Bryan has been playing music in the Greater Toronto Area live music scene since the early 1980s. In humble beginnings at high school dances and community halls is where he got started. “Any chance I got to play in a live setting when I was young; I took it. I was interested in R&B/Soul (Motown, Stax, Atlantic) and Jazz, so if my bandmates and I found an audience that was receptive to those styles; we would jump at the opportunity to play! Many of my friends in high school had eclectic taste/s in music, so between them and their extended groups of friends; there were listeners. The Blues Brothers’ first album had caused a renewed public interest in classic Soul and we rode that wave.”
Photo by Ken Humphreys
By 1985 he was playing Toronto clubs frequently with The Jeff Healey Band. “Once Jeff established his presence in Toronto one night while sitting in on an Albert Collins gig, we began getting offers to play at many of the Blues rooms in the city; most notably, Albert’s Hall (no relation to Mr. Collins). We were opening for Canadian Blues artists like Dutch Mason. We also opened for Robert Cray later that year, when he made his Toronto debut, fresh off of winning a Grammy for best Blues artist. I have old cassette tapes and a 1/4-inch reel of my band when Jeff played in it. Someday, I’d like to digitize them”.
Photo by Ken Humphreys
1985 proved to be a busy year for Bryan as he was also in a Jimi Hendrix tribute band called Purple Haze with Curtis Lee (5th Dimension, Ike & Tina and B.B. King). “I met Curtis through Jeff Healey when we were all playing one night at Gilmore’s Roadhouse in the west end of Toronto. He invited Curtis and Toney Springer (aka Wild T) to jam with our band. I ended up working with both Curtis and Toney after that inspiring encounter.” 
Photographs courtesy of Jeff Lewis.
Throughout the 80s and 90s, Bryan had always made time for his “side projects”. They included Short Order and The Soul Foundation. “I grew up listening to big bands and bands with horn sections like Tower Of Power, Chicago, Average White Band and Earth Wind & Fire; so I took up piano as a learning tool and began transcribing their material with the intention of having my own horn-based band. The Soul Foundation played local clubs and festivals in the GTA. We were playing The Bamboo, The Horseshoe, Lee’s Palace, X-Ray’s, Clinton’s, C’est What etc…all the fun places in Toronto at the time; and we’d present new guest singers on the local scene like Devine Brown and Glenn Lewis.”
Photographs by Ken Humphreys
Bryan transitioned toward writing and arranging his own songs in the late 90s and early 2000s with a variation on The Soul Foundation releasing an album in 2001; Taking A Trip. “As a cover band, The Soul Foundation had gone about as far as it could go without hitting the road; and for what? To play someone else’s music? Touring with an 11-piece band was a bit too challenging to coordinate, so I opted to take it in a new direction – playing originals – and through playing festivals and venues that supported original material.” The band would enjoy a steady run of festival and club dates between 2000 and 2005; occasionally having guests such as Adam Messinger (LA-based Canadian record producer) sitting in on keyboards and backing vocals.
Photographs by Ken Humphreys
By 2006 Bryan began working with singer/songwriter Scott McCord. Together with McCord and some fine players from the GTA, they did some brief tours of the American midwest that included opening for Edgar Winter. “Scott’s band The Bonafide Truth played a local gig one night and someone from Edgar’s management was in the audience. They invited us down to Nebraska to open for him. It was a great experience hearing Edgar’s show; and hearing the musicianship of the other bands on the various bills we played back then.” That run with McCord and several bands lasted from ’06 to ’12.
Photo credit unknown.
Since 2013, Bryan has continued to occasionally present his main side-project The Soul Foundation in various settings. “I have booked it for special events as a cover band. We played a series of Canada Day celebrations for a number of years running, in Toronto. It’s a lot of work preparing a show with a big ensemble, but the end result is always worth it.”
Photos by M. Shea and Ken Humphreys
From 2014 to present Bryan continues freelancing between side projects in the Greater Toronto Area. “I split my time between freelancing and being a member of several bands in Toronto. I’m currently part of The Natural Women Show; a tribute to Black female recording artists of the 60s, 70s and 80s. It’s always a treat to play with The Emile d’Eon Organ Trio; there’s nothing like the sound of a Hammond organ and a Leslie speaker to satisfy the soul! I sub in Lou Pomanti’s (Ian Thomas, BS&T, Michael Bublé) Tower Of Power tribute band Oakland Stroke.
Here’s a couple of links: You’re Still A Young Man Get Your Feet Back On The Ground.”
Photos by J. Mendez, T. Viaene and yours truly.
