Bryan Cumming
Bryan Cumming was raised in Georgia in a musical family, playing Dixieland jazz and singing harmony on Beatles songs. After playing saxophone in the army, he toured and recorded with Martin Mull. His first ASCAP credit was "Do the Dog," an instrumental co-written with Mull, released as a single on Capricorn Records in 1976. Steven Tyler of Aerosmith was among the background vocalists on that song.
Moving to L.A., he toured with John Hall and Libby Titus, and started Studio 23 as a production company. While in L.A., he recorded, toured and appeared in videos with artists including Al Jarreau, Maria Muldaur, The Ohio Players, David Soul, Supertramp, Anne Murray, Michael Martin Murphy, Al Kooper and the Pointer Sisters. As a member of Billy Vera and the Beaters, he played on the number one single "At This Moment." He played lead guitar for ShaNaNa four years. With Jason Blume, he co-wrote "I Had A Heart," which in 1987 hit #2 on the Cashbox Independent Country singles chart. In 1995, "Trailer Hitch," a song Bryan co-wrote with Alice Townsend, was recorded by Ken Holloway, and reached #1 on Cashbox's Positive Country chart.
Wild About Harry: Bill DeMain, Bryan Cumming,
Molly Felder, Bill Compito
Moving to Nashville in 1988, he toured with K.T. Oslin, Cleve Francis, and a group called Wild About Harry. (Listen to a sample Wild About Harry's "Night Owls" HERE.) His songs have been recorded by Jim & the Animal Band (children's music,) Jim Robinson (Christian pop,) Ken Holloway (positive country), Swan Dive (bossa nova pop), Lynsey Bostick (country), Les Kerr (Cajun), and the Cluster Pluckers (bluegrass).
Bryan continued his Studio 23 production company after he arrived in Music City, focusing on independent projects. He has co-produced several award-winning projects, and is recognized for his versatility, creativity, vision, and technical expertise.
After years of writing, playing, and producing other artists' music in his Nashville studio, Bryan released A SONG IS A DANGEROUS THING in 2004 – a genre-busting collection of his original songs ranging from smooth jazz instrumentals to pop, swing, and country. He was a finalist in the River Bluff Acoustic Music Song Festival in 2004 performing "Then There's the Truth" from that album.
Bryan on sax performing with Roy Goin in
May 2005 at Vanelli's in Tupelo, MS.
Demonstrating his versatility, Cumming released MUSIC FROM ROMEO & JULIET, an album of Renaissance chamber music with contemporary pop influences, as part of the Nashville Shakespeare Festival in 2003.
He will soon release a new album, this time, a trip to his old jazzy roots, reviving the hip spirit of Nat King Cole, Louis Jordan, and perhaps a hint of a young Sinatra, with fresh originals, and plenty of sax along the way.
Bryan is also part of Joyful Noise, a bluegrass gospel group featured at festivals and on a recent compilation, BLUEGRASS GOSPEL HIGHWAY. With Les Kerr, he co-wrote "Highlands of Tennessee," (listen to the song) which has been selected as the official song of the area of Tennessee that includes Cookeville, Sparta, Monterey and other locations in the Highlands area. Bluegrass group The Cluster Pluckers has recorded the song, which will be used as part of a major economic development campaign for the area.