BRUCE HORNSBY BIO
Bruce Hornsby's work continues to display the same creative iconoclasm that's been a constant in the artist's two-and-a-half decade recording career. His commercial stock soared early on, when "The Way It Is"--the title track of Bruce Hornsby and the Range's 1986 debut album--became the most-played song on American radio in 1987, winning ASCAP's Song of the Year award. "The Way It Is" and such subsequent hits as "Mandolin Rain" and "Every Little Kiss," established Hornsby as popular pop act, while high-profile work with the likes of Don Henley,and Huey Lewis made him an in-demand collaborator.
His longstanding touring band the Noisemakers, an appropriately eclectic outfit that includes bassist J.V. Collier, guitarist Doug Derryberry, drummer Sonny Emory, reeds player Bobby Read and keyboardist John "J.T." Thomas has been together since '02. "But J.T. has been with me for nineteen years, Bobby for sixteen, and JV has been here for fifteen, so I've got a lot of history with these guys," Hornsby states. "The players come from disparate backgrounds and all bring something different to the table, but we're all on the same page in our pursuit of a joyful noise. Playing with these guys consistently pushes me to improve, vocally and pianistically."
Despite his early successes, Hornsby chose to pursue a more personal, idiosyncratic musical path, focusing on projects that sparked his creative interest and musical progress. That direction was manifested in his lengthy association with the Grateful Dead, with whom he's performed more than 100 concerts as guest keyboardist. His work with the Dead encouraged Hornsby to incorporate his interest in musical improvisation into his own performances, while his eclectic musical interests have been reflected in a wide array of recording projects. Over the years, Hornsby has successfully ventured into jazz, classical, bluegrass and even electronica, as reflected by such acclaimed recent releases as the bluegrass project Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby and the jazz trio album Camp Meeting, with Jack deJohnette and Christian McBride. The prestigious list of Hornsby collaborators now includes such diverse figures as Ornette Coleman, Bob Dylan, Bela Fleck, Charlie Haden, Bonnie Raitt, Elton John, Branford Marsalis, Pat Metheny, Robbie Robertson, Leon Russell, Chaka Khan,Wayne Shorter, Squeeze, Tupac Shakur and Sting.
"I guess I'm a bit of a musical proselytizer," says Hornsby. "I'm always hoping to turn the audience on to more adventurous music and music that's below the mainstream radar. I know that that may seem too pretentious to the rock and pop world. But for me it's all just beautiful music, and people seem willing to come along with me on the journey."