Bob Brozman on L'Ile de la Réunion
L'Ile de la Réunion, a volcanic island situated 600 miles east of Madagascar in the southern Indian Ocean, is perhaps one of the world's most interesting islands, both physically and culturally. Originally uninhabited, it was colonized by the French 300 years ago. Slaves were brought in, primarily from Africa, Madagascar and India. La Réunion's racial mix was also seasoned by Chinese and Arab immigrants, due to the island's location along trade routes between Asia and Africa. This resulted in one of the world's richest cultural mixes - in music, language, customs, and cuisine - forging a lifestyle that is volcanic, passionate, joyous, sexy, and rhythmic.
BOB JOURNEYS TO LA REUNION ISLAND AND MEETS RENE LACAILLE:
Serendipity has played a large role in Bob Brozman's musical path, and perhaps the La Réunion experience was the most serendipitous of all. In the late 1990s, Bob was creating recordings for an "Islands Project," however each artist he encountered warranted a full duet project. Jean Beauchesne, from Festival d'ete Quebec suggested René Lacaille as a potential collaborator, exposing Bob to René's mind-blowing music. At the same time, Bob was invited to perform at a festival on Réunion Island in April 1999. Through the organizational skills of Beauchesne, and through the auspices of Alain Courbis and the cultural organization Le Pôle Regional des Musiques Actuelles a 3-week residence was created for collaboration, composition, and recording. Bob also was privileged to meet and record some tracks with island patriarch Granmoun Lele and his family.
Bob's festival gig, wherein he invited René and Joel to play with him at the end of a blistering solo set, was a revelation both to Bob and to the audience of 2,000 local people. As he so often does in many languages, he had learned some phrases in the special Creole of La Réunion which showed his respect for the culture and created a special rapport with the people. The resulting reaction climaxed when Bob was joined by René and Joel Gonthier-it was thunderous, with the press declaring "Brozman consecrates the heart of La Réunion."
René and Bob forged a powerful musical and personal friendship, described by everyone around them as a match made in heaven, across oceans, languages, and cultures. Bob invited René to appear with the International Troupe in Quebec July 1999, and the shows were labeled as the most fiery, exciting gigs of the year. Just before, René came to Bob's home in California, his first visit to the US, for a week of informal rehearsals with Bob and his musicians. Every night René cooked up a storm of Creole curries and rougailles to the delight of all. Late night outdoor dinners became laugh fests, followed by more jamming. Bob presented René with a charango at the beginning of the week, and René became so enamored of it that he asked for another, just in case! The charango's tone, dry cutting power, and flexibility makes it perfect for the maloya and sega music of La Réunion - now there are over a dozen Reunionais charango players. René calls it the "Brozman virus."
Bob and René returned to La Réunion Island in March 2000 to complete their album, DIGDIG, and tour for 8 shows with full percussion around several towns on Réunion Island, and also to the Seychelles Islands. Daniel Thomas was once again at the helm of the studio recordings, with Haley S. Robertson assisting with production and translation, and the project was completed and released Feb. 2002 internationally on World Music Network, immediately reaching #3 on Europe’s World Music charts. And, in the US after a nationwide NPR special, DigDig was in the top 10 spot (of 3,000,000 choices) on Amazon.com for an entire week.
The Lacaille/Brozman ensemble has continued to be a feature of the Quebec festival and other Canadian festivals in 2000, 2001, and 2002. The group toured Europe in summer 2002, going on to 12 countries in east Africa (plus a brief return to Reunion Island) in autumn 2002, and then back to Europe for more tours in 2004. The ensemble will be touring for a month in Australia, for the first time, in March and April 2005.
Presse en Français:
Critique: LE SOLEIL, Québec, "Doublé Exceptionnel" - 9 juillet 2001
Critique: LE JOURNAL DE L'ILE, Réunion, "Duo de Virtuoses" - 2000
Critique: LE SOLEIL, Québec, "Dix Spectacles à Retenir" - 27 mars 2000
Entrevue: LE SOLEIL, Québec, "Jouer Sans Filet" - 10 juillet 2000
Entrevue: LE SOLEIL, Québec, "Langage Commun" - 2000
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