Africana Studies
North Academic Building
85 Mission Park Drive
Williams College
Williamstown, MA 01267
Phone: (413) 597-2242
Fax: (413) 597-4222

Chair:
Prof. Shanti M. Singham
ssingham@williams.edu

Administrative Assistant:
Lucy Gardner Carson
Lucy.G.Carson@williams.edu
Freddie Bryant, who received his master’s degree in classical guitar from the Yale School of Music, is a versatile musician skilled in both jazz and classical music—"a brilliant young guitarist and composer," according to the great guitarist Kenny Burrell. Bryant is currently in demand in the New York jazz scene, where he works with Ben Riley’s Monk Legacy Septet, the Mingus Orchestra, and the pianist/singer Eliane Elias, as well as with his own groups, Trio del Sol and Kaleidoscope. He has recorded and performed with Tom Harrell, D.D. Jackson, Steve Wilson, Kevin Hays, and many others. He is also on the first call list of many singers and especially Brazilian musicians because of his knowledge of Brazilian guitar. His most recent CD is with the group Trio del Sol (Twinz Records). He has four others as a leader: Brazilian Rosewood, Boogaloo Brasileiro, Live at Smoke (Fresh Sound Records), and Take Your Dance into Battle (Jazz City Spirit). Over the years he has toured in 35 countries and has had the opportunity to collaborate with musicians from a wide variety of backgrounds, including Salif Keita (known as the King of Afro-Pop), the Indian sitarist, Shubhendra Rao, the Kenyan singers—Achien’g Abura and Suzanna Owiyo, the Taarab master player Zein L’abdin, traditional groups in Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E., and Israeli klezmer clarinetist, Giora Feidman. In 2006 he performed in Cuba as a solo artist and spent a week of musical exchange with Cuban musicians. He has toured as a cultural ambassador for the U.S. Department of State four times and recently performed at the Kennedy Center with the Billy Taylor Trio, broadcast on the National Public Radio show Live at the Kennedy Center. Education has always been a large part of his musical life. He has taught all ages, from young children to university students, and has lectured about jazz to audiences around the world. In 2004 he was chosen to be a Copeland Fellow—composer in residence at Amherst College. He also teaches part time at Prins Claus Conservatory in Groningen, Holland. In addition to music, Bryant also enjoys Taijiquan (Tai Chi), which he has practiced and taught for the last 22 years.

Personal website

Music Department Website