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| Bruce Hornsby: 'Camp Meeting, ' An Instrumental-Jazz Debut Grammy-winning multi-platinum-selling musician's musician and recording artist Bruce Hornsby has been enjoying a creative renaissance this past year culminating with the August 7th release of Camp Meeting, the keyboardist/composer's eagerly-awaited album of instrumental jazz music showcasing an all-star trio featuring Hornsby, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Camp Meeting, Bruce Hornsby's debut jazz recording, is a potent and spirited collection of instrumental performances steeped in improvisation premiering original material composed by Hornsby as well as newly reharmonized versions of tunes by John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell. In addition, Hornsby, McBride and DeJohnette debut "Questions and Answers", a previously unrecorded Ornette Coleman work, as well as "Death and the Flower", an early Keith Jarrett composition from the 1970s. "I've spent my entire life combating closed-mindedness in music as well as the lack of an adventurous spirit", says Hornsby, a musical omnivore who cites a variety of influences from Samuel Barber and Charles Ives to jazz pianists Keith Jarrett and Bud Powell. "Just like all my music, this jazz album is coming from a natural place in me." Camp Meeting arrives hot on the heels of Hornsby's last recording, a 2007 collaboration with fellow Grammy winner Ricky Skaggs entitled Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby, which has spent numerous weeks as America's #1 Bluegrass album while achieving Top 40 status (peaking at #37) on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Showcasing five original Bruce Hornsby compositions, a new Ricky Skaggs song, and traditional country/bluegrass numbers, Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby unveiled a rousing bluegrass rendition of Rick James' "Super Freak." In July 2006, Legacy Recordings commemorated the 20th anniversary of Bruce Hornsby's Grammy-winning debut album with a mammoth mid-career retrospective, Intersections (1985-2005), a deluxe box set containing four CDs and a bonus DVD. Personally curated by Bruce Hornsby, Intersections (1985-2005) included 26 previously unreleased performances, track-by-track annotations written by Hornsby, plus a booklet filled with rare memorabilia including posters from his personal collection. Highlighting Hornsby's reputation as a true "musician's musician", Intersections (1985-2005) featured collaborative guest appearances by an extraordinary range of artists including Robbie Robertson, Branford Marsalis, Chaka Khan, Roger Waters, Bonnie Raitt, Gregory Hines, the Grateful Dead, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Jerry Garcia, Shawn Colvin, members of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Ricky Skaggs, Ornette Coleman, Bill Evans and many more. Bruce Hornsby struck RIAA gold--and triple platinum--with his debut album, The Way It Is, recorded with his band, the Range. His debut generated three Top 20 hits, including its #1 title track, and earned Bruce Hornsby & the Range the Best New Artist Grammy for 1986. Hornsby took home his second Grammy in 1989 for Best Bluegrass Recording for "Valley Road" (from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Volume II) and his third Grammy in 1993 for Best Pop Instrumental for "Barcelona Mona" (created with Branford Marsalis for the Barcelona Olympics). His first eight albums--The Way It Is (1986), Scenes From The Southside (1988), A Night On The Town (1990), Harbor Lights (1993), Hot House (1995), 1998's double CD Spirit Trail, his double live collection Here Come The Noisemakers (2000), and Big Swing Face (2002)--have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. One of pop music's most in-demand "side" men, Bruce Hornsby has played on more than 100 records with artists ranging from Bob Dylan, Don Henley, and the Grateful Dead to Bob Seger, Bonnie Raitt, Béla Fleck, and Willie Nelson, among many others. His songs have been performed and/or recorded by a variety of artists including Willie Nelson, Don Henley, Tupac Shakur, Bob Dylan, Chaka Khan, Robbie Robertson, Huey Lewis, Sara Evans, and Leon Russell. Bruce Hornsby became a part-time member of the Grateful Dead and, from September 1990 to March 1992, performed with the group on more than 100 concerts in America and Europe. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |