WDCB CD Review: Bobby Broom's 'The Way I Play: Live in Chicago'
In his third release for Seattle-based Origin Records, Bobby Broom and his trio attack eight standards. In between touring the world with Sonny Rollins, and his multiple recording projects, it's nice that Bobby has maintained his Chicago steady on Wednesdays at Pete Miller's in Evanston (as well as Tuesdays at the Green Mill with his Deep Blue Organ Trio).
Personnel: Bobby Broom -- guitars Dennis Carroll -- bass Kobie Watkins -- drums
Bobby Broom's latest disc on Origin Records is simply titled 'The Way I Play'. And, really, after a couple of listens, I have to say, it's one of the most appropos titles that I've ever seen.. Bobby's fluidity and excellent note choice are on constant display through nearly seventy minutes of music. This is an album that is well worth your time and money.
The first thing you'll notice, if you've followed Broom's career, is his song choice. Whether he's playing with the Deep Blue Organ Trio or on his own, the song choices he's made or had a part in making have always steered towards classic funk and classic pop tunes. Of course, there's almost always some great jazz tunes and originals in the mix, too, but the songs always seem to lean towards mainstream familiarity. Which is hardly a bad thing. But, the need to arrange those pop tunes will take away somewhat from the ability of the artist to just kick back and shred.
Well, that's hardly a problem here. On 'The Way I Play', Broom rips through eight standards, ranging from old school classics like "Fly Me To The Moon" to McCoy Tyner's "Inception". Everything here is firmly within the jazz realm, and everything here is completely straight forward, with no tricky arrangements to be found anywhere. And unlike in the Deep Blue Organ Trio - where he has someone else sharing the front line with him - here Broom plays in a more energetic and engaged fashion than you'll find him elsewhere. Of course, I am certain that playing at a club that he'd been at for ten years when this was recorded helped immensely as well. This band is obviously so comfortable in their collective skin that it's impossible to find anything less than an impeccably placed note anywhere on this disc. It's slightly annoying to hear the occasional table chit-chat or burst of laughter come out of nowhere, but that's part of the deal with live recordings, and the music certainly doesn't suffer one bit.
What makes this disc so charming, though, are the little touches and flourishes and tempos that these tunes are taken at. Every song on here has something that sets it apart and lets you know that you're listening to a fantastic group that thinks about its song choices and does something interesting with them, which is ever so important when working with a program of standards that have been done so many times. "Strike Up the Band" is taken at far more relaxed tempo than I'm accustomed to. The guitar/drum duel that gets Donna Lee going is striking. "Fly Me to the Moon" starts at a much slower tempo than anyone is used to, and it's a nice touch. "Airegin" is given a neat recasting thanks to Dennis Carroll's hip bass groove that gives Broom and Watkins a lot of room to play around. "Body and Soul" is played as a Bossa Nova, and that gives this well worn ballad some new life. "Surrey With the Fringe On Top" gets a really interesting reworking. Broom tinkers with the melody in a few ways that really give this one an edge. All in all, nothing is really new, but everything is completely fresh.
If you've enjoyed the Deep Blue Organ Trio, or if you've heard Bobby's other solo stuff, you will enjoy 'The Way I Play' as well. And if you're a fan of jazz guitar, or heck, jazz period, you really can't go wrong with this one.
