When it comes to bassists, Brian Bromberg sometimes gets unfairly pegged into the “smooth jazz” category. His catalogue, however, betrays that limitation, as his recent albums have been all over the musical map. He did a power duo with Vinnie Colaiuta for a wild Hendrix tribute, a Jobim songbook and a hard hitting bopper in Full Circle a couple of years ago, all showing impressive chops and taste.
This time around Bromberg whips out eight different basses in a soulful R&B setting that is hard to keep the feet still with. In possibly his last recording, George Duke contributes some funky piano along with snapping horns to Bromberg’s trio of basses on “Uh-Huh” while some funky hip shaking takes place with Everette Harp on the tenor during “Is That The Best You Can Do?”. Bromberg delivers stylish chops on his intro to “Coup De Ville” and his upright kicks into a sweet and emotional “It’s Called Life (For Mom.” Vintage R&B takes down the disc ball on “Minneapolis, 1987” and some horns and strings from The Rising Sun Orchestra bring in dramatic effects on “Trials and Tribulations.” Rich romance on “Your Eyes” is pulsated along during “Your Eyes” by percussion from Leeny Castro and Alex Acuna, and dashes of Weather Report supplied by Mark Hollingsworth’s bamboo flutes and Bromberg’s bass work create an exotic “Land of the Rising Sun.” Soulful struts!