Bobby Broom
August 2001

Modern Man
Delmark
2001

Reviewed By
Derek Taylor

No longer a "young lion", the sixteen year old protégé of the late seventies has become a full fledged artist. No longer standing at Sonny Rollins side, having learned so much from so many, somehow remaining himself. Never having sat on his laurels, developing and exploring new facets of sound - his passion. Most of us knowing where he comes from and where he is going, how many of us know where he has been?

Born and raised in New York City, Bobby was first introduced to jazz at the age of eleven when his father brought home Charles Earland's record "Black Talk" and became immediately attached to it. Over the next few years, he would split his time between perfecting his craft and listening to every album he could lay his hands on. All this lends itself to the reason why at the age of sixteen, he was first approached by Sonny Rollins to tour with his band. However, Bobby was still in high school and his parents, knowing the difficulties of the "jazz life", felt it best for him to graduate. Sonny left saying that he would call again when he returned to New York. A man of his word, Sonny did call just before Bobby's seventeenth birthday - asking Bobby to perform with he and Donald Byrd at Carnegie Hall.

After attending the Berklee College of Music in 1979, Bobby returned to New York City and soon became one of the "young lions" of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers of 1980. He and Wynton Marsalis began sitting in with Blakey's band during one of their extended engagements at a New York club. After serious consideration, Bobby made the decision to leave the Blakey band to tour and record with jazz-funk trumpeter, Tom Browne. He soon found himself touring in Japan and recording with Dave Grusin, co-founder of GRP Records. Bobby's relationship with Grusin yielded him a two album contract with GRP.

At the beginning of 1982, Bobby received another call from Sonny Rollins. He immediately returned to work with his mentor. After touring for four years and recording two albums with Sonny, he was recommended to Miles Davis as an addition to the band. A tape was made and mailed. Miles asked Bobby to join him in New York. After playing a few nights, he began to realize that although it was a great honor to be requested to perform with Miles, the style was not artistically his. A scheduling conflict occurred between working with Miles and joining Kenny Burrell as a featured member of the "Jazz Guitar Band", which was scheduled before joining Miles. Bobby spoke with Miles about the situation and felt it would be best to provide him with a replacement. He waited for what he thought the inevitable reaction from Miles would be, but it never came - possibly his way of approving with Bobby's solution. So in late 1987, Bobby joined the "Jazz Guitar Band". The group toured and released two live recordings of performances at the Village Vanguard for Blue Note Records. Burrell said of the first recording, "Bobby Broom is one of the most innovative guitarists I've heard in recent times."

Shortly after, Bobby left New York to reflect on all he had learned. Over the past years, he has honed his talents and incorporated all his knowledge from recording with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Earland, Ronnie Cuber, and from performing with Jazz greats Miles Davis, Max Roach, Jimmy Smith, Courtney Pine and Kenny Garrett into an artistic voice that is recognizably his own. During this work, Bobby was offered the opportunity to tour and record with Dr. John, which he jumped at. Although Dr. John was no where near stylistically the type of music that Bobby was composing, he felt that it would give him the chance to broaden his artistic vision. Most recently, Bobby appeared on Dr. John's "Duke Elegant" for Blue Note Records, in which he not only performed but also assisted in the production of the album.

Bobby has since formed the Bobby Broom Trio with Dana Hall - drums and Dennis Carroll - bass. The trio, in its current form, has been developing their sound for the past three years. It has proved to be the perfect outlet for Bobby to display not only his craftsmanship, but also his love of music. This is clearly evident in the recent album the group recorded, which is due out Fall 2001. As another channel for his artistic ability, Bobby has also recently recorded "Modern Man" with Dr. Lonnie Smith, Ronnie Cuber and Idris Muhammad, which is due out August 2001 on Delmark Records.

Past and present have collided into one. Leaving an abundance of art that Bobby Broom has created to be adventured upon over and over again. The path extends both behind him and trails off into the future. The young lion has grown his mane…leaving the responsibility to you, with so much Bobby Broom to explore.