Biography
Bernard Wright wove together an array of styles over the course of his professional life, moving among jazz, R&B, hip-hop, contemporary gospel, and reggae, yet earned his widest recognition in jazz-funk, the sound he regarded as a seamless blend of two equally legitimate artistic traditions. Early support came from fellow Jamaica, Queens natives Weldon Irvine, Don Blackman, and Lenny White, allowing him to work steadily as a touring keyboardist and session musician—including a contribution to Tom Browne’s number one R&B hit “Funkin’ for Jamaica (N.Y.)”—well before he issued his teenage debut, ’Nard, in 1981. Following his second release, Funky Beat (1983), he achieved his strongest commercial standing with Mr. Wright (1985), which contained the Top Ten R&B single “Who Do You Love.” After those three albums he devoted three further solo projects to gospel material while continuing to appear as a versatile sideman alongside Marcus Miller, Miles Davis, Cameo, and his godmother Roberta Flack. In and around his adopted city of Dallas he also served as a mentor to groups such as Snarky Puppy.
Born and raised in Jamaica, Queens, Bernard Wright first revealed his instinctive keyboard ability at the age of five. By the time he reached ten he was already committed to the instrument, performing locally with the Junior Firebolts, who shared bills with the senior Firebolts. He quickly became an integral part of the neighborhood’s shared music community, receiving guidance from Weldon Irvine and Don Blackman—both advocates of fusing jazz and funk—and at twelve he began touring with Lenny White. His initial session work arrived in 1979 on Taana Gardner’s self-titled disco-funk album and on Browne Sugar, the GRP debut of trumpeter Tom Browne, whom Blackman had discovered. Retaining much of the same locally assembled personnel, among them Marcus Miller and Omar Hakim, Browne released Love Approach the following year; the album featured the celebratory “Funkin’ for Jamaica (N.Y.),” a number one R&B single whose synthesized bassline and electric piano Wright supplied. Also in 1980 he appeared on recordings by Charles Earland and Crown Heights Affair.
Having obtained his own GRP contract, Wright introduced himself in 1981 with ’Nard, an album rooted in jazz-funk yet incorporating traces of hip-hop along with excursions into R&B, fusion, and straight-ahead jazz. In addition to many of his Jamaica peers, the session roster included Roy Haynes and Buster Williams on a reading of Miles Davis’ “Solar,” Patti Austin and Luther Vandross as backing vocalists on “Music Is the Key,” and GRP co-founder Dave Grusin sharing keyboard duties. The album entered Billboard’s R&B chart in March 1981 and reached number 23. Two singles charted as well: the buoyant “Just Chillin’ Out,” cut in the same vein as “Funkin’ for Jamaica (N.Y.),” peaked at number 33, while the more eccentric and playful “Haboglabotribin’” reached number 78. Wright’s second album, the more electronic Funky Beat, appeared in 1983. Its first three tracks, among them the charting jazz-electro title song (number 39 R&B), were produced by Wright and Marcus Miller; Grusin and GRP co-founder Larry Rosen handled the remainder. A standout among those later selections was “Won’t You Let Me Love You,” a gentle ballad (number 88 R&B) co-written by Wright and Weldon Irvine that would have suited either DeBarge or Don Blackman’s self-titled 1982 GRP release.
Wright subsequently signed with the Manhattan subsidiary of Capitol and enjoyed his greatest mainstream success in 1985 with “Who Do You Love.” The mid-tempo track entered the R&B chart in October and climbed to number six, followed by the harder-edged “After You,” which reached number 23. The album Mr. Wright, largely a funk-driven R&B project in the manner of Prince and Cameo, housed both singles plus six additional originals produced by Lenny White and Marcus Miller. It proved to be his final secular solo album, yet by the close of the 1980s he remained active as a sideman and featured performer, most prominently on Miles Davis’ Tutu (“Tomaas” and “Don’t Lose Your Mind”). He also duetted with La La on the “Who Do You Love”-referencing “We’ll Keep Striving” and lent his keyboard and production skills to Jamaica Boys, David Sanborn, Chaka Khan, Cameo, Doug E. Fresh, Michał Urbaniak, and Sly & Robbie, among others.
