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B i o g r a p h y |
Brian Bromberg
(born December 5, 1960) is an American jazz bassist and record producer
who performs on both electric and acoustic instruments. Though he tends
to gravitate towards the genre of smooth jazz, Bromberg has released
some straight-ahead jazz records in which he performs with a trio, and
has even ventured into more rock-oriented jazz fusion territory as of
late. His innovative and technically demanding style of playing extends
to both electric and upright bass. On his acoustic bass albums, Bromberg
performs jazzy interpretations of various pop and rock staples from the
1960s and '70s completely solo. Regarding his work with electric bass,
Bromberg, among other bassists, helped popularize the piccolo bass, or
bass with each string tuned an octave up, by releasing several albums in
which he plays both the bass line and melody. For instance, upon first
listen many will be surprised to learn that, although soaring guitar can
be heard throughout the album, Bromberg's 2005 release Metal contains
only Bromberg on two overdubbed basses, one of which is heavily
effects-laden to make it sound like an electric guitar.
Bromberg was born on December 5, 1960, in Tucson, Arizona. His father
and brother, David, who both played drums, influenced him to take up the
instrument himself. At the age of 13, he began seriously pursuing a
career as a drummer. However, at around the same time, the leader of his
school orchestra steered him towards the upright bass. From then on, he
committed to stick to a strict practice regimen and even "tested out of
high school early" because of the rigorous schedule he set for himself.
Still, plucking away in his basement was only half of the plan. It was
integral for Bromberg to gain experience playing in live situations.
Thus, he accepted virtually every gig he could get. It was somewhat
common for Bromberg to play "five to seven nights a week with several
different bands." In 1979, Marc Johnson, the bassist working for the
jazz pianist Bill Evans, heard Bromberg's playing. Johnson later
suggested Bromberg to saxophonist Stan Getz, who was in search of a new
bass player. Getz took the suggestion seriously, and auditioned Bromberg
soon thereafter. Within only six years of picking up the bass, Bromberg
found himself at the age of 19 touring internationally with Getz. Other
than the thrill of playing with a world-class tenor saxophonist, more
opportunities began to reveal themselves to the young bass player, who
would go on to work with many big names in the music business and
eventually become a producer of various artists in his genre. In March
2011, Brian partnered with Carvin Guitars to produce a signature model
electric bass. The B24 and B25 were based on his own design, which was
previously manufactured by Peavey and Dean. In 2014, Carvin rebranded to
Kiesel for most new instruments, and the Brian Bromberg model followed
suit in 2015.
Bromberg's first several albums were in the smooth jazz genre. He began
with two records that caught smooth jazz radio's attention: A New Day in
1986 and Basses Loaded in 1988. His third album, Magic Rain (1989)
"became the most played album on radio during the first week of its
release". Bromberg's fourth record, BASSically Speaking, which is his
oldest material re-mastered with some new additions, reached the top 5
on the radio charts and No. 7 on the Billboard sales charts.
With solid following among smooth jazz fans, he put out a straight ahead
jazz album, It's About Time, The Acoustic Project. This album reached
number four on the mainstream jazz charts in 1991. Bromberg recorded in a
trio with Freddie Hubbard and Ernie Watts. After It's About Time, The
Acoustic Project he returned to smooth jazz. The label that released
Brian Bromberg (1993) went out of business the week of its release.
In 1996, after a short break from recording to design basses for Peavey
and touring as a clinician, Bromberg signed with Zebra Records. In
February 1998, he released You Know That Feeling, which as recorded with
Rick Braun, Joe Sample, Jeff Lorber, and Everette Harp. The album
became Bromberg's most successful, later to be topped by Wood, and his
first smooth jazz number one record of his career. You Know That Feeling
had three singles in a row that each went to number three on the
charts. It spent seventeen consecutive months on the charts, eight
months in the top ten, nearly six months in the top five. Bromberg's
album was the fifth most-played album from the top 100 albums of the
year in smooth jazz. Songs from You Know That Feeling are still
regularly played in smooth jazz stations across America. Additionally,
in 2003, Bromberg made a record simply titled Jaco in which he performs
many of Jaco Pastorius's notable songs.
After You Know That Feeling, Bromberg's albums deviated from his smooth
jazz roots. Wood (2002), produced by a Japanese label, was recorded with
pianist Randy Waldman and brother David Bromberg on drums. Wood
contains solo jazz versions of "Carry on My Wayward Son" by Kansas and
"Let 'Em In" by Paul McCartney. In addition to the solo pieces, Wood and
Wood 2 (with drummer Vinnie Colaiuta replacing David Bromberg) contain
interpretations of music by Wayne Shorter and Woody Herman. On an even
sharper turn from his smooth jazz past, Bromberg released Metal (2005)
with drummer Joel Taylor.
As a record producer, Bromberg has produced eight top-ten hits, seven
top-five hits, and two number-one hits. Apart from his 300-year-old
double bass, he uses Dean, Bob Mick, Mick Donner and Peavey basses with
Epifani amplification. He also owns a signature edition Carvin bass.
wikipedia.org
Official site: www.brianbromberg.net
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