image note       view larger image

Clean Sweep/Livin For The Beat

Temporarily Out Of Stock

Two killers from Chicago guitarist Bobby Broom – both recorded near the start of his career! First up is Clean Sweep, killer set from a player who should have been huge – ultra-sweet guitarist Bobby Broom, a player we'd vote to become the next big heir to the sound of Wes Montgomery or George Benson! This debut set is a wicked mix of jazz and soul – recorded right at the best stretch of the early GRP label, with a similar blend and sense of depth as the label's initial albums by Don Blackman and Bernard Wright! The core groove focuses strongly on Broom's guitar, but there's also some great vocal numbers too – and it turns out that Bobby's a surprisingly good singer, too – with a nicely honest vocal approach that works great alongside his guitar. Arrangements are by Broom, Dave Grusin, and Marcus Miller – and titles include "No Bad Vibes", "Saturday Night", "Niqui", "Share My Love", "She's My Reason", and "Remember When". Next up is Livin For The Beat is the second LP by this oft-overlooked, but excellent Chicago soul jazz guitarist – and a record that's quite different than his first! Like the second album by Bernard Wright, fellow labelmate at GRP/Arista, Broom's moving into a mode that's more electro/"street" for this second album – which means that there's a lot of keyboards and electronic percussion on the set, giving some tracks a proto-breaking kind of sound – more of a street-level sound than the smoother jazz mode of the first set – which makes for a really surprising change, and helps keep the record away from mainstream fusion cliches of the time. The best cuts, though, are in a smooth 80s groove mode – and Broom shows that he's strong on the vocal tip as well as the guitar. Titles include "Let It Go", "Let's Stay Together", "Rubye", "He Said I Love You", "Beat Freak", "Give Me Your Love", and "Magic Johnson".  © 1996-2013, Dusty Groove, Inc.