Bruce Hornsby - Camp Meeting

Who knew that pianist/composer Bruce Hornsby, the popsmith of the hit "The Way it Is" and the bluegrass collaborator with Ricky Skaggs, was a jazz sleeper agent since his college days? On this 11-track recording, Hornsby's "Bill Evans-meets-the-hymnbook" pianism is buoyed by Christian McBride's brotherly-loving bass lines and Jack DeJohnette's Big Easy/Windy City drumming. Check out the light-speed lyricism he lays down on the previously unrecorded Ornette Coleman number "Questions and Answers," the drum 'n' bass rendition of Coltrane's "Giant Steps," and the Meters-motored take on Miles Davis's "Solar." Keith Jarrett's ballad "Death and a Flower" is played with reverence and restraint, and the downbeats on Thelonious Monk's "Straight, No Chaser" and Bud Powell's "Celia" and "Un Poco Loco" don’t do injustice to their bebop roots. Hornsby keeps it rhythmically real, and he's given us a true sound of surprise. --Eugene Holley, Jr. Amazon.com

Camp Meeting CD

B. Hornsby did an OK job with this CD. Not what I expected from him. October 24, 2008

Bruce Hornsby in name only

Love Bruce Hornsby but I should have read up on this before buying. It is a straight Jazz instrumental and not to my liking June 5, 2008

Strong, stright-up jazz

Hornsby's playing here reminds me of the young Brubeck -- strong phrasing, clean rhythm, clear ideas. This is not fusion or pop -- it's straight-up jazz. March 20, 2008

Not your father's Hornbsy (cuz it's killer jazz)

Bruce Hornsby has become a huge favorite in our house. I ordered a bunch of cds a few months ago, and I still chuckle about one of my teenage daughters saying, "order some Hornsby, but not his 'Pop-py' stuff." She wanted to hear his formidable jazz piano chops. We were blown away by his playing on the Piano Jazz cd with Marian McPartland, which through his playing and interview, gives great insight to his background and approach. Bruce is very modest about his jazz chops, but he needn't be: his playing couldn't be farther from his lush, comfy (but absolutely wonderful) pop voicings, and he puts his own superb, creative spin on a diverse selection of tunes, underpinned by arguably the best rhythm section in jazz, Jack DeJohnette and Christian McBride. My wife and I independently headed for the Border's tent at the Newport jazz fest after hearing them on the main stage, and the guys graciously signed both copies (she got there first). Camp Meeting was just about the only cd we listened to during the long drive back to Buffalo from Newport. 'Nuff said. November 24, 2007

From rock to jazz - great musician

Music on CD ranges from modern, discordant, to some standards. Great interpretations of the pieces I know. Trio plays together really well. Engineering seems solid. October 26, 2007

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