On the album version of “Lift Off,” Blair Bryant’s infectious new single that’s currently climbing the Groove Jazz chart, an inviting voice simulating that of an airline captain says we’re heading for “funky skies with a jazzy tailwind” as the bassist and multi-instrumentalist heads for liftoff. As the lead track to the bassist and multi-instrumentalist’s first full length album Gold, it’s a dynamic start to a joyously melodic and grooving journey by an artist whose vibe and multitude of talents as a composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist has earned acclaim and heavy predictions of success by rock, blues, R&B and contemporary jazz greats like Keb’ Mo, The Fray, Jimmy Jam, Nick Colionne, Blake Aaron and Mike Phillips. The Kansas City based Bryant laid a powerful foundation for Gold with his breakthrough 2015 EP New Colours, whose track “Lightning Bug” hit the Top Ten on the Groove Jazz chart. It also received acclaim as one of the genre’s Top Ten new CDs that year. An alumnus of the Grammy Museum’s Music Revolution Project (which he participated in as a high school student) and currently completing his degree as a jazz studies major at the University of Missouri, Kansas City Conservatory of Music, Bryant is a true musical prodigy. Though he counts among his influences on the bass the late Wayman Tisdale and the legendary Stanley Clarke, his extreme instrumental versatility is even more perfectly in line with another inspiration, Marcus Miller. A fierce bassist who plays the upright double bass, electronic fretless, 7 string Conklin, 6 string ESP and 5 string Fender jazz bass, the consummate musician also plays acoustic and electric guitar, drums, congas and bongos, piano, organ, Fender Rhodes, synth keyboards, vibraphone, bells, marimba and tympani. Bryant, who co-produced Gold with his father and manager Damon, plays a wide variety of instruments on the 11 track collection, and his piano solos are as explosive and dazzling as his lead bass lines and improvisations. While Bryant’s earlier compositions featured keys as more of the focal point, he shifted towards the bass as his lead melodic voice because “it’s the foundation of the groove.” He adds, “The bass is the foundation of the groove, and gets into your soul. People like to say that the tenor sax is the closest instrument to the human voice, but to me, the bass is perfectly in the range of the male voice. On most songs, it’s the instrument that makes you move. The bass has a primal quality that gets into your soul and is very expressive and soothing. But it can also be powerful and percussive.” Adding fresh textures to his virtual one-man-band flow are saxophonist Houston Smith, on “Lift Off” and the horn fired funk jam “Killa B”; Alisa Bryant, who contributes vocals to the super-jazzy and romantic Quiet Storm ballad “Just For You”; and flutist Ernest Melton, who trades off whimsical lead lines with Bryant before the two join forces and intertwine on the spirited title track “Gold.” The only track featuring a full band is the sensual, easy flowing “Outstanding,” which was penned by The Gap Band and features Bryant’s arsenal of instruments in ensemble with guitarist Derek Greenwood, drummer Zach Morrow and lead vocalist Joe Gallant. Alisa Bryant adds background vocals to that lushly produced song. Other key tracks on Gold include the high energy “Secret Agent,” which showcases Bryant’s colorful duality on bass and keys and includes a tradeoff between his buoyant bass jamming and fiery electric guitar solo; the sensuous, mid tempo cool of “My Gift,” featuring the elegant side of his piano playing; and the wistfully romantic “Mama’s Pearls,” displaying the dreamier side of his bass and piano magic. “The tracks on the Gold project are a little warmer and have more of an R&B flavor to them than those on the New Colours EP,” he says. “I was shooting for something that would specifically appeal to the ladies. I have a catalog of music that is quite large and this collection of songs was chosen to fit this warm theme. I also feel that my production quality on these recordings is more developed. The response to New Colours was very encouraging. On Gold, I wanted to show more range and versatility while continuing to refine my sound, with more funk, fusion, touches of real R&B and a deeper showcase of my piano work.” Born in Kansas City, Bryant moved around a lot during his childhood because of his father Damon’s career in television, and lived in many musically diverse cities that inspired him along the way. The Bryants lived in Miami(where his musical gift emerged), Detroit (which solidified his heavy gospel influences) and Chicago (where he began playing drums in church at age 7) before returning to Kansas City (where he still lives) during his teen years. The bassist’s mom is a church organist and music minister, and some of his fondest musical memories are of taking long car rides with Damon and listening to artists like Clarke, Tisdale, Norman Brown, Najee and Boney James. While digging the urban jazz, Bryant discovered his percussion talents early when a church drummer took him under his wing (after a restless Bryant misbehaved during services) and saw that the youngster played along perfectly in sync. After graduating to congas and bongos, Bryant started playing the bass at 13, and after mastering that, incorporated lead guitar and keyboards into his repertoire. He has been composing and recording since age 16 and currently has a catalog of hundreds of jazz compositions. While quickly emerging at radio, Bryant is also starting to perform more live shows. He has played at The Blue Room in KC and earlier this year performed at contemporary jazz hotspot Spaghettini in Seal Beach, CA and the Loves Jazz and Arts Center in Omaha, NE. With one more year to go to finish his degree, he plans to spend the Summer of 2016 playing as many dates as possible before the fall semester. “The most exciting part of all this is seeing the way people react when I perform my music live,” he says. “It brings me so much joy to know that it’s making them feel good. As much fun as I have in the studio, I love the challenge of getting onstage and stretching out to show the full extent of what I can do musically.”