Jeanie Bryson

Jeanie Bryson (March 10, 1958 - June 19, 2026) was an American singer who sings a combination of jazz, pop, and Latin music. Her repertoire is based on jazz and pop standards from the Great American Songbook, Peggy Lee and Dinah Washington.

Life and career Bryson is the daughter of composer Connie Bryson and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. Her paternity was kept a secret until after Gillespie's death because he was married, but she occasionally saw him growing up. In 1998 Bryson filed a lawsuit against his widow, Lorraine Willis Gillespie, after her lawyer found court records from 1965 in which Gillespie admitted he was her father. She reached a settlement with his estate. When describing her father, Bryson once stated: "He was not the traditional dad, not at all. Let’s just put it this way: I remember being 18, going to see him in a club, going out to a van that was parked outside, and sharing a joint with him."

Bryson grew up in East Brunswick, New Jersey. She studied anthropology and ethnomusicology at Livingston College, Rutgers University, graduating in 1981. That year, she performed with her father in Salem County, singing "God Bless the Child" by Billie Holiday. The couple lived in East Brunswick, New Jersey.

Bryson died from an aggressive form of cancer June 19, 2026 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York.

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