Today we’d like to introduce you to Bryard Huggins.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am a composer, record producer, and contemporary jazz piano recording artist from Nashville, TN. I am also the founder/CEO of Muse Entertainment, an indie record label and music production company as well as a part of the National Museum of African American Music’s (NMAAM) Emerging Artists series. From the moment I was born – literally – I was destined to play music. My great-grandmother, moments after I was born, came into the delivery room and when she saw how long my fingers were, she replied “He’s going to play the piano.” I stumbled upon my musical gift at the age of 4, when my dad bought my mom a grand piano for Christmas in 1998. My parents were both musical: my mom, a classically trained pianist; my dad, a singer who hails from a dynasty of gospel singers and performers. I remember watching my mom play the piano as a child, on a stool looking over into the piano watching the dampers and the hammers. One day, they were in the kitchen when all of a sudden, they heard music playing. Rounding the corner, they discovered 4-year-old me, legs kicking from the stool being too tall, picking out melodies by ear trying to mimic the sounds of Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. They were amazed – some call me a child prodigy, I call it God. By the age of 6, I began writing my own songs. My brother was born in 2000 and we quickly discovered he too had the divine musical gift! My parents sought to put me in private lessons, eventually landing a home with a classically-based instructor at Belmont University in 2000; I was with this instructor for 10 years. When I entered high school, I transitioned to a jazz-based instructor. This love of jazz had blossomed in these recent years, producing a plethora of music in my early tween and teen years that would eventually become the foundation for my debut album “Artistic Touch” in 2011. I had fallen in love with the works of contemporary jazz players in particular David Benoit and acclaimed world music composer and performer Yanni – “Artistic Touch” was a combination of these styles. Thanks to my first producer out of Detroit who heard my material and signed on to help me create my first recorded work, my debut record thrust me into the recording industry. “Visual”, my second album, came two years later in 2013 on the heels of my going off to college – recorded in Jacksonville, Florida at the Potter’s House Studios. I attended the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati (CCM) where I pursued a Commercial Music Production degree with a minor in Entrepreneurship. While at CCM, I released my third record, “The Way Home” in 2014 – which was recorded at Sixteen Ton Studios on Music Row here in Nashville. 2015 presented some challenges in my personal life – a diagnosis of an autoimmune disorder called idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) that causes dangerously low platelets and excessive bruising and bleeding. Despite my diagnosis, I returned to college for my junior year right on schedule and learned to balance weekly infusions and hospital visits with class and extracurricular activities. Strengthening my faith throughout this process I produced my fourth studio album, a gospel one, entitled “The Gospel Sessions” – a collection of solo piano arrangements of popular worship songs. Long story short, I marched out of this difficult period with an inspiring new album and a 4.0 GPA. God is good! I graduated from CCM in 2017 and soon after, released my fifth studio album “Calhoun Street” – an album dedicated to my time in Cincinnati. This was my first album to hit the airwaves worldwide, earning me a spot in the Top 20 on the Top 50 World Listening Smooth Jazz Charts. 2018 was a big year: I began working towards a Master’s degree in Music Business from Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, as well as founded Muse Entertainment – my indie music production company and record label. Muse Entertainment was designed for aspiring artists to gain experience, a portfolio, and knowledge in the music industry. I wanted to be the connection to someone else like my first producer was to me: someone to say “you got something kid, let me help you get started”. On the music production side, I have composed and produced music for a multitude of clients nationwide in the genres of children’s music, gospel, pop, film/TV, musical theatre, spoken word, podcast, and more. A 2019 trip to Los Angeles gave me a major opportunity to connect with one of the most famous artists in the world, however upon my graduation from Frost School of Music in the spring of 2020, the world as we knew it was shut down. Though many of the events I had planned and had prayed for were curtailed, much to my disappointment, COVID gave me a prime opportunity to work on my writing and my production. It also gave me the time to host monthly free Facebook LIVE Virtual Concerts for an hour, just to bring people some much-needed joy and light. My brother joined me on dueling pianos for these concerts. Our videos amassed thousands of views. 2021 I knew was going to be a significant year in my music career: it would mark the 10-year anniversary of my debut album and my career as a recording artist. With this in mind, I began creating and producing my sixth album, my self-titled release called “Bryard Huggins: The Tenth Anniversary Release Album” – a collection of 10 songs for 10 years in the industry. Once again, this album debuted to much acclaim internationally, as well as a sold-out concert – my first big in-person event since COVID- in December 2021. 2022 began with that big artist connection from 2019 finally coming through with a major opportunity: the chance to join the Empress of Soul Gladys Knight on the Florida leg of her tour as a featured artist! One of the biggest highlights of my career, I flew to Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale to join her and her band for 2 sold-out concerts. “I like music for real,” she said about me as she introduced me on stage. “And I’m amazed at the people who are so extraordinarily talented…I’ve run across so many people…this young man I stumbled upon him…it came to me, his gift…he’s been thoroughly blessed and we need to hold him up.” I performed Barbra Streisand’s “The Way We Were” with Gladys and her band, after which I performed solo an arrangement of Richard Smallwood’s “Total Praise”. Bringing my story up to the present, I am about to relocate to the Los Angeles area this summer to pursue further opportunities God’s got lined up, but not before I make my Ryman Auditorium debut here in Nashville with Ms. Gladys Knight on April 25!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The entertainment industry is a tough industry, as anyone in it will tell you. There is a lot of fraud. There is a lot of pretentiousness. Sometimes there’s a lack of care and kindness. But this industry allows us to make music, something we love doing. For me, I do what I do in hopes of making people feel good. I pride myself and my work on this. God has blessed me with such an amazing support system and fan base, something that makes this rocky road a little less rough. One of the main struggles I have faced was dealing with people who promised something, then went back on it. This was especially hard given I’m in an industry where it’s all about who you know. Looking back on some of these instances, I am able to trace why God did not allow me to pursue anything further with certain people – it was all part of the plan to open up other doors instead. Some people are in your life for a season and that’s it, I quickly learned. In this business, particularly when COVID struck, learning to pivot was something I had to do. This was fairly easy given my education at College-Conservatory of Music where my major prided itself on making its students versatile.
