“What drives me is the art form itself as opposed to the rewards.”

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Bryan at the piano at Zanzibar Blue, where Friends performs regularly. GLENN BRYAN Position: Director, City and Community Relations Length of service: 9 years Other stuff: Besides leading his band, he is also the minister of music at his church, Grace Lutheran. Photo by Tommy Leonardi

Youve heard of the two-career couple. Meet the two-career individual.

Glenn Bryan (W74,SW76) has spent nine years attending to the concerns of Penns neighbors and the concerns of the folks in City Hall whose decisions affect Penns fortunes. But hes spent much longer than that attending to the earsand soulsof the audiences who have had the good fortune to hear him play with various musicians and groups through the years.

The musicians he has performed with as a pianist and keyboardist form a mini-Whos Who of contemporary jazz and pop: John McLaughlin, Grover Washington Jr., Carlos Santana, George Duke, Dave Koz, Freddie Hubbard, Diane Reeves, Spencer Harrison, Boni James. But hes more than just a sideman to the stars. He is also a band leader in his own right, currently heading Friends, a quintet that includes vocalist Gloria Allende, drummer Robert Fant, bassist Aaron Hayes and saxophonist Craig Winn.

We asked him about Friends and his musical career in a recent interview.

Q. How long have you been playing keyboards?
A. Ive been playing keyboards all my lifesince I was about 9 years old.

Q. Did you take formal lessons?
A. Oh, yeah. Ive been classically trained, but I also wanted to explore other mediumsso Ive played Latin-influenced music, jazz, rhythm and blues, rock, all kinds of music. I see them all coming together. I dont see them as separate entities.

Q. Of the various big names youve performed with, who were the most fun?
A. Thats hard to say. Grover Washington and George Duke, I had the greatest fun performing with them. George Duke has produced people like Herb Alpert and Anita Baker. I was [also] inspired by musicians of old, such as John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner and Chick Corea. My favorite musicians [also] include Carlos SantanaI enjoy him the most. I [also] love Bach, I love HandelI play all that and I enjoy that just as much.

I dont like to be considered a jazz musician per se, although thats been part of what I play, but I play all kinds of music as well. And I just think that music is a universal language. There [are] so many different influences in it.

Q. Have you ever played on the radio?
A. A group of mine helped inaugurateI hate giving them props [i.e. respect] for this106.1 [WJJZ] when it first came on the air. We [also] did a lot of work with [WRTI], 90.1. Ive done at least six live remotes where our music was pumped over the air.

Q. Have you done any recording?
A. Theres a CD of my own music coming out, because I also write music as well. Another CD project is this one with Friends, which will be recorded live at Zanzibar Blue, and that should be coming out within the next several months.

Q. When did you organize Friends?
A. Friends was organized three years ago as a result of a request from the Martin Luther King Committee to put together an activity called Jazz for King, and the group was formed to play that.

Q. Is Friends your first band?
A. Its not my first band. Ive had many other groups that I formed. We played East Coast cities, in New Jersey and Delaware and Marylandbut mainly its been in Philadelphia. I had my own group, the Glenn Bryan Group, and then another group I had called Signature. And then [this] newest group, Friends, is more of a [traditional] jazz type of group.

Q. Do you have any regular gigs?
A. I play at Zanzibar Blue every Sunday. Were probably one of their top-[grossing] groups in the three years weve [played regularly there].

I like Sundays because its a quieter day of the week.

Q. But with your church work, youre a busy man on Sundays, arent you?
A. There you go! Sunday is a work day for me. But its fun. I enjoy it.

Q. Besides the Martin Luther King concert and Staff Appreciation Day, do you do any other performances on campus?
A. I do Convocation, I do Staff Appreciation, and I do MLK, those three. Thats enough, dont you think?

And I also played for the Foundation. I played their very first performance.

And Ive played for a lot of community organizations [in University City]. I think that its very important to give back to the community. My group does benefit performances, and this is a way to give back. Im not into [performing] for the love of money, but just for the art. Thats my philosophy. If you had somebody who wanted to lay down a big multi-million-dollar contract, we would have some discussion. But what drives me is the art form itself as opposed to the rewards and the potential for money.

You can hear Friends every Sunday at 7, 8:30 and 10 p.m. at Zanzibar Blue, Broad and Walnut streets. Visit www.zanzibarblue.com or call 215-732-4500 for information.