Bernard Wright

Bernard Wright bridged and blurred genres throughout a career that encompassed jazz, R&B, hip-hop, contemporary gospel, and reggae, but he was known most for jazz-funk, what he viewed as a hybrid of two equally valid art forms. Taken under the wings of fellow Jamaica, Queens natives Weldon Irvine, Don Blackman, and Lenny White, Wright was a seasoned touring keyboardist and session musician by the time he debuted as a teenaged leader with 'Nard (1981). After his second album, Funky Beat (1983), he reached his commercial peak with Mr. Wright (1985), home to the Top Ten R&B single "Who Do You Love." After that trio of LPs, Wright cut gospel albums and as a sideman moved fluidly across styles, collaborating with the likes of Marcus Miller, Miles Davis, and godmother Roberta Flack. Long before his death in 2022, he became known as a mentor for bands such as Snarky Puppy.