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| 4.221 Ft
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| 1. | Ask Me Now
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| 2. | Evidence
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| 3. | Ruby, My Dear
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| 4. | In Walked Bud
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| 5. | Lulu&
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| 6. | Reflections
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| 7. | Work
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| 8. | Rhythm-a-ning
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| 9. | Bemsha Swing
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| 10. | Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
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Jazz
Recorded January 23-25, 2009, Victorian Studios, Barrington, IL
Bobby Broom - guitar
Dennis Carroll - bass
Kobie Watkins - drums
Produced by Bobby Broom
Recorded and mixed by Josh Richter
Mastered by Allan Tucker at Foothill Digital, NYC
Photos by Mark Sheldon
Cover design by John Bishop
For his third Origin release, master guitarist Bobby Broom pays tribute to one of the most important voices in jazz with a set of Thelonious Monk compositions and several standards Monk recorded during his time on Riverside Records. He is joined by his long standing trio-mates, bassist Dennis Carroll and drummer Kobie Watkins, as he again puts his own very personal spin on the classic repertoire. "Bobby Broom Plays for Monk" will certainly stand as another milestone in Broom's rich catalog of critically acclaimed recordings.
"(Bobby Broom's) trio can be compared with Sonny Rollins' and the classic John Coltrane Quartet."
--- JazzTimes
Chicago-based guitarist Bobby Broom pays tribute to jazz icon Thelonious Monk on Plays For Monk, a fresh take on eight of the late pianist's compositions, along with a couple of standards associated with Monk's repertoire. Joining Broom for his third release on Seattle's Origin Records are his long time trio mates, bassist Dennis Carroll and drummer Kobie Watkins.
Broom does a tremendous job navigating Monk's music in a bare-bones guitar trio setting. His horn-like approach to soloing, relying heavily on single-note runs, gives the trio a stripped-down sound, recalling the piano-less trio recordings of saxophonist Sonny Rollins, whom Broom has been performing with for years. The open space allows for a rich dialogue, especially between Broom and Watkins. Watkins' intense swing on the up-tempo "Evidence" pushes the guitarist to inspired creativity. Broom incorporates lush chord-melody arrangements on Monk's classic ballads "Ask Me Now" and "Ruby, My Dear" and the jam session staple "Rhythm-a-ning."
Harry Warren's "Lulu's Back in Town" and Monk's "Bemsha Swing" swing with the kind of soulful vibe Broom is known for with his popular Chicago group the Deep Blue Organ Trio. "Bemsha Swing" features a rollicking bass solo by Carroll and a spirited back-and-forth between Broom and Watkins.
The disc closes with a solo guitar rendition of Jerome Kern's "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," a standard that Monk recorded as a solo piece. Broom's rendition is poignant and honest - much like the rest of the disc. Plays for Monk is a stunning addition to Broom's recorded output and speaks to the potential of the guitar trio in modern-day jazz.
---John Barron, All About Jazz
Monk lives! Perhaps it can be said that Thelonious Monk has had many lives. Ever since the unique pianist established his repertoire in the 1940s and '50s musicians have, probably beginning with saxophonist Steve Lacy, taken up the task of covering the now infamous music. With Plays for Monk, guitarist Bobby Broom delivers one of the finest Monk tributes to be released in quite some time.
Best known for his work with Sonny Rollins, the saxophonist asked Broom to join his band in the late '70s while Broom was still in high school. Broom respectfully declined, waiting until 1981. He played with Rollins for six years, rejoining him again in 2005, and can be heard on multiple recordings including Road Shows, Vol. 1 (Doxy, 2008).
Besides Rollins, Broom has toured with Hugh Masekela, Charles Earland, Kenny Burrell, Stanley Turrentine, Kenny Garrett, and Dr. John. His passion for jazz and blues has been realized in recordings for Criss Cross, Delmark and Origin Records - the latter on which he released Folk Music (2007) with his Deep Blue Organ Trio and The Way I Play, a live trio date with bassist Dennis Carroll and drummer Kobie Watkins in 2008.
