Mike Bryan (musician)
Encyclopedia
Michael Neely Bryan was an American
jazz guitar
ist.
on August 9, 1916. Bryan is best known for his time playing with Benny Goodman
and his contribution to a series of television documentaries sponsored by the Goodyear Tire Company
featuring jazz musicians.
Bryan began his career playing in the Memphis
area until 1935 when he joined Red Nichols
in Chicago
. After that, he led his own band in Greenwood
, Mississippi from 1938 to 1939. From November 1940 until May 1941, Bryan worked with Benny Goodman and played with the big band
s of Bob Chester
, Jan Savitt
, and Artie Shaw
until he joined the United States Army
from March 1942 until November 1944. After his time in the military he worked with some emerging bebop
musicians like Dizzy Gillespie
and Charlie Parker
in their small groups. He rejoined Benny Goodman from January 1945 until September 1946 and recorded with both the sextet and the orchestra. Bryan spent several years doing studio work in California
. In addition he produced a series of foreign television documentaries for the Goodyear Tire Company featuring jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong
and Duke Ellington
. He toured Europe in 1962 as music director of a band also sponsored by Goodyear. In 1966 he toured Vietnam
with Martha Raye
. On 5 May 1957 he married Lady Iris Mountbatten
, only child of Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke
and a great grand daughter of Queen Victoria. He died of Leukemia
in 1972.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz guitar
Jazz guitar
The term jazz guitar may refer to either a type of guitar or to the variety of guitar playing styles used in the various genres which are commonly termed "jazz"...
ist.
Biography
Mike Bryan was a self-taught guitarist born in Byhalia, MississippiMississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
on August 9, 1916. Bryan is best known for his time playing with Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
and his contribution to a series of television documentaries sponsored by the Goodyear Tire Company
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....
featuring jazz musicians.
Bryan began his career playing in the Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
area until 1935 when he joined Red Nichols
Red Nichols
Ernest Loring "Red" Nichols was an American jazz cornettist, composer, and jazz bandleader.Over his long career, Nichols recorded in a wide variety of musical styles, and critic Steve Leggett describes him as "an expert cornet player, a solid improviser, and apparently a workaholic, since he is...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. After that, he led his own band in Greenwood
Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta approximately 96 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi, and 130 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. The population was 15,205 at the 2010 census. It is the...
, Mississippi from 1938 to 1939. From November 1940 until May 1941, Bryan worked with Benny Goodman and played with the big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
s of Bob Chester
Bob Chester
Bob Chester was an American jazz and pop music bandleader and tenor saxophonist.Chester's stepfather ran General Motors's Fisher Body Works. He began his career as a sideman under Irving Aaronson, Ben Bernie, and Ben Pollack. He formed his own group in Detroit in 1939, with a Glenn...
, Jan Savitt
Jan Savitt
Jan Savitt was an American bandleader, musical arranger, and violinist....
, and Artie Shaw
Artie Shaw
Arthur Jacob Arshawsky , better known as Artie Shaw, was an American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader. He was also the author of both fiction and non-fiction writings....
until he joined the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
from March 1942 until November 1944. After his time in the military he worked with some emerging bebop
Bebop
Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
musicians like Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
and Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
in their small groups. He rejoined Benny Goodman from January 1945 until September 1946 and recorded with both the sextet and the orchestra. Bryan spent several years doing studio work in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. In addition he produced a series of foreign television documentaries for the Goodyear Tire Company featuring jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
and Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
. He toured Europe in 1962 as music director of a band also sponsored by Goodyear. In 1966 he toured Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
with Martha Raye
Martha Raye
Martha Raye was an American comic actress and standards singer who performed in movies, and later on television....
. On 5 May 1957 he married Lady Iris Mountbatten
Lady Iris Mountbatten
The Lady Iris Mountbatten was born in Kensington Palace, London on 13 January 1920, the only child of Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke, eldest of three sons and one daughter of The Princess Beatrice and Prince Henry of Battenberg...
, only child of Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke
Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke
Alexander Albert Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke, GCB, GCVO, GJStJ was a member of the Hessian princely Battenberg family and the extended British Royal Family, a grandson of Queen Victoria...
and a great grand daughter of Queen Victoria. He died of Leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
in 1972.