David Bromberg

David Bromberg, a multi-instrumentalist of exceptional talent who possesses an instinctive command of American roots traditions alongside a playful wit, cultivated a dedicated audience through his solo output while also contributing as a supporting player and creative partner to numerous leading figures in the music world. He launched his solo career in 1972 via a self-titled Columbia release that included “The Holdup,” the well-received track he composed in tandem with George Harrison. Over the ensuing years he balanced a demanding pace of solo releases on Columbia and Fantasy with extensive session contributions on instruments ranging from dobro to fiddle for artists such as Gordon Lightfoot, Ringo Starr, and Bob Dylan. After stepping away from the road and studio for an extended period, Bromberg devoted much of the following two decades to mastering violin craftsmanship, surfacing now and then with projects like the 2007 Grammy-nominated Try Me One More Time and building a thriving enterprise, David Bromberg and Associate Fine Violins, in Wilmington, Delaware. By the later 2010s he assembled the David Bromberg Band, which delivered several vibrant, wide-ranging albums such as 2016’s The Blues, the Whole Blues, and Nothing But the Blues and 2020’s Big Road.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 19, 1945, Bromberg grew up primarily in Tarrytown, New York. During his teenage years he developed a passion for rock & roll that led him to explore the blues, folk, and country sources that shaped its early sound, among them Pete Seeger, Reverend Gary Davis, Muddy Waters, Flatt & Scruggs, and Bill Monroe. At age 13 he took up the guitar; after high school he enrolled at Columbia University to study musicology and began performing in Greenwich Village folk venues. Although his initial performances offered modest compensation, they fostered connections with prominent musicians and allowed him to study under his idol, Reverend Davis. His guitar abilities drew attention, prompting regular accompaniment work both live and in the studio for Village folk performers including Tom Paxton, Tom Rush, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Richie Havens. While supporting singer Rosalie Sorrels at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival in Great Britain, Bromberg delivered an unplanned solo set that earned him a Columbia Records contract. His debut album appeared in 1971 and spotlighted “The Holdup,” the radio favorite co-written with George Harrison. Between 1971 and 1976 he issued six Columbia albums, toured widely, and maintained a busy session schedule, contributing guitar, Dobro, mandolin, and fiddle to releases by Bob Dylan, Carly Simon, the Eagles, Ringo Starr, Willie Nelson, Gordon Lightfoot, Bonnie Raitt, Doug Sahm, and others; he also produced an unreleased Dylan album.

Signing with Fantasy Records in 1977, Bromberg delivered Reckless Abandon as his first project for the label, followed by three additional collections of original material before withdrawing from touring in 1980 to pursue violin-making studies at the Kenneth Warren School of Violin Making in Chicago, limiting himself thereafter to occasional sessions and performances. His next studio album, Sideman Serenade, emerged in 1990, with Try Me One More Time arriving in 2007 and receiving a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Folk Album. During the intervening years he established a successful violin-building, repair, and dealing business, opening David Bromberg Fine Violins in Wilmington, Delaware, in 2002. He reappeared in 2011 with the ambitious Use Me, featuring new songs contributed by admired songwriters such as John Hiatt, Guy Clark, Dr. John, Keb’ Mo’, and David Hidalgo of Los Lobos. Capitalizing on its acclaim, he issued Only Slightly Mad two years later, a varied collection of originals and covers produced by Bob Dylan guitarist Larry Campbell. The 2016 release The Blues, the Whole Blues, and Nothing But the Blues presented refined interpretations of material associated with Sonny Boy Williamson, Ray Charles, and additional artists. In 2020 he collaborated again with Campbell on Big Road, an eclectic live-in-studio recording with his band.