Alan Broadbent has long been appreciated as a fine pianist and arranger, talents he combines on this studio effort with bassist Brian Bromberg and drummer Kendall Kay, along with background color by the Tokyo Strings. "Autumn Variations" is a superb workout of the chord changes to the standard "Autumn Leaves." The pianist's lyrical setting of the longing ballad "Bess, Oh Where's My Bess" and the sparse treatment of "Last Night When We Were Young" are simply masterful. Broadbent's scoring of notable jazz compositions proves to be equally effective. He sets up a very deliberate tempo for the ballad "Lover Man," alternating the piano and the strings in the foreground as the rhythm section plays sparingly. But his best effort may be his lush arrangement of the modal masterpiece "Blue in Green."

World-renowned acoustic and electric bassist Brian Bromberg hasn’t released an album in the U.S. since 2012, a fact that might not have been cause for concern if you know that at one point he released three albums in one year. Every man deserves a break. However, once you realize that this chameleon with over 20 projects in his catalog recently had reason to believe that he might never play music again, you understand the gravity of his latest acoustic jazz project, Full Circle - one he says may well be “the most important record of my career.” Like all of his work, Bromberg’s latest features a stellar cast that includes trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, saxophonists Bob Sheppard, Kirk Whalum and Doug Webb, pianists Randy Waldman,Mitch Forman and Otmaro Ruiz, and percussionist Alex Acuña. The project also finds ‘the man that refuses to sit still’ mixing styles from New Orleans funk and a legit jazz cover of Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop `Til You Get Enough” to Cubop - with a sizzling relentless swing throughout.

One glance at the personnel, which includes such popular "smooth" players as tenors Kirk Whalum and Boney James, trumpeter Rick Braun, and pianists George Duke and Jeff Lorber, could easily lead one to believe that this CD is filled with vacuous and mildly soulful background music. Actually, the playing on Downright Upright is a surprise, for most of the selections are reasonably creative renditions of soul-jazz.

World-renowned bassist and producer Brian Bromberg finds inspiration during the pandemic with a funk driven new album that conjures the spirit of the open road. Bromberg's latest offering A Little Driving Music features an all-star socially distanced lineup of musicians including Dave Koz, Marion Meadows, Everette Harp, Elan Trotman, Gary Meek and Nick Colionne. A Little Driving Music is Bromberg's third album created in quarantine, features a dozen brand-new Bromberg compositions as well as a surprising 80s cover song, the joyful Katrina and the Waves hit "Walking on Sunshine." The freedom of the open road on A Little Driving Music shrugs off the prevailing mood of COVID-era claustrophobia and political strife for fun, funky paean to cruising with the top down and leaving your troubles behind.

The versatile Brian Bromberg plays fretted bass, piccolo bass and a piccolo bass guitar synthesizer on this electric set. Heading a septet that also includes Ernie Watts on tenor and soprano and the rhythm guitar of Russ Freeman, Bromberg performs seven originals and an obscurity. The music is generally funky and touched by R&B, but it has its creative moments and certainly shows off Bromberg's impressive technique.