Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: GUEST,highlandman at work
Date: 08 May 13 - 05:05 PM

It IS listed on the main page, for now, right at the top of the "below the line" section. If you see it go off the page, you can take the initiative to bump it if you like. That's how it has always worked here.

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: GUEST,Duck Baker
Date: 08 May 13 - 02:28 PM

Just a quick visit to thank SRS for what must have been a thankless task, dealing with the anger and confusion when the threads were split. Including a strongly worded complaint from myself.

I am not taking a side about whether the splitting was the right decision; as far as I'm concerned that is not for me to say. I'm only expressing appreciation for the thankless work you've done here.

DB

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: GUEST,Eric Cole
Date: 07 May 13 - 10:26 PM

I have many fond memories of Bob. He could be high strung. But he also got the Baritone National off the ground.

His recordings are a substantial body of work and that body will be with us forever.

-- Eric

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 May 13 - 08:34 PM

That is here. The gory details are linked.

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: Peter K (Fionn)
Date: 06 May 13 - 07:15 PM

Musicologists and other serious researchers might actually appreciate discovering that the explanation about Brozman killing himself because he couldn't play anymore was a lie, or at least a fig leaf.

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 May 13 - 11:58 AM

Okay. I did it. Last night I read the Gene-Adelphi post and realized he and others were not going to let a music obit stay a music obit, they are going to dig and post whatever they could find. So I split the remarks - now he and others can speculate and post in the other thread.

In the more distant future, scholars wanting to research the music of Bob Brozman may find the obit thread and the links people posted to interviews and music, and they will find reminiscences of people musically influenced by him.

Keep in mind: for the relatively low number of people who post here, there are a lot more who visit for doing research who never post. It's my thought that if they want to know about his music, they can find it here, and if they want to know about his private life and the allegations that are turning up, they can follow the ample number of links posted now to the other thread.

Personally, I could leave it all in one place, like the Jimmy Savile thread from the last couple of years. But the arguing was a mess, and mudcat is about music. In my reading I got the impression that more people wanted the discussions separate, not lumped together, there was quite an outcry when the Savile obit thread name was changed. So I took the opportunity to split it into two threads early in the discussion. It isn't easy to move a whole bunch of posts later on, much easier to do it now. You can't make everyone happy all of the time, but now you know my reasoning for making the move.

SRS

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: GUEST,Duck Baker
Date: 06 May 13 - 09:44 AM

Sorry I was confused about the comments having been moved.

Duck Baker

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: GUEST,gillymor
Date: 06 May 13 - 07:28 AM

Moving posts containing allegations of Brozman's behavior to another thread may be a good idea but continuing to post anything to this thread that may serve as a tribute to or a fond rememberance of Brozman's career until more information is revealed is in poor taste and not and very sensitive to the feelings of those who might be affected by that behavior, IMO.

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: Little Robyn
Date: 06 May 13 - 07:07 AM

Click here for the other thread below.
Robyn

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: Peter K (Fionn)
Date: 06 May 13 - 07:03 AM

Apart from SRS, who said obits must always be nice? Moderating can improve a forum but requires people of sound judgement. Too many times at Mudcat they get it wrong, misjudge a mood, etc. In this case one of them, at least, has brought about one of Mudcat's shabbiest moments.

For comments airbrushed from this thread as being too disrespectful for inclusion under and "obit" prefix, go HERE. And incidentally, mods, why the "BS" prefix for discussion of someone who was so deeply entrenched in Mudcat core territory? (Look at the Mudcat logo.)

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: GUEST
Date: 06 May 13 - 06:58 AM

The posts that were removed from this thread have at least been preserved on the newly created thread: thread.cfm?threadid=150697

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: GUEST,Eddie1 (sans cookie)
Date: 06 May 13 - 05:37 AM

There is now a separate thread for the "non-obit" contributions to the thread. Makes sense, those who would rather not know, don't need to read it. As I've said in the other thread though, a comment to that effect would have been useful

Eddie

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: GUEST,Niggardly Bastard
Date: 06 May 13 - 05:33 AM

I learned alot from Bob's DVDs. I had alot of respect for his ability.
Apparently Bob was a sick, damaged person.
To edit out the the posts is to cover for him.
Completely inappropriate on the moderator's part.

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: GUEST
Date: 06 May 13 - 01:22 AM

Interesting that someone took down all the posts about the alleagtions that Bob killed himself because he was about to be exposed as a child molester. The truth will come out. There was a monster inside of Bob Brozman and many children paid the price for that.

