Peabo Bryson
- Jay EuDaly
- 8 hours ago
- 4 min read
My Encounter With Peabo Bryson
This is not really a story, more like an anecdote.
Sometime in early 2013 a bass player who had moved to Kansas City from New Orleans, John Reynolds, started sitting in at the Saturday Afternoon Jam at BB's on a regular basis. That’s where I met him. He was a very good bass player.
Later in that year, he called me asking if I would be part of a band he was putting together for singer Ron Gutierrez. Ron and I go back a ways; besides Ron sitting in at the Jam now and then I had done some gigging with him over the years.
Here's a crappy video of myself and Ron on a duo gig in 2021 doing Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic":
Ron is really good so I said, "Yes" without even knowing who else was in the band. Turns out it wasn't an issue; the personnel fluctuated from gig to gig, and everyone was good.
There was a personnel turnover because John was kind of a tough taskmaster when it came to leading the band. Lots of rehearsing, most of which I weaseled out of because of my teaching schedule. He fired a couple of guys - but he wanted me, and Ron wanted me, so I survived the purges.
We played a few gigs here and there and then scored a slot to open for Peabo Bryson.
For those who don’t know, Peabo Bryson is an American singer and songwriter (Soul, R&B and Smooth Jazz) who had a string of hits from the late seventies through the early nineties. He is known for singing soul ballads (often as a duet with female singers) including the hit singles "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love," "You're Looking Like Love to Me" and "As Long as There's Christmas" with Roberta Flack.
In the latter part of that timeframe he had a couple of major hits singing songs for Disney movies. He has been a Grammy nominee eight times and won twice; in 1992 for his performance of the song, "Beauty and the Beast" with Celine Dion and in 1993 for "A Whole New World" with Regina Belle.
In 2002, Bryson's "Beauty and the Beast" music video was included on the platinum and Blu-ray edition of Beauty and the Beast. His "A Whole New World" music video was included on the platinum edition DVD release of Aladdin.
So yeah, Peabo’s kind of a big deal.
The show was on the main outdoor stage of the Power & Light Entertainment District in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. The stage faces north. The street that runs east-west along the south side was blocked off. That’s where we parked and loaded in through a loading dock, down a hallway which had dressing rooms on either side, a green room, bathrooms and so on, and onto the back of the stage.
We did our sound check after Peobo’s band did theirs - without Peabo. I didn’t see hide-nor-hair of him.
Of course the place was packed and we played our set with no problems. It was a good time, and Ron went over with the crowd very well. Stylistically, Ron would appeal to Peabos’ crowd. Whoever booked Ron to open for Peabo knew what they were doing.
We got done and tore our gear down quickly. I had all my stuff on a dolly. I wheeled it down the hall, across the loading dock and down the ramp leading to the street where my car was parked.
As I walked down the ramp I saw Peabo all decked out in his stage clothes with a couple of bodyguards smoking behind the dumpsters like some teenager sneaking a cigarette in the alley between classes!
I went ahead and loaded my gear in the car.
“What the hell!” I thought, “You won’t know unless you try!”
So I walk back towards the dumpsters. One of the bodyguards makes a move. I stop, look at Peabo, hold my camera up and say,
“How ‘bout a picture?”
“Sure!” he says, smiling.
I gave my camera to the bodyguard and there you go!
I know I look like a doofus but hey, that’s me and Peabo Bryson!
He held his cigarette in the European style; elegant, in spite of the fact that we’re next to the dumpsters in an alley by a loading dock.
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