The BIG ROAD of David Bromberg
With his 1971 self-titled Columbia Records release, David Bromberg emerged as the wunderkind of American roots music. The disc’s compelling blend of traditional and original material, virtuosic musicianship and iconic cover art trumpeted the arrival of a new artist possessed of audacious and uncompromising vision. Over the course of four albums for Columbia and five for Fantasy Records, and through associations with artists like Bob Dylan, Jerry Jeff Walker, John Hartford, George Harrison, the Grateful Dead, Emmylou Harris and Bonnie Raitt, Bromberg’s reputation, repertoire and following grew exponentially. However, the incessant demands of touring finally brought the band’s recordings and shows to an end in the early 1980’s.
The twenty-two year drought ended in 2006 with the release of the Grammy-nominated solo effort Try Me One More Time. Gradually tour dates were added and bandmembers assembled as David, in 2011, followed up Try Me with Use Me, a typically unorthodox Brombergian effort, partnering him with some of the most celebrated names in music – Linda Ronstadt, Vince Gill, Los Lobos, Dr John, Keb’ Mo, John Hiatt, Levon Helm and others – whom David asked to either write or choose songs and then produce him doing 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 three-time 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 with The Whole Blues, David upheld Texas fiddler Johnny Gimbel’s claim that: “There are only two songs – the Star-Spangled Banner and the Blues.” The band skipped over the ‘Banner’ and headed straight for the blues, winning the 2017 Downbeat Critic’s Poll for Best Blues Album.
Eventually David’s band settled into its current lineup of Mark Cosgrove (guitar, mandolin, vocals), Nate Grower (fiddle, mandolin, guitar, vocals), Josh Kanusky (drums, vocals) and newest member, Suavek Zaniesienko (bass, vocals). This nucleus has performed hundreds of shows together, traversing thousands of miles, across the US & Canada to Europe, Japan and Australia. With the group having attained a high level of musical telepathy, they entered the studio in mid 2019 for a slightly different approach to record making….
The new album, Big Road, will give Bromberg fans the most intimate portrait to date of David and the band, musically and visually. Featuring twelve new tracks, five hi def performance videos and a mini documentary detailing the album’s creation, it will be released in three formats: traditional CD, a gatefold vinyl album and a CD/DVD combo pack. In an age where recorded music has been devalued and relegated to a digital stream for smart phones, Big Road returns the listener to the golden age of record making, when enjoying an album was a tactile, visual and auditory experience. Joining David’s core band are keyboardist extraordinaire Dan Walker on piano, organ and accordion, a stellar horn section of Bromberg regulars like Birch Johnson (trombone), Jon-Erik Kellso (trumpet), Matt Koza (tenor sax) and Bob Stewart (tuba) with Larry Campbell on mandolin and pedal steel.
We think you’ll agree that traveling the David Bromberg Band’s Big Road is a trip work taking.