Entering the 1990s, Wright focused on contemporary gospel, tripling his solo discography within three years through Fresh Hymns, Brand New Gospel Format, and Fresh Hymns II, all issued on Frontline. Session work during the decade extended to contemporary jazz figures such as Stanley Jordan and Alex Bugnon, gospel artists Commissioned and Vickie Winans, and again his godmother Roberta Flack, for whom he additionally served as musical director. He appeared on Sadao Watanabe’s 1997 Verve album Go Straight Ahead ’n Make a Left, a date that preserved the Jamaica connection through the participation of Steven Teele, Charley Drayton, and Mike Flythe. After relocating to his wife’s hometown of Dallas during the decade, he continued to record and perform into the 2000s and 2010s with Too Bad, the Freddie Jones Jazz Group, Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor, Marcus Miller, and Brandon Williams, while mentoring area musicians, most notably Snarky Puppy prior to the band’s wider recognition. Wright died on May 19, 2022, following a traffic accident.
Born and raised in Jamaica, Queens, Bernard Wright first revealed his instinctive keyboard ability at the age of five. By the time he reached ten he was already committed to the instrument, performing locally with the Junior Firebolts, who shared bills with the senior Firebolts. He quickly became an integral part of the neighborhood’s shared music community, receiving guidance from Weldon Irvine and Don Blackman—both advocates of fusing jazz and funk—and at twelve he began touring with Lenny White. His initial session work arrived in 1979 on Taana Gardner’s self-titled disco-funk album and on Browne Sugar, the GRP debut of trumpeter Tom Browne, whom Blackman had discovered. Retaining much of the same locally assembled personnel, among them Marcus Miller and Omar Hakim, Browne released Love Approach the following year; the album featured the celebratory “Funkin’ for Jamaica (N.Y.),” a number one R&B single whose synthesized bassline and electric piano Wright supplied. Also in 1980 he appeared on recordings by Charles Earland and Crown Heights Affair.
Having obtained his own GRP contract, Wright introduced himself in 1981 with ’Nard, an album rooted in jazz-funk yet incorporating traces of hip-hop along with excursions into R&B, fusion, and straight-ahead jazz. In addition to many of his Jamaica peers, the session roster included Roy Haynes and Buster Williams on a reading of Miles Davis’ “Solar,” Patti Austin and Luther Vandross as backing vocalists on “Music Is the Key,” and GRP co-founder Dave Grusin sharing keyboard duties. The album entered Billboard’s R&B chart in March 1981 and reached number 23. Two singles charted as well: the buoyant “Just Chillin’ Out,” cut in the same vein as “Funkin’ for Jamaica (N.Y.),” peaked at number 33, while the more eccentric and playful “Haboglabotribin’” reached number 78. Wright’s second album, the more electronic Funky Beat, appeared in 1983. Its first three tracks, among them the charting jazz-electro title song (number 39 R&B), were produced by Wright and Marcus Miller; Grusin and GRP co-founder Larry Rosen handled the remainder. A standout among those later selections was “Won’t You Let Me Love You,” a gentle ballad (number 88 R&B) co-written by Wright and Weldon Irvine that would have suited either DeBarge or Don Blackman’s self-titled 1982 GRP release.
Wright subsequently signed with the Manhattan subsidiary of Capitol and enjoyed his greatest mainstream success in 1985 with “Who Do You Love.” The mid-tempo track entered the R&B chart in October and climbed to number six, followed by the harder-edged “After You,” which reached number 23. The album Mr. Wright, largely a funk-driven R&B project in the manner of Prince and Cameo, housed both singles plus six additional originals produced by Lenny White and Marcus Miller. It proved to be his final secular solo album, yet by the close of the 1980s he remained active as a sideman and featured performer, most prominently on Miles Davis’ Tutu (“Tomaas” and “Don’t Lose Your Mind”). He also duetted with La La on the “Who Do You Love”-referencing “We’ll Keep Striving” and lent his keyboard and production skills to Jamaica Boys, David Sanborn, Chaka Khan, Cameo, Doug E. Fresh, Michał Urbaniak, and Sly & Robbie, among others.
Entering the 1990s, Wright focused on contemporary gospel, tripling his solo discography within three years through Fresh Hymns, Brand New Gospel Format, and Fresh Hymns II, all issued on Frontline. Session work during the decade extended to contemporary jazz figures such as Stanley Jordan and Alex Bugnon, gospel artists Commissioned and Vickie Winans, and again his godmother Roberta Flack, for whom he additionally served as musical director. He appeared on Sadao Watanabe’s 1997 Verve album Go Straight Ahead ’n Make a Left, a date that preserved the Jamaica connection through the participation of Steven Teele, Charley Drayton, and Mike Flythe. After relocating to his wife’s hometown of Dallas during the decade, he continued to record and perform into the 2000s and 2010s with Too Bad, the Freddie Jones Jazz Group, Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor, Marcus Miller, and Brandon Williams, while mentoring area musicians, most notably Snarky Puppy prior to the band’s wider recognition. Wright died on May 19, 2022, following a traffic accident.
Albums
