Brian Bromberg

Brian Bromberg (born December 5, 1960) is an American jazz bassist and record producer. Bromberg plays and performs on both the double bass and on a variety of electric basses.

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." 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.

1986

— — — BlackHawk 1988

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1989

— — — 1990

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1991

— — — 1993

— — — 1997

40 — — Zebra

45 — 15

— — — 2003

30 — 13

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— — — 2005

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2006

47 — 19 2007

22 — 14

— — — Seven Seas

19 7 —

19 9 —

17 9 —

37 — 17 2016

21 — — 2017

— — — Seven Seas 2018

9 6 —

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— — — 2021

— — — 2023

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— — — Seven Seas

— — — Shanachie

Singles Year Title Peak chart positions Album Smooth JazzAirplay 2007 "Cantaloupe Island" 3 Downright Upright 2009 "The Anticipation" 16 It Is What It Is 2010 "Mr. Miller" 13 "Saul Goode" 13 2012 "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" 5 Compared to That 2013 "Compared to That" 20 "Ellen" 9 In the Spirit of Jobim 2016 "Havana Nights (aka Havana Nagila)" 26 Full Circle 2018 "Coupe De Ville" 1 Thicker Than Water 2019 "Thicker Than Water" 10 "Minneapolis, 1987" 14 2020 "The Wind Cries Mary" 27 Bromberg Plays Hendrix 2023 "Nico's Groove" 26 The Magic of Moonlight 2024 "Seriously?" 15 Seriously 2025 "Eastside Party" 15