On October 11th, 2026, Bryan will be inducted into the Des Moines Community Jazz Center’s Hall of Fame at Noce Jazz Club (Noce DSM.com).
Three years before her passing, Bryan performed with the Queen of Soul: Aretha Franklin! Most recently, Bryan has performed with New York Voices’ Kim Nazarian and Lauren Kinhan, Grammy nominated Adrian Ruiz, Janis Siegel of The Manhattan Transfer, Alyssa Allgood, Misha Tsiganov, and 8-time Grammy nominee Tierney Sutton. He's also had performing engagements with George Robert, Claudio Roditi, Edsel Gomez, Gil Goldstein, Anat Cohen, Alison Wedding, Ciara Civello, & Diego Urcola. Bryan can be heard on recordings of the latin jazz group Ashanti, the John Krantz Quintet, the Max Wellman Big Band, and the Des Moines Big Band.
Bryan Schumacker is a saxophonist whose playing is guided by feel, instinct, and a deep respect for the moment. His musical voice draws from a wide array of influences-jazz giants like Stan Getz, Michael Brecker, Dexter Gordon, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Chris Potter, Bob Mintzer, David Sanborn, Johnny Griffith, Mike Stern, Miles Davis, J.J. Johnson, Ray Brown, Victor Lewis, Benny Green, Lee Morgan, Art Blakey, Charles Fambrough, Chick Corea, Jeff Hamilton, Lewis Nash, and Paquito D'Rivera; iconic composers and songwriters such as Bill Evans, Billy Strayhorn, Antonio Carlos Jobim, The Beatles, Bon Iver; blues masters like B.B. King and Buddy Guy; banjo innovator Bela Fleck; rock influences include Bon Jovi and Def Leppard; and finally, jazz vocalists like his favorite, Dee Dee Bridgewater.
Bryan studied at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where he earned his BBA and MBA. While there, he studied saxophone, clarinet, and flute with Tim Timmons, Gary Foster, and Hal Melia. Kansas City allowed Bryan to take advantage of opportunities to play with professional musicians like Bobby Watson, Antonio Hart, Bob Brookmeyer, Paquito DeRiviera, Bill Cunliff, Kim Park, Louie Bellson, Mike Methany, and many others. After 7 years performing in KC, Bryan returned to his home city of Des Moines where he’s been performing 5 to 10 times a month for 25 years with bands ranging from small group jazz, big band jazz, and blues bands.