All of the legal discussion of Brozman's life and acts was moved to a dedicated thread for the discussion. It's on my head, I made the choice. It seems to me that a lot of mudcatters prefer obit threads to BE obit threads, and to allow for discussion and sharing of the music of the deceased person. Someone researching this man's work may not appreciate having to wade through the speculation and accusations of his messy private life. I moved all of the posts to a new thread - Bob Brozman legal issues (NOT obit). Nothing was deleted. --mudelf

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 May 13 - 12:41 AM

He has a lot of performances on YouTube, such as this interview on OC-TV (with French subtitles).

SRS

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 05 May 13 - 10:18 AM

Please show respect by allowing those affected to handle this in their own way. Please know the truth will be forthcoming.

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 May 13 - 05:33 PM

Here's a video of Bob Brozman playing at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuzfgagmrBk

I can't find anything to prove or disprove the allegations against him, but he certainly was quite a guitarist. May he rest in peace.

-Joe Offer-

---

Here's an obituary from the Santa Cruz Sentinel:

Music collaboration giant Bob Brozman dies at age 59
By WALLACE BAINE
Santa Cruz Sentinel
Posted:   04/25/2013 06:21:51 PM PDT

SANTA CRUZ -- Guitarist and ethnomusicologist Bob Brozman, one of the most internationally prominent musicians to come out of Santa Cruz County, died Tuesday at his home. He was 59.

Brozman had built a career as a guitarist and ethnomusicologist, moving from an early fascination with the delta blues of the South to a consuming passion for the traditional music of Hawaii. He was also one of the world's leading authorities on the National steel guitar.

THE EARLY YEARS

Brozman emerged in Santa Cruz in the 1970s as a street musician, playing a decidedly uncontemporary American roots style of music. Known for playing anything from obscure jazz tunes to Hawaiian chanties, often dressed in a white suit, Brozman was one of Santa Cruz's most familiar faces in clubs before launching a recording career that took him around the world.

In recent years, Brozman traveled extensively, performing in Europe, Asia, the Americas and the South Pacific. He often said that his work as a musician was a form of anthropology. His love for early jazz, blues and Hawaiian, as well as Caribbean, Okinawan and Afro-Latin forms, may have been seen as a form of eclecticism, but, he said, each musical tradition was linked.

"I play music that is the accidental result of colonial exploitation," he once said in an interview.

Brozman discovered the National steel guitar at the age of 13. It was, he said, a turning point in his life.

"At the very beginning," said his longtime friend, collaborator and producer Daniel Thomas, "Bob was fascinated with the bottle-neck. He told me once that to find a style, you have to find all the things you don't like. He didn't like things plugged in. So that led him to the acoustic guitar. But he didn't think it was loud enough, so that led him to the lap steel, then the bottle-neck."

From there, Brozman developed an obsession with 78-rpm recordings of early American music, which led him to his first exposure to Hawaiian and Calypso. He studied ethnomusicology at Washington University in St. Louis, and, while in college, he would often travel throughout the South to play with and learn from jazz and blues musicians who started playing in the 1920s and '30s.

MIXED WITH CULTURE

Anthropological understanding was always a feature of Brozman's music. While he was popular in Europe early in his career for his rakish image, often interpreted by the media as part Leon Redbone, part Frank Zappa, he never pursued wide commercial success in the U.S. He was intent on documenting and eventually actively participating in all the ways the guitar interacted with local cultural traditions.

"He was always interested," said Thomas, "in what happens when a guitar is left behind in some culture or on some island with no instructions on how to use it, and how it adapts to what that culture feels is consonant. He told me, 'I just feel like I'm here to follow the guitar to all the places it finds a home.' "

Brozman was one of American music's greatest collaborators, having recorded albums with musicians in a dizzying number of cultures, including Indian master Debashish Bhattacharya, American mandolin master David Grisman and even local string bands from Papua New Guinea in a release designed to benefit local music in that nation.

TOUR MEMORIES

Thomas remembered a Canadian tour in which Brozman led a huge collaboration between musicians from India, South America, Europe and Japan.

"We had 16 musicians who had mostly never met," he said. "We had a Greek speaker with no translator, a Japanese musician with no translator, and others from India, South America, all over the place. We had one day to rehearse, and without exception every one of these virtuoso musicians were terror-struck, except for Bob. He just said, 'Don't worry, I'm the hub here, plug your spokes in and here's what we're going to do.'

"The very next day we were in front of 20,000 people at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, with a 16-man band, and one day of rehearsal. I don't know any other musicians who had cajones like that."

