Photo Rob Garland
Bruce Hornsby has
always been game for new musical adventure. From the world of pop-rock radio to
jazz clubs to tours with the Grateful Dead, Hornsby has made it clear he likes
to stretch the bounds of his piano prowess. His latest endeavor is a collabor- ation with iconic mandolin ace Ricky
Skaggs and his well-oiled machine of a bluegrass band, Kentucky Thunder.
For two solid hours the duo tackled material from its eponymous 2007
album, along with a handful of familiar high-lonesome favorites.
Right out of the gate it was apparent that Hornsby had found a comfortable place in the sounds of the
Appalachian hills. He grinned from ear to ear as his fingers fluttered through
solos traded with Skaggs, banjo-picker Jim
Mills and fiddle prodigy Andy
Leftwich on standards like Bill Monroe’s speedy instrumental “Bluegrass
Breakdown” and The Stanley Brothers’ “Little Maggie.”
But this night wasn’t just about bluegrass, as Hornsby and
Skaggs showcased their mutual affinity for a range of rural genres. Skaggs
plucked some dusty hill-country guitar on a version of Roscoe Holcomb’s “Hills
of Mexico,” while Hornsby added zydeco flavor with his accordion to Skaggs’ “Cajun
Moon.” The spirit was more collaborative on “Gulf of Mexico Fishing Boat
Blues,” which found Hornsby’s plaintive, folksy
vocals and jazz-flavored ivories leading a journey that Skaggs followed with
nuanced pastoral mando runs.
Hornsby also took the opportunity to reinvent some of his
most well-known tunes within the acoustic confines, including a countrified
revision of “The Way It Is” and a darker, more somber minor-key look at “Mandolin
Rain,” which featured completely reworked timing.
When it became apparent that Skaggs and Hornsby had mastered
each other’s music, there was only one thing left to play—a sunny, hopped-up
and harmonized take on Rick James’ “Super Freak,” which was the perfect
exclamation point to this intermingling of mountain high and piano cool.
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