Why? Because he was Ray Bryant (1931-2011), and a short piece from his 1956 album Ray Bryant Trio, (now retitled Cry Me A River) has been rising out of the past and repeating in my head for days. Fair warning: It may repeat in your head, too.
Ray Bryant, piano; Wyatt Reuther, bass; Osie Johnson, drums, May 11, 1956. Here’s Bryant’s irresistible “Pawn Ticket.â€
Oddly, Bryant’s Cry Me A River album (formerly known simply as Ray Bryant Trio) now seems to be available only as an MP3, not a CD. It was first issued as an LP on Epic Records when Epic was a jazz label, before it became home to Mariah Carey, Ted Nugent, Meat Loaf, Sly & The Family Stone and other rockers. Whatever you call Bryant’s album, it is one of the great trio recordings of the mid-sixties.
Have a good weekend.