Brian Bromberg (born December 5, 1960) is an American jazz bassist and record producer who performs on electric and acoustic instruments.

Biography

Bromberg was born on December 5, 1960, in Tucson, Arizona. His father and brother both played drums, which influenced him to take up the instrument, and at the age of 13 he began seriously pursuing a career as a drummer. Around this time, the leader of his school orchestra steered him towards the upright bass. From then on, he committed himself to a strict practice regimen and "tested out of high school early" because of the rigorous schedule he set for himself. He often played "five to seven nights a week with several different bands."--> in the music business, and become a producer for artists in his genre.

In March 2011, Bromberg partnered with Carvin Guitars to produce a signature model electric bass. The B24 and B25 were based on his own design, which had previously been manufactured by Peavey and Dean. In 2014, Carvin rebranded to Kiesel for most new instruments, and the Brian Bromberg model followed suit in 2015.

Releases as a solo artist

Bromberg's early albums were in the smooth jazz genre and his first two, New Day 1986) and Basses Loaded (1988), caught the attention of smooth jazz radio. His third album, Magic Rain (1989) "became the most played album on smooth jazz radio during the first week of its release". Bromberg's fourth record, BASSically Speaking, consisted of his oldest material re-mastered with new additions, and reached the top 5 on the radio charts and No. 7 on the Billboard sales charts. 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. In 2003, Bromberg made a record titled Jaco, in which he performed Jaco Pastorius songs. Two Years later (in 2005) he released Metal with drummer Joel Taylor.

Bromberg uses a piccolo bass on some of his recordings for melody lines instead of six-string guitars. This unusual instrumentation, tuned an octave higher than usual, is explained in the liner notes. "There are no guitar melodies or solos on this recording. All guitar-sounding parts are played on piccolo bass".

Bromberg has produced eight top-ten hits, seven top-five hits, and two number-one hits. He plays a 300-year-old double bass and also uses Dean, Bob Mick, Knooren Handcrafted Instruments, Mick Donner and Peavey basses with Epifani amplification. He owns a signature edition Carvin bass.

! style="width:50px;"|US<br />Con.<br />Jazz<br />

! style="width:50px;"|US<br />Trad<br />Jazz<br />

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| 1986

| align="left"| A New Day

| —

| —

| —

| BlackHawk

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| 1988

| align="left"| Basses Loaded

| —

| —

| —

| rowspan="2"| Intima

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| 1989

| align="left"| Magic Rain

| —

| —

| —

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| 1990

| align="left"| BASSically Speaking

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| 7

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| rowspan="3"| Nova

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| 1991

| align="left"| It's About Time: The Acoustic Project

| —

| —

| —

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| 1993

| align="left"| Brian Bromberg

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| —

| —

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| 1997

| align="left"| You Know That Feeling

| 40

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| Zebra

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| rowspan="2"| 2002

| align="left"| Wood

| 45

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| 15

| rowspan="3"| A440

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| align="left"| Jaco

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| —

| —

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| 2003

| align="left"| Choices

| 30

| —

| 13

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| rowspan="3"| 2004

| align="left"| Brombo! – –

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| —

| —

| rowspan="3"| Seven Seas

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| align="left"| Bass Freak Out –

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| —

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| align="left"| Brombo II!! – –

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| —

| —

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| 2005

| align="left"| Metal

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| —

| —

| rowspan="3"| Artistry

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| 2006

| align="left"| Wood II

| 47

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| 19

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| 2007

| align="left"| Downright Upright

| 22

| —

| 14

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| rowspan="2"| 2009

| align="left"| Hands –

| —

| —

| —

| Seven Seas

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| align="left"| It Is What It Is

| 19

| 7

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| rowspan="5"| Artistry

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| rowspan="3"| 2012

| align="left"| Compared to That

| 19

| 9

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| align="left"| Bromberg Plays Hendrix

| 17

| 9

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| align="left"| In the Spirit of Jobim

| 37

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| 17

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| 2016

| align="left"| Full Circle

| 21

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| —

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| 2017

| align="left"| Brombo III!!! – –

| —

| —

| —

| Seven Seas

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| 2018

| align="left"| Thicker Than Water

| 9

| 6

| —

| rowspan="5"| Artistry

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| rowspan="2"| 2020

| align="left"| Celebrate Me Home: The Holiday Sessions

| —

| —

| —

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| align="left"| Bromberg Plays Hendrix –

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| —

| —

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| 2021

| align="left"| A Little Driving Music

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| —

| —

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| 2023

| align="left"| The Magic of Moonlight

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| —

| —

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| rowspan="2"| 2024

| align="left"| LaFaro –

| —

| —

| —

| Seven Seas

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| align="left"| Seriously –

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| —

| —

| Shanachie

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| colspan="6" style="font-size:90%" |"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.

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|}

Singles

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center";

|-

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Title

! colspan="1"| Peak chart positions

! rowspan="2"| Album

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

! style="width:50px;"| Smooth Jazz<br />Airplay<br />

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| 2007

| align="left"| "Cantaloupe Island"

| 3

| Downright Upright

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| 2009

| align="left"| "The Anticipation"

| 16

| rowspan="3"| It Is What It Is

|-

| rowspan="2"| 2010

| align="left"| "Mr. Miller"

| 13

|-

| align="left"| "Saul Goode"

| 13

|-

| 2012

| align="left"| "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?"

| 5

| rowspan="2"| Compared to That

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| rowspan="2"| 2013

| align="left"| "Compared to That"

| 20

|-

| align="left"| "Ellen"

| 9

| In the Spirit of Jobim

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| 2016

| align="left"| "Havana Nights (aka Havana Nagila)"

| 26

| Full Circle

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| 2018

| align="left"| "Coupe De Ville"

| 1

| rowspan="3"| Thicker Than Water

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| rowspan="2"| 2019

| align="left"| "Thicker Than Water"

| 10

|-

| align="left"| "Minneapolis, 1987"

| 14

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| 2020

| align="left"| "The Wind Cries Mary"

| 27

| Bromberg Plays Hendrix <br />

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| 2023

| align="left"| "Nico's Groove"

| 26

| The Magic of Moonlight

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| 2024

| align="left"| "Seriously?" <br />

| 15

| rowspan="2"| Seriously

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| 2025

| align="left"| "Eastside Party" <br />

| 15

|-

|}

References

  • Official website