May 3, 20254 min read
Hank Marr - On And Off Stage
In the fall of 1964, as rock and roll's popularity exploded—fueled by events like The Beatles’ first U.S. tour—King Records found itself...
Drew Layman
Feb 25, 20255 min read
When Elegance Met Jazz: Nancy Wilson / Cannonball Adderley
Nancy Wilson was taking a walk with Rusty Bryant in New York when they bumped into saxophonist Cannonball Adderley at the corner of...
Drew Layman
Nov 21, 20236 min read
Hank Marr Trio + 3 – Teentime Latest Dance Steps
By all accounts, organist Hank Marr and tenor saxman Rusty Bryant had a tight personal and professional relationship. But after a March...
Drew Layman
May 9, 20236 min read
Rusty Bryant – America's Greatest Jazz, Vol II
By 1961, when Rusty Bryant’s America’s Greatest Jazz, Vol II was released, Dot Records' experiment with jazz was all but over. Dot had gone Hollywood, now owned by Paramount and moved from Tennessee to California. Their top-selling artists were Pat Boone, Lawrence Welk and Billy Vaughn. Most sources indicate that Bryant’s contract with Dot ended in 1957. Whether the album was released to fulfill a contractual obligation or simply because Dot owned the masters is unclear. In a
Drew Layman
Jul 24, 20224 min read
Jeanette Williams - To You
Columbus lost a treasure and true legend of the music community when Jeanette Williams passed away in March. One of a small handful of...
Drew Layman
May 20, 20224 min read
Rusty Bryant Plays Jazz
The artistic leap from Rusty Bryant’s first album, 1956’s America’s Greatest Jazz, to his second, 1958’s Rusty Bryant Plays Jazz, is startling. Considering that America’s Greatest Jazz was a compilation of Rusty’s earlier Dot singles puts it in context, though. The August 1957 sessions that comprise Rusty Bryant Plays Jazz are his first true artistic statement. Or, as Rusty himself put it, “This is the music I’ve always wanted to play.” His first release without The Carolyn C
Drew Layman
Oct 30, 20214 min read
Chuz Alfred - Jazz Young Blood
After looking at a hot off the press release from Twenty One Pilots in my last post, let’s pivot back over 65 years to one of the...
Drew Layman
May 28, 20213 min read
Nancy Wilson - Like In Love
In June 1959, singer Nancy Wilson hopped on a train (back when you could do that sort of thing in Columbus) and went to New York City to...
Drew Layman
May 2, 20214 min read
Hank Marr Quartette - Live At The Club 502
Columbus has a remarkable pool of talented Hammond B-3 organ players. Bobby Floyd, Tony Monaco, Linda Dachtyl, and Nate Hollman are just...
Drew Layman
Apr 25, 20213 min read
Rusty Bryant And The Carolyn Club Band – America's Greatest Jazz
In 1956, Elvis had the number 1 song with Heartbreak Hotel and Columbus was a very different place from today. Saxophonist Rusty Bryant managed to break through with a poppy brand of jazzy R&B and rock and roll. Ohio State’s student newspaper, The Lantern, wrote that Bryant was largely responsible for the “current rock and roll craze” gripping the city. Maybe a little ironic, then, that a collection of his early singles would be released as America’s Greatest Jazz. Overseas,
Drew Layman
Mar 26, 20213 min read
The Quiet One
I’ve never really known what my ideal pursuit would be. If I ever had any aspiration at all as a kid, I guess being a writer for Rolling...
Drew Layman
Mar 21, 20214 min read
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