Festival, noting that he was cute
but much younger. A few months
later she had a series of shows,
but her guitarist was on the road
with another band. She wound up
hiring Coley for the shows, which
included a club performance in
Washington, DC one night and the
filming of a Black Entertainment
Television (BET) special the next
day. They traveled up to Maine for
the third show a few days later. In
1996, Coley became a member of
her touring band and they were
together from then on.
Jeanie is not only an accom-
plished jazz singer, but she’s the
daughter of jazz legend Dizzy Gil-
lespie. Jeanie and Coley were
married in 2004 at Dizzy Gillespie
Park in Cheraw, South Carolina.
They had been working on the
Dizzy Gillespie Songbook project
together, but everything changed
after Coley’s death. She still can-
not get near an airplane and
couldn’t even listen to music for
two years after the crash. Today,
her focus is on her husband and
doing everything she can so peo-
ple can hear his music and see this
film to learn about him.
Watch Coleman Mellett and Jeanie Bryson perform together
NJ STAGE - ISSUE 59
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