The secret to his collaborative success, he told the Sentinel in 2000, was a deeply thought-out approach that involved educating himself about a given culture, understanding music's place in that culture, figuring out the body language of how musicians communicate comfort or discomfort, and anthropological cues -- "observing pupil diameter, facial movement, respiration and fine muscle movement so that I'm as empathetic as possible toward how a person approaches their music and their instrument."

Brozman was severely injured in a car accident in 1980, and carried pain with him the rest of his life. Still, he kept up a prodigious traveling schedule that brought him to almost every corner of the globe.

He had been popular in Germany, France and the U.K. for years, and had played to sold-out audiences in Spain, Italy and Australia. He played widely in Japan, and was known to perform in unusual places such as Singapore.

NEWS TRAVELS FAST

Thomas, who has been Brozman's closest musical ally for the past 20 years, said he spent much of the day on Thursday calling people all over the world with the news of Brozman's passing. Soon, his email folders began filling up.

"It's astonishing to me," said Thomas, "how many people I don't know who know Bob's work and who managed to find me online to express their grief. I've received about a thousand messages in the past six hours, from people I don't even know who have the albums and getting the albums out and thinking, 'Who can I say this to? Who can I tell how important he was to me, even though I never knew him.' "

Contact Wallace Baine at [e-mail].

Biography

Bob Brozman

Born: March 8, 1954, New York City
Died: April 23, 2013, Santa Cruz
Survivors: Wife Haley S. Robertson; daughter Zoe Brozman
Education: Washington University in St. Louis
Career: First emerged as a street and club musician in Santa Cruz before becoming a recording artist and world-touring musician. Released his first solo album in 1981, 'Blue Hula Stomp,' and released about 30 albums after, including many collaborations with musicians from all over the world. Authored the definitive work on National steel guitars The History and Artistry of National Resonator Instruments.

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: GUEST
Date: 03 May 13 - 01:27 AM

http://www.santacruz.com/news/2013/04/30/the_life_and_legacy_of_bob_brozman

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: Gurney
Date: 03 May 13 - 12:47 AM

The story THAT I HEAR, not confirmed in any official source that I've seen, is that Bill took the suicide option due to the problems from the 1980 accident getting worse. As Barbara said.
I've been hesitant to put it down in case it isn't true.
And I hope it isn't true.

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: Barbara
Date: 03 May 13 - 12:14 AM

From the Guardian obit. Sounds like he couldn't play at all, and was in pain.


In 1980 Brozman was involved in a serious car crash and, according to Thomas, "suffered severe pain in his spine and his extremities ever since". A year and a half ago, Brozman told him he was unable to play Hawaiian guitar. "He said 'My hand won't do it' ... and he was the greatest Hawaiian player since Tau Moe." While recording his last album, Fire in the Mind, "there were times when he just had to stop, and it was incredibly painful for him". According to Thomas, Brozman "took his own life. He said he was dissolving before his own eyes, and he was devastated by the loss. He struggled to imagine his life without an instrument in his hands."

Brozman is survived by Haley and by a daughter, Zoe, from a previous marriage.

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: Bugsy
Date: 28 Apr 13 - 11:29 PM

WHAT???????

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: Mary Katherine
Date: 28 Apr 13 - 07:38 PM

According to the obituary in the Guardian (UK), he took his own life because he was unable to play guitar as well as he had in the past, due in part to the injuries he sustained in a serious car crash some years ago.

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: pdq
Date: 28 Apr 13 - 03:25 PM

Sorry to say this, but like John Herald and Monte Dunn, Bob Brozman's exile from this planet was self-imposed.

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: GUEST,Gibsonboy
Date: 28 Apr 13 - 07:00 AM

Have been lucky enough to see him several times when he has toured the UK. He was truly a one off, consumate live performer, and totally irreplaceable. Don't want to believe it.

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: bubblyrat
Date: 27 Apr 13 - 09:31 AM

No ,but I believe that he may have had medical problems in the past ; didn't he break his back or something ? I believe that he spent his time in hospital learning and refining his amazingly percussive playing style .He will be much missed ; if you haven't heard him duetting on "Tone Poems" , go listen to "On Moonlight Bay" and be thrilled at the sound !

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: Bugsy
Date: 27 Apr 13 - 03:59 AM

Very sad news indeed. I saw him a couple of times in Australia and got to meet him though fleetingly. He seemed like a really nice guy.

Does anyone have any update as to how he died?

Bugsy

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Apr 13 - 01:42 AM

here's a link to that PRI piece. it also links to another 2007 story.