Another thing that was a struggle was being a jazz instrumentalist in my hometown. The Nashville music scene is dominated by country music, pop, and singer-songwriter genres. Other genres unfortunately aren’t given as much attention. This is one of the reasons I’m thankful for the NMAAM’s Emerging Artist program – it embraces my style of music, and the styles of others, with monthly performance opportunities in their lobby on weekends. One of my lowest moments was being turned away from a publicly advertised venue because the type of music I play wasn’t “welcomed”. However, in these low moments, you have to pivot and find a new avenue – because of this venue’s attitude towards my style of music, I was welcomed with open arms at HOME For Music in East Nashville, where my band and I put on a sold-out concert back in December 2021 (as well as a live stream that reached all around the country).
Every day in the music industry presents a new struggle. Unlike a traditional 9-5, working in this industry is 24/7…and sometimes you’re working without even knowing when your next payment is coming. But you forge on because you love it. Seeing how much my music blesses people continues to put a fire under me; this is why I do what I do. This trumps all of the hardships and mountains that come with working in this fickle industry.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As mentioned previously, I am a composer, record producer, and contemporary jazz piano recording artist. In simpler terms, I’m a musician. I create and produce instrumental works in all genres, though my main is my recording artist career in the contemporary jazz style. Some of my influences for this style are Brian Culbertson, David Benoit, and Oli Silk among others. I have emulated their style for many years, while still marrying theirs with my own. Anyone who has seen me perform or heard any of my records will probably tell you I create songs when they literally “pop” into my head and flow out of me…then they’ll probably tell you that I have a crazy right hand that can run the ivories like lightning WHILST wearing sunglasses and some cool looking shoes. I definitely have my own signature style of fashion and of music combined.
I am also known for my versatility in my craft: being able to perform a dynamic show on stage, then going on to write an orchestra, then shifting to managing artists at Muse Entertainment, then moving over to scoring a film, then arranging vocals (even though I don’t sing). Again, I thank my undergrad years at CCM for instilling this in me. People never know what I may release next, the fun is surprising them with something cool they least expect. But throughout all of my works, the true Bryard style is always in the mix.
While I am proud to be a composer, record producer, and contemporary jazz piano recording artist…I’m prouder to be a BLACK composer, record producer, and contemporary jazz piano recording artist. I think my being who I am doing what I do sets an example for younger aspiring artists of color to know that music is universal and you don’t have to try to fit into a certain genre just out of convenience. It’s okay to do what you love and always make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. In addition, I’m proud to be a BLACK founder/CEO of a company that helps develop artists trying to break into music. When one of us (musical artists) succeeds, we should all succeed. It’s always important to leave the door open for others to pass through and to be their guiding light as they make their journey. With so much fraud in this industry, artists need mentors and trusted individuals they can look up to and walk alongside.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I have too many favorite childhood memories to name, but my fondest memories were with my family. We are an extremely close-knit family and the majority of my family lives here in Nashville so we are always together. When I was growing up, my parents both worked so during the day I was usually babysat by my two grandmothers. My mom’s mom and my dad’s mom would alternate days taking care of me. On Nana – my dad’s mom – days, we would spend time cooking, watching Rudolph the Movie, then she would sing The Lord’s Prayer to me before putting me down for a nap. I remember she would arrive in her little red two-door hatchback right as my mom was leaving for work and we’d watch as the garage door would close together. On grandmommy – my mom’s mom – days, we would play marbles, count the wall outlets around the house, and have a big breakfast together. If it was nice outside, we’d often walk around our cul-de-sac or meet my little cousins at the bowling alley. She used to arrive while I was still in the bed and I would awake to hear her yell upstairs, “What are we eating today?” I always requested two fried eggs, grits, sausage, and toast with some homemade strawberry jam my mom’s secretary would make. At that time, both my grandfathers worked as well but sometimes they would pop by or we would go visit them. I remember on Mondays, my dad’s dad Granddaddy had off work so we’d meet him at Bar-B-Cutie’s in Donelson, then we’d ride over to my dad’s office park to see the water fountains. My mom’s dad Papa worked the front desk at a security office, where we’d find him oftentimes eating his leftovers from dinner the night before at his desk. We always knew he was there by his red Chevy pickup truck in the parking lot. I truly treasured my relationship with my grandparents (and still do), it was truly them that helped make my childhood a happy one.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bryardhuggins.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bryardofficial/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-imglkJreSAg-LxCgmBy4w
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Vi2GFubCW41amMBGFqcrU?si=JSbkAFdDT9u8GJpRegycXw
Image Credits
Phil Silverberg
Jeff Seely Photography
Muse Entertainment Archives
