Who is Bob Brozman

A single player overdubbing himself on several instruments can be a dangerous proposition. But nobody is better prepared for this sort of adventure than American-born guitar virtuoso Bob Brozman. While an ardent and respectful student of various world music traditions, many of which were previously explored during his many international duet recordings, he nonetheless wields an indomitable voice of his own. It is this quality that renders so many of his recordings unclassifiable, as if music of such consistent interest actually required pigeonholing. For this outing, as the hilariously apt cover shot indicates, Brozman, along with a couple of longtime collaborators, has become a multitude. But the result is unexpectedly spacious and relaxed; the various instruments interact but never crowd or overwhelm one another. The 12 tracks are informed by a contagious sense of wonder and deep enjoyment, plus broad swaths of humor both silly and sly. The tunes travel between ports of call like Reunion, Trinidad, Okinawa, Mali, and Hawaii without any jarring transitions. Despite the decidedly modern, shrinking globe frame-of-reference -- only Brozman would employ a Finnish kantele harp during a tango -- many of the tunes have a retro feel. At times, it's like wandering into an antique store and suddenly finding oneself transfixed by a 78-RPM recording of unknown provenance. --Christina Roden

Lumiere is the culmination of guitar virtuoso Bob Brozman's musical memories formed over a lifetime of travelling and playing music with others. His years of absorbing influences from cultures worldwide is expressed through the establishment of the Bob Brozman Orchestra - a unique concept where Bob intricately plays each instrumental part, building layer upon layer to formulate the tremendous sound of an extensive orchestra. He revisits the influences drawn from previous collaborations with artists such as Debashish Bhattacharya, Rene Lacaille, Djeli Moussa Diawara and Takashi Hirayasu to reflect on the profound imprint travel has had on his life.

While American bluesman would probably like to believe otherwise, the slide guitar has been developed in many cultures. The earliest reports of Hawaiian slide guitar come from 1876, while Indian culture can trace the use of a slide instrument upon strings back to the 11th century. American guitarist Bob Brozman has explored Hawaiian slide deeply and jammed his way around the world, delving into different cultures and finding common musical threads. Here he is joined by India's Debashish Bhattacharya on Hindustani slide guitar, his brother Subhashis on tabla and an array of percussion, and sister Sutapa on vocals. Ranging from the more classical Indian music "Maa" to the riff-heavy "Tagore Street Blues" to the positively rockin' "Bana Mali," the guitarists duel with an open approach that blurs all lines of division, while Sutapa and Subhashis stick closer to the Indian traditions. Like a Bollywood flick about a back-country blues guitarist, Mahima is ragas and 16-bar blues, simultaneously alien and somehow not so far from the American folk form. --Tad Hendrickson

The distinctive sound of the slide guitar is an intrinsic feature in blues, Hawaiian and Indian music. On Mahima, these traditions meet in the capable hands of two of the world's greatest slide guitarists, Debashish Bhattacharya and Bob Brozman. In the process, the two have created a true hybrid, a spectacular union of guitarists on a unique album, which also showcases the vocal talents of Sutapa Bhattacharya and tabla master Subhashis Bhattacharya.

I ran Kicking Mule when Bob Brozman recorded an lp for us. I thought then what I think now. He is the greatest acoustic blues guitarist living, and one of the all time greats. Unfortunately he did not record Truckload for us. I believe he did it for Sky Ranch, a French company and later Rounder released it in the US but I'm not sure. I wish I had released it because this CD all by itself would justify my quarter century in the music business.

I'm a lawyer now and sold the record company over 10 years ago, but I still do a radio show and I play tracks from this CD from time to time.. I recommend to you the "Backwards Blues". It is not only a great parody, it is a great piece of music. "You Set the Market" stands out, too. Listen to tracks from this CD if you've never heard of Bob Brozman. If you like the blues, you'll like his music. -- ED Denson (Alderpoint, Ca USA)

Before Bob Brozman, ethnomusicology seemed to be left to guys who traveled around with tape recorders. Brozman takes that idea one step further by unapologetically inserting himself inside the music at hand, and in the past its made for eclectic and ear-opening listening when he's traveled through Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, Africa or Japan. Rather than focusing on a single influence, here Brozman makes a variety of connections by reflexively tying them to the blues using several models of National steel guitar (his axe of choice) as well as seven-string and Kona Rocket Hawaiian guitars, the Turkish baglama and even percussion. He's joined by a drummer on three of the 13 songs, but mostly he overdubs himself to fine effect or goes it alone with solo performances on a mix of traditionals, tunes by Charley Patton and Skip James and his own bluesy originals. This is one his fans will surely love, but the variety means it's not a bad place for the curious to start. -- Tad Hendrickson

Ok, Ok, so we all know the Mississippi delta shines like a National guitar, and so does the cover of Dire Strait's poly-platinum "Brothers in Arms", but if you want to know what one *really* sounds like, here is the place - with the greatest respect to Messrs. Simon and Knopfler - you need to start.

Bob Brozman is, from what I can tell, a criminally under-purchased music recording artist: he must be, since he has sold fewer records than guitar legends such as Stevie Ray Vaughan and BB King, in whose company his name is surely entitled to be dropped.

This record comprises a lot of quirky Ragtime and Hawaiian cuts - it's not quite as bluesy as I expected - which all sound fun, until Bob rips into Robert Johnson's monumental Stones In My Pathway, at a pace jaunty enough to sound almost uplifting (not a quality usually associated with Johnson's remarkable oeuvre), when suddenly any doubt you may have been entertaining as to whether you are indeed in the hands of a master instrumentalist are immediately dispelled.

Thereafter, prepare for your eyebrows to spend more time than they usually do communing with your hairline. It shouldn't be possible for a man do do such things with an acoustic instrument. And if it's possible, it sure shouldn't be legal. - O. Buxton "Olly Buxton" (Highgate, UK)