Live & Local: Bobby Broom honors the late Russell Malone in special tribute

Noted guitarist Russell Malone passed away at age 60 on August 23. Condolences and warm memories have been pouring out as the entire jazz community has been shaken by this loss. A self-taught player, Malone played with master organist Jimmy Smith when he was 25. He went on to join Harry Connick Jr.’s orchestra, and other accompaniments included Clarence Carter, Little Anthony, Peabo Bryson, Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Barron, Roy Hargrove, Branford and Wynton Marsalis, The Winans, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Bucky Pizzarelli, and Jack McDuff. Other collaborators included Diana Krall, Gladys Knight, Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Natalie Cole, David Sanborn, Shirley Horn, Christina Aguilera, and Sonny Rollins. Malone was last in Denver in 2023 with Ron Carter, and Malone was scheduled to play this September at Dazzle.

Guitarist Bobby Broom has stepped in to lead Russell’s band during some of the remaining dates of their scheduled southwest tour in a special tribute to his friend and the legacy he left behind. This includes a few sets at Dazzle this weekend. Bobby Broom performs Sunday 09/22 for a matinee at 4:30 p.m. as well as a 7:00 p.m. evening show with Russell Malone’s Band. The Morning Set’s Carlos Lando got an opportunity to catch up with Bobby Broom ahead of his stop in Denver. The conversation is available below.

Born in Harlem and raised on the Upper West Side of NYC, Bobby Broom took up guitar at 12 and five years later, in 1977, made his first appearance with Sonny Rollins at Carnegie Hall. Even prior to that auspicious start, he had dedicated himself to the art, culture, and life of jazz, with the goal of learning to express himself within the idiom, while honoring its historical traditions and spirit.

Nearly 50 years later, Bobby has amassed a formidable jazz pedigree, working closely with historic figures such as Rollins, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Stanley Turrentine, and Kenny Burrell, as well as many of his contemporaries. To date, he has made fifteen leader recordings and has traveled to perform, as an accompanying musician and with his own ensembles, in countries on five continents.

Broom is a tenured Associate Professor at Northern Illinois University and has devoted much of his career to jazz education. He began teaching at the tertiary level under the direction of NEA Jazz Fellow and saxophone great Jackie McLean at the University of Hartford. Bobby has also worked with high school students through the Herbie Hancock (formerly Thelonious Monk) Institute and currently, with the Ravinia Jazz Mentor Program

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