Bman's Blues Report

SANTA CRUZ -- Guitarist and ethnomusicologist Bob Brozman, one of the most internationally prominent musicians to come out of Santa Cruz County, died Wednesday at his home in Ben Lomond. He was 59. The cause of death is pending. Brozman had built a career as a guitarist and ethnomusicologist, moving from an early fascination with the delta blues of the American 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 un-contemporary American roots style of music. Known for playing anything from obscure jazz tunes to Hawaiian chanties, Bob Brozman at home in July, 1992. (Dan Coyro/Sentinel file) (Dan Coyro) 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...