"True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist."
-- Albert Einstein
Gerry Bryant wears many hats. A quintessential multi-tasker, Gerry graduated cum laude from both Phillips Andover Academy and Harvard University, and received his J.D. and M.B.A., simultaneously, from UCLA. His clients -- corporations, musicians, writers, and artists of all kinds -- know him to be a well-respected legal advisor with more than two decades of experience as an attorney in the arts and entertainment industries and as a writer of a weekly newspaper column on business and legal issues in entertainment and the arts.
His musician colleagues and music fans know him to be an accomplished professional pianist and composer for more than three decades, one who performs and records regularly, both solo and with his jazz group, PocketWatch, in clubs and studios. At a young age very early in his career, Gerry performed with such jazz notables as Les McCann and Dizzy Gillespie, and later on he did gigs accompanying such Broadway musical stars as Dale Kristien ("Phantom of the Opera") and Carl Anderson ("Jesus Christ Superstar").
Many others know Gerry for his volunteer work with artists of all disciplines as a board member of several nonprofit arts and entertainment organizations, including California Lawyers for the Arts, and as a regular volunteer piano player and entertainer for patients at UCLA Medical Center. Some people even think of him for the acting he briefly did on a television show and in commercials early on in his adult life. Whatever hat Gerry wears, he proudly wears it being of service to others.
The Musician In His Own Words:
"My musical influences range from classical masters Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, to jazz legends Nat King Cole and Duke Ellington, to contemporary artists Keith Jarrett and Ramsey Lewis. I've had extensive classical training since childhood, first in my home town of Cleveland, Ohio from noted music teacher Ethel Morton, and continuing at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts (where one of my classmates was prize-winning jazz pianist Bill Cunliffe) with the acclaimed German concert pianist and teacher, Albion Metcalf.
"I had initially planned on becoming a concert pianist, that is, until I went to Harvard (where one of my classmates was nonpareil cellist Yo Yo Ma). When I wasn't partying or just having a good time (and studying, of course), I was broadening my musical vocabulary by immersing myself in many other musical genres. Since then, I have performed in jazz, R&B and rock groups on the east and west coasts, I've been tutored by and performed with jazz greats and I've accompanied Broadway musical stars. Those experiences were phenomenal.
"I had the privilege and pleasure of giving a private, impromptu recital at the truly magnificent Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles shortly after it opened. It was heaven. Very inspiring. And recently, I composed, arranged and performed music for a documentary by an Academy Award winning filmmaker.
"I earned a law degree and an MBA primarily for the purpose of becoming my own attorney so that I could handle my own music contracts and produce my own records. Contrary to my original plans, however, I have thus far represented not myself but many other individuals and business entities, primarily in entertainment and the arts. In the process, much to my consternation, I've spent far too much time working on all sorts of legal and artistic projects for others rather than on my own music. But alas, despite the best plans, life still seems to take you wherever it decides.
"Meanwhile, through my music, I hope to spread my positive approach to life, and to touch a chord with as many people as possible."
The Attorney Curriculum Vitae:
Education:
UCLA School of Law, JD
UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management, MBA
Harvard University, AB cum laude
Phillips Andover Academy, cum laude
Sampling of Past and Present Clients:
Kipington Media Corporation, a multi-media music
recording and production company
Luna Ray Films, a Peabody Award winning film and TV
production company
Off Main Productions, a visual and performing arts
production company
The Mirisch Agency, a leading film and television
talent agency
Nissan Corp., a car manufacturer and sponsor of cultural
and sporting events
Numerous other artists, musicians, writers and creative
people of all stripes.
Publications:
Arts & Entertainment and Real Estate and the Law:
two weekly, syndicated columns published by the Daily Journal Corp.
Board of Directors Memberships:
California Lawyers for the Arts
Affiliations, Past and Present:
American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP)
Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association
Black Filmmakers Foundation
Musicians Union Local 47
National Association of Recording Industry Professionals
Screen Actors Guild
State Bar of California
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