Looking back at the Millennium Bash in Williamsburg and a look (far) ahead to a record that would eventually become Big Swing Face. More from the Bruce Hornsby newsletter archive, sent by Melissa Reagan direct from Bruce’s office in the 1990s/early 2000s. Links have been added where appropriate to add context.
New Year’s Eve Bash
Bruce and the Band rang in the next thousand years with 5,000 reveling rousers at William & Mary Hall amid 18-foot tall stilt-walkers, jugglers, massage therapists, nitrous enthusiasts, barbers, Berbers and Channing Hall. Coming from as far as London and Walla Walla, Washington, the crowd almost forced theearly retirement of the revolving stage as hundreds jammed the stage during “Rainbow’s Cadillac” to express themselves as a collective creative movement class. To all who came, we sincerely hope you had a great time.
1999 Tour
Bruce played 90 concerts in 1999, covering the stylistic range developed over the last few years: and solo piano concerts, symphony orchestra dates, jazz festivals, regular band shows and a collaborative group tour featuring old musical friends and cohorts. Highlights included the following:
Woodstock Festival & Record
The band played the Woodstock Festival in July in Rome, NY. Bruce traded his original Sunday night closing slot on the big stage to the Red Hot Chili Peppers in exchange for their more coveted Saturday afternoon
(2:30 pm) slot on the special “artiste” stage. The band’s “Resting Place” version found its way onto the Woodstock album, marking the first time Bruce has appeared on a CD with Korn.
Bonnie/Jackson/Shawn/Bruce & David
The 1999 group least likely to appear on a CD with Korn was almost assuredly the Bonnie Raitt-Jackson Browne-Shawn Colvin-Bruce Hornsby-David Lindley tour package, known as the “Sensitive Ones” in affectionate circles. The group (and they were a group, playing together all night) played shows from Boston to George, WA to solid but unspectacular crowds. Concern over fall elections, big summer movies and Y2K fears were cited as reasons for the less-than-sellout crowds. Bruce enjoyed the tour quite a bit, and would do it again.
NBA Finals
Bruce played the National Anthem for Game 2 of the NBA Finals at the San Antonio Alamodome, his second finals of the last few years, allowing him the opportunity to talk post-game ABA trivia with Peter Vescey and Bob Costas.
Keith Jarrett Tribute Record
One of Bruce’s pianistic heroes for the last 27 years has been the great Keith Jarrett, and so he committed instantly to the request to be a part of the Keith Jarrett tribute record being produced for the BMG Classics label. He went to New Orleans in October and recorded the old Keith tune “Backhand” with drummer Jason Marsalis and a brass band (tuba for bass), a very enjoyable experience, at least for Bruce. April is the anticipated release date.
Bill Monroe Tribute Record
Bruce Hornsby & the Range were proud participants in two of the first tribute records made, in the early 90’s: the Elton John-Bernie Taupin tribute Two Rooms (“Madman Across the Water”) and the Grateful Dead tribