With his 1971 self-titled Columbia Records release, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter David Bromberg emerged as a wunderkind of American music. The blend of traditional and original material, virtuosic musicianship and iconic cover art trumpeted the arrival of a new and audacious artist. With seven more albums and associations with Bob Dylan, Jerry Jeff Walker, George Harrison, the Grateful Dead and Bonnie Raitt, Bromberg’s reputation and following grew exponentially until the incessant demands of touring finally brought the recordings and shows to an end in the early 1980s.
The twenty-two-year drought ended in 2006 with the release of the Grammy-nominated Try Me One More Time. David followed up with Use Me, a typically unorthodox Brombergian effort, partnering him with Linda Ronstadt, Vince Gill, Los Lobos, Dr. John, Keb’ Mo, John Hiatt, Levon Helm and others as David asked them to either write or choose songs and then produce him performing them. Two more albums emerged from 2013 to 2017, Only Slightly Mad and The Blues the Whole Blues and Nothing But the Blues, both produced by 3 x Grammy winner Larry Campbell. Recorded at Levon Helm’s Barn, Only Slightly Mad brought the band back to David’s eclectic ‘kitchen sink’ musical philosophy, while The Whole Blues proved Texas fiddler Johnny Gimbel’s theory that: “There are only two songs – ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ and the blues.”
With David’s band settling into its current lineup, Mark Cosgrove (guitar, mandolin, vocals), Nate Grower (fiddle, mandolin, guitar, vocals), Josh Kanusky (drums, vocals) and newest member, Suavek Zaniesienko (bass, vocals), in 2019 they recorded Big Road, giving Bromberg fans the most intimate portrait of David and his band to date. With twelve new recordings, five hi-def performance videos and a mini-documentary detailing the album’s creation, the content-rich album was released on Compass/Red House Records in April 2020. COVID put an end to all live shows until fall 2021, but David and the band are back on the road like old times, kicking up dust on a stage near you.