The trio of Broom, Carroll and Watkins has been a applying its craft for some thirteen years at weekly gigs in Evanston, Illinois. Its teamwork is evident here, playing the sometimes tricky Monk repertoire. The trio passes over simpler tunes like "Straight, No Chaser" and "Well, You Needn't" for more difficult and rewarding tunes. Maneuvering through "Evidence," with its tricky changes at breakneck speed, the trio deserves kudos for its nimble balancing and call-and-response handling of the composition.
Elsewhere the knowing response to this music is an affirmative yes, as the ballads "Ask Me Now" and "Reflections" are treated with an understated, delicate and endorsable touch.
Monk can be complicated or perplexing to the unknowing, yet in the hands of this trio, the music is simply effortless, sounding as straightforward and organic as it did flowing from the iconic pianist.
Broom and his trio do add some new flavors here, playing "Rhythm-a-ning" with a wee bit of funk, but still retaining its heavy swing. The same hard drive is heard on "Work" and "Bemsha Swing," which picks up a New Orleans second line groove.
There are also two tracks not credited to Monk, but definitely associated with the great one. It's hard not to hear "Lulu's Back in Town" or "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" without thinking of Monk playing solo. Broom plays "Lulu" with the trio, but handles "Smoke" alone, crafting the simple melody both as a raconteur and a keeper of the Monk flame.
---Mark Corroto, All About Jazz
Bobby Broom
Active Decades: '80s, '90s and '00s
Born: Jan 18, 1961 in New York, NY [Harlem]
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Jazz-Funk, Soul-Jazz, Hard Bop
Credited as "an articulate and compelling soloist who has developed his own voice within the tradition of Montgomery, Burrell, etc.," jazz guitarist Bobby Broom was born on January 18, 1961, and raised in New York City. Introduced to jazz at early age (via Charles Earland's 1971 Black Talk), Broom took up the guitar shortly thereafter, resulting in playing in off-Broadway productions, gigs with Charlie Parker alumni pianists Al Haig and Walter Bishop, Jr., and an invitation to join Sonny Rollins' band (he had to turn down the latter, choosing to listen to his parents' advice and complete high school before pursuing music full-time). After attending the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, Broom returned to New York, where he worked with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, trumpeters Tom Browne and Hugh Masakela, and pianist Dave Grusin before issuing his first solo album, 1981's Clean Sweep.
In 1982, several years after his initial invitation from Sonny Rollins, Broom would rejoin him to work with the jazz legend for five years of touring and the recordings No Problem and Reel Life. In 1987, Broom worked with Kenny Burrell in his Jazz Guitar Band and recorded Generation live at the Village Vanguard for Blue Note Records. That same year he was also invited to join Miles Davis' band, which lasted for a handful of performances. Broom relocated to Chicago in 1984, where he would eventually form his own trio and co-lead the Deep Blue Organ Trio (with Chris Foreman and Greg Rockingham). It was also where he would come full circle in meeting and working with Charles Earland, another newly transplanted Chicago resident. Together they recorded Front Burner and Third Degree Burn. Just before his untimely death in 1999, Earland had planned to form a trio with Broom and drummer Rockingham. During the '90s Broom collaborated with Dr. John, touring and making recordings, including Duke Elegant, which he co-produced.
Over the years Broom also became active in jazz education, beginning in 1982 when he taught for Jackie McLean's jazz program at the University of Hartford. He completed graduate work in jazz pedagogy at Northwestern University in 2005, and teaches at DePaul University. Also in 2005, after 20 years, Broom resumed work with his old boss and mentor Sonny Rollins. Bobby Broom's notable recordings include No Hype Blues (1995), Waitin' and Waitin' (1997), Modern Man and Stand! (both 2001), and the Deep Blue Organ Trio's Deep Blue Bruise and Goin' to Town.
---Greg Prato & Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide |
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