Ronnell Bright

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Ronnell Lovelace Bright (July 3, 1930 – August 12, 2021) was an American jazz pianist. He was born in Chicago and started playing piano as a child, winning a piano contest at age nine. In 1944 he played with the Chicago Youth Piano Symphony Orchestra. He studied at Juilliard, graduating in the early 1950s. After returning to Chicago, he played with Johnny Tate and accompanied Carmen McRae before moving to New York City in 1955. In New York he played with Rolf Kühn and formed his own trio in 1957. From 1957 to 1958 he played with Dizzy Gillespie and later worked as an accompanist for Sarah Vaughan, Lena Horne, and Gloria Lynne. His compositions were recorded by Vaughan, Cal Tjader, Horace Silver, and Blue Mitchell. In 1964 he moved to Los Angeles and became Nancy Wilson’s arranger and pianist. He later worked as a studio musician, including with Supersax from 1972 to 1974. Bright also made cameo appearances on The Jeffersons and Sanford and Son, and contributed to The Carol Burnett Show.