Q&A: (Brian Bromberg)

It was in 1977 when jazz musician Brian Bromberg, then 16, purchased what most people would consider an antique in his hometown of Tucson.

Thanks to a friend's discovery in a music store, Bromberg bought, relatively cheap, an Italian upright acoustic bass crafted in the 1700s, which should have sold for a significant chunk of money. The precious Matteo Guersam has been with him ever since, throughout his auspicious career.

If only that bass could talk. It might tell you about its creator who assembled it by hand, perhaps in a dark wood shop with only the light of a nearby candle.

It might also say that since becoming Bromberg's prized instrument, it has been in the presence of legends like Dizzy Gillespie, Bill Evans, Freddie Hubbard, Arturo Sandoval, Carmen McRae and Herbie Hancock while emitting notes of songs as diverse as Bromberg's style.

Bromberg, born in 1960, got his first well-known gig in 1979 when he joined the Stan Getz Band and spent nearly a year touring with the famed sax man. He has since either toured or recorded with a laundry list of jazz musicians some of whom, his contemporaries and others, are icons of the genre.

In 1986, Bromberg burst onto the scene as a solo artist with the release of “A New Day.” His most recent work, “Wood II” is the sequel to the 2002 “Wood.” Both albums are symphonic homages to the sometimes-underrated acoustic bass. The album plays out in the setting of a trio with world-class drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and pianist Randy Waldman.

“Wood II” is a fusion of funk, bebop, standards and rock songs from Earth Wind and Fire's “Shining Star” and “Carry On My Wayward Son” by Kansas to “Butterfly” by Herbie Hancock to Paul McCartney's “Let Him In.”

The album commences with one of my favorite Ellington tunes “Caravan,” in which Bromberg begins the piece with a few notes that invite the opening feathery spray of what sound like drum cymbals.

Colaiuta, a master at his craft, exhibits a rich sensitivity on the cymbals that he oftentimes employs when nothing else is needed.

Waldman, a comprehensive pianist, displays many tones from the ethereal qualities of Bill Evans to the playfulness of Cedar Walton.

Bromberg goes so far to express his diverse musical tastes with the triple-overdubbed recording of “Shining Star” in which you can't help but smile at what seems like a nightmarish endeavor, but with stunning results.

In a rare performance, the trio will get together for Bromberg's CD release party tonight at Catalina Bar and Grill for two sets.
The Beach Reporter sat down with Bromberg and talked about his new work.

With all of the different kinds of songs you're playing, do you consider yourself a jazz bassist?

Jazz has such a big terminology now because there are so many different styles of jazz, but, yes, I'm definitely a jazz bassist. When people think of me they think of me as a jazz artist, although I do love all different kinds of music. At this point, I like everything. As long as it's real and it's honest and if comes from the heart, it's undeniable.

You play on a 300-year-old Italian acoustic bass; does it surprise you that something can last so long?

Yeah, it's remarkable when I think about this instrument. It was built before electricity, before plumbing, before the car. It's pretty amazing when you think about what this bass has gone through and I wish I could travel back in time and meet the person who made it. If something is made well and you take care of it, it'll last. It's already this old so it can certainly outlast me.

The bass really feels like the centerpiece of this album. Do you usually always pick songs that feature the bass well?

It really depends on the music that I'm recording. When I do real acoustic jazz records like this, the acoustic bass really is the center of the music and for me it is anyway because it's the instrument that I play but it becomes the feature just because I'm a bass player making records. It's nice for me, to be able to feature the bass as a lead instrument is really cool. I think that people are more open to bass players being leaders, but if you think about it, the bass is the center and the core of all modern music. It's nice to be able to put it up front and let people know that you can have a voice on this instrument. It's a beautiful instrument.

What is your approach to a record like ‘Wood II'?

It's pretty loose; the whole point of jazz for me is the spontaneity of it. The thing about jazz is that it is completely free-spirited improvisation with a structure. For an album like this, I like to underarrange vs. overarrange, that's what I love so much. If it's more of the commercial smooth jazz, then it's much more arranged and orchestrated.

Is that because smooth jazz needs to be more accessible in that you have listeners who aren't traditional jazz fans?

Absolutely. The thing about smooth jazz is that it was given that name. There really is no smooth jazz, it's just a radio format, a different terminology to sell and package the music, and I understand that's what the music industry has to do. Some people who listen to smooth jazz listen to it at work and they have no idea what they are listening to and for them it's background music. They have never heard John Coltrane. Most of what they hear is instrumental pop music, which is fine, I love it. I make those records because I love the music. I think the cool thing about it is that if you can reach some of those people then they might actually be open to learning and listening to jazz that is more traditional and straight ahead and more open to listening to some of the masters. I think it's a great way of getting people who aren't into jazz, into jazz.

How would you describe your CD release parties?

I don't know how much of a party it will be but we just thought it would be fun to do just because we get a chance to play and we don't get a chance to play that much. Randy is just an unbelievable pianist and Vinnie is the most in-demand drummer in the world today. So for us it was just more, what the hell, let's just have some fun, the record's coming out. It's not really going to be anything major other than the three of us getting together but they are so good at what they do. It will certainly be a night of virtuosity, let's put it that way.

The song ‘Shining Star,' seems to have a few overdubs on it. How much did you think about how you wanted this song to turn out?

What I've always tried to do for solo pieces is pick songs that a lot of people know. I always try to find a balance between real traditional jazz songs and yet pop music songs that everyone knows. Earth, Wind and Fire is one of my favorite bands, and that's a group to me that had huge pop success but it was still about the music. The songs were great. With “Shining Star” there was no way I could do it solo the way I wanted to. I could not physically play everything that I heard and wanted to play in one shot so it ended up becoming a trio of me to play all the different parts I wanted to play. I have no idea how I'm going to play it live but it was just one of those things that was really fun to do.