cw86
Junior Member
Posts: 86
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Post by cw86 on Jun 2, 2023 7:22:39 GMT -6
I have been a big fan of Brian Bromberg for many years and in my opinion, he is perhaps the most complete and versatile bassist there. From acoustic to electric bass, to blues, fusion, smooth, metal and straightahead. He can do it all. One of the best in the world.
What's your thoughts on Brian Bromberg?
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Post by GeorgeX on Jun 2, 2023 11:18:23 GMT -6
Unrealized potential. I was in on him from the ground floor. My best friend picked up Basses Loaded and we were floored. He quickly tracked down the debut right after that. As good a slap/tap guy as there has been. Incredible upright player too. My favorite album of his is the acoustic, It's About Time
But he comes up really short on the songwriting end IMO. He veers dangerously close to smooth jazz/fuzak on a lot of his stuff. I don't know that he has records that I enjoy fully. And why does he do so little session work? Not much out there to hear him on, if you want something with more meat on the bone than his records have. I have Billy Cobham - By Design, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba - The Trio
I know ritz is a huge fan, so he'll probably jump in here
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Post by xmiles on Jun 2, 2023 15:17:49 GMT -6
I know what you mean George but I quite like his Jaco and Hendrix albums.
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Post by GeorgeX on Jun 2, 2023 17:07:13 GMT -6
I know what you mean George but I quite like his Jaco and Hendrix albums. Which only bolsters my songwriting comment. If the two albums that come to your mind are tribute albums...
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cw86
Junior Member
Posts: 86
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Post by cw86 on Jun 3, 2023 8:38:59 GMT -6
Unrealized potential. I was in on him from the ground floor. My best friend picked up Basses Loaded and we were floored. He quickly tracked down the debut right after that. As good a slap/tap guy as there has been. Incredible upright player too. My favorite album of his is the acoustic, It's About Time But he comes up really short on the songwriting end IMO. He veers dangerously close to smooth jazz/fuzak on a lot of his stuff. I don't know that he has records that I enjoy fully. And why does he do so little session work? Not much out there to hear him on, if you want something with more meat on the bone than his records have. I have Billy Cobham - By Design, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba - The Trio I know ritz is a huge fan, so he'll probably jump in here
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cw86
Junior Member
Posts: 86
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Post by cw86 on Jun 3, 2023 8:46:37 GMT -6
The first time i heard Bromberg was Magic Rain on my dad's casseste and i was completely blown away by his bass playing, it sounded like a nylon string guitar in the high register but there was go featured guitarist. He was a complete monster on both acoustic and electric bass, the speed, the techinque, everything was top notch. I agree with you, his recent stuff does lean closer to the smooth jazz style of music compared to his earlier works which had more muscle. For me, my favourite Bromberg albums is a tie between Magic Rain & It's About Time. His session work is very few and far between, i know he played a lot with Lee Ritenour and Dave Grusin during the 90s / 00s. Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Dennis Chambers, Brian Bromberg – The Trio is very good, it's been a long time since i've heard it. Not an easy one to track down.
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Post by GeorgeX on Jun 3, 2023 9:08:12 GMT -6
He needs to hook up with a good guitarist, who fits with his style. I have said before on here, I think a good match for him would be Gerald Gradwohl. Another groove guy, but he brings the dirt that BB's music severely lacks. I would love to pair them up.
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Post by shadow on Jun 4, 2023 5:47:34 GMT -6
I saw him once at Berk's Jazz Fest in Reading, Pa. It was his first gig back after he broke his back. I thought he was incredible and he told an interesting story when he was working the orchestra pit for the movie The Fabulous Baker Boys.
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Post by ritz on Jun 10, 2023 1:25:38 GMT -6
Unrealized potential. I was in on him from the ground floor. My best friend picked up Basses Loaded and we were floored. He quickly tracked down the debut right after that. As good a slap/tap guy as there has been. Incredible upright player too. My favorite album of his is the acoustic, It's About Time But he comes up really short on the songwriting end IMO. He veers dangerously close to smooth jazz/fuzak on a lot of his stuff. I don't know that he has records that I enjoy fully. And why does he do so little session work? Not much out there to hear him on, if you want something with more meat on the bone than his records have. I have Billy Cobham - By Design, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba - The Trio I know ritz is a huge fan, so he'll probably jump in here You are right some of his songs are smooth jazz, but I think that is no problem. His uptempo work is very funky. He can play electric and acoustic bass on a extreme high level. If you like acoustic bass you have to listen to 'Hands'. A kind of masterpiece, the playing is superb and the soundquality is perfect. I was lucky I saw him once live in De Boerderij Zoetermeer Holland with the Jeff Lorber Band. This morning I saw a short video of this performance (see below). Another video is with the Neil Zaza Band (the CD Zaza made is with Bill Dickens; also extraordinaire!). This video shows Brombergs unbelievable skills.
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