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Apr 13 - 03:59 PM

Scroll to the last story on The World for a piece about Brozman.

Pretty soon a link to the story text and just that story should be available.

SRS

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: Les from Hull
Date: 26 Apr 13 - 08:47 AM

I particularly loved the way he played with people from different cultures and helped people like me hear their music. So long, Bob, we'll miss you.

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: G-Force
Date: 26 Apr 13 - 05:40 AM

Well that is a shock. Never managed to see him live - whenever he came to UK I was either doing something else or out of the country. So now I never will.

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: MoorleyMan
Date: 26 Apr 13 - 05:26 AM

Aw, so sad. A real genius - and so young too. Although he gave so much, he clearly still had so much still to give. One hell of a musician, and a true innovator. And therefore a doubly great loss. RIP, Bob.

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman
From: GUEST,Allen in Oz
Date: 26 Apr 13 - 04:45 AM

That is so sad...he was featured in a show on ABC television in Australia some time ago. His guitar technique was unique. A great loss indeed

AD

Subject: Obit: Bob Brozman
From: PHJim
Date: 26 Apr 13 - 02:50 AM

So sorry to hear of Bob Brozman's passing at only 59.

Bob Brozman is gone.

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: JennieG
Date: 25 Apr 13 - 06:07 PM

He was indeed, Bobert.....Himself and I have some of his recordings and have seen him perform at a festival here. RIP Bob.

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: Bobert
Date: 25 Apr 13 - 04:55 PM

Wow, what a complete bummer... This guy was on top of his game...

Sniff...

B:~(

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: GUEST,Mary Katherine
Date: 25 Apr 13 - 04:10 PM

Sing Out Magazine also is confirming:

http://singout.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/steel-guitar-wizard-bob-brozman-dies/

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Brozman (1954-2013)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Apr 13 - 03:37 PM

Here's the text of the obituary from santacruz.com:

Santa Cruz Music Icon Bob Brozman Dies

by Steve Palopoli on Apr 25, 2013

Bob Brozman, the steel-guitar innovator and ethnomusicologist who got his start playing on the streets of Santa Cruz, has died, according to his family. Though exact details have not yet been released, it appears he was discovered at home yesterday. He was 59.

A legend in the world of blues and roots music who integrated style from all around the world into his music, Brozman was one of Santa Cruz's most beloved musical figures. His bold playing style was unmistakable, and his banter with the audience at his live shows gave him the opportunity not just to entertain with his sharp wit, but also challenge core assumptions about the function of rhythm and sound.

Born in New York on March 8, 1954, Brozman was a world traveller who seemed to thrive on collaborating with the best musicians he could find from many different musical traditions. His trademark guitar sound came from National steel guitars that he spent his life collecting, often joking that if he had to buy many of his most prized guitars again now, he couldn't possibly afford them. He recorded over 20 albums, beginning with 1981's Blue Hula Stomp. His most recent record was last year's Fire in the Mind.

Subject: RE: Bob Brozman ?RIP?
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 25 Apr 13 - 03:37 PM

Paul Brett has the news on his Facebook page today.
Very sad, too young and another unique talent gone.
RIP Bob.

Subject: RE: Bob Brozman ?RIP?
From: GUEST,Mary Katherine
Date: 25 Apr 13 - 03:28 PM

Am seeing other confirmations on FB, but no wire service or other stories. Close friends of his are posting that it is true. Very sad news.

Subject: RE: Bob Brozman ?RIP?
From: Megan L
Date: 25 Apr 13 - 03:20 PM

santa cruz .com and wiki both have it up now

Subject: RE: Bob Brozman ?RIP?
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 25 Apr 13 - 03:18 PM

It seems to be true, but the usual news sources seem to be slow to pick up the story. This is the only mention online at this moment: http://www.santacruz.com/news/2013/04/25/santa_cruz_music_icon_bob_brozman_dies

Subject: RE: Bob Brozman ?RIP?
From: DebC
Date: 25 Apr 13 - 03:04 PM

I hope it's not true either, Mary Katherine. Not only a gifted and amazing musician, but did a lot of good in the world supplying used instruments to children in developing countries.

Deb Cowan

Subject: Bob Brozman ?RIP?
From: GUEST,Mary Katherine
Date: 25 Apr 13 - 02:22 PM

The Acoustic Guitar Forum is reporting the death earlier today of guitarist Bob Brozman at the (way too) young age of 59. I have not yet seen any independent confirmation of this news, hence the question marks in the subject line. I hope it's not true; he is a very gifted musician.