As eclectic careers go, few people have made as many stops along the way as Bruce Hornsby. While never the biggest seller commercially, he has constantly strived to reinvent his sound while continuing to hone his songwriting craft. Now, 32 years after he released his first record, Hornsby can choose from hundreds of songs to create a great concert. Bruce Hornsby was a late bloomer in the musical world. After graduating from Miami University in 1977, he worked for a number of years at 20th Century Fox and amidst small club bands around LA. It wasn't until 1986 that he released his first album with his band the Range. With the song "The Way it Is" reaching #1, the band received the Grammy award for Best New Artist and had other hits with "Jacobs Ladder" and "Mandolin Rain". Hornsby, however, wasn't satisfied with the pop rock he was creating and starting in the 90's, he began incorporating jazz into his tracks. While the hits waned and the Range split up in 1991, Hornsby continued to write and produce records composed of a number of genres. He also began writing songs for other artists including Leon Russell, Bonnie Raitt, and Huey Lewis. Hornsby even played with the Grateful Dead for a couple years which added to his improvisation skills. His piano based work was beloved with his fans but once again, Hornsby desired a new direction. In 2007, he united with bluegrass player Ricky Skaggs and released more folk and bluegrass material. These days, he releases just about anything he wants while continuing to go on tour with his band the Noisemakers.
Bruce Hornsby is another one of those artists whose records don't reveal the full talent of the individual. His opener were the Wood Brothers. Hailing from Atlanta, the folk-blues band were quite good although their 75 minute set was a bit long for a band who have no big hits or albums. Nonetheless, the trio were great musicians and have a pleasant sound. Hornsby's performance was striking for a number of reasons. He is the antithesis of a hits guy and even has the audience tell him what songs to play. He's not afraid to completely change musical direction from song to song and delights in the improvisational nature of his accomplished band. Hornsby's voice isn't what it used to be but his piano playing more than makes up for it and his relaxed demeanor quickly settled the crowd in. I was amazed at the musicality of the songs and his complex arrangements. It's actually quite hard to put him in a specific group of artists beyond saying he's an exceptional songwriter. Hornsby is the type of artist who probably could've had many more hit records if he wanted to but instead he followed his artistry to the core. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that and he can rest assure that his music will always have listeners, including me.
My favorite part of the show was when he played his dulcimer towards the end of his set. I've always thought it was a beautiful instrument and the songs were great!
Looking forward to more shows in the future!
DC
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| Bruce Hornsby |
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| The Wood Brothers |
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