The human personification of the word “eclectic”, Bob Brozman is unrivaled in the diversity of his musical interests and cross-cultural mastery. A musicologist & historian, musical adventurer and explorer, internationalist, slide-guitar virtuoso, and then some, Brozman does all that, and he does it well– really well. Indeed, this guy is a giant.
When National Guitar reformed in the early 1990’s I spoke to one of the owners, McGregor. He told me then, “if one guy in the whole world exemplifies the National Guitar today, it is Bob Brozman”. That’s a hefty accolade, considering that there were a few National players around. They are still around, but Brozman can teach them all a thing or two. When it comes to the slide guitar, be it lapsteel or bottleneck- be it the history of the National guitar, the mastery of diverse styles: Hawaiian kiki-kila, Hula blues, Indian, American blues, etc., nobody can touch him. Nobody knows more tunings, more styles and more techniques than Bob Brozman. He is truly a remarkable musician and musicologist, a true cultural treasure, a walking encyclopedia of the steel guitar. It does not matter which way he holds the guitar, he is a sorcerer and a supreme master.
So why is he listed in an acoustic blues forum?He is at once completely traditional, yet he managed to progress, morph and evolve. It’s a brilliant and wonderfully original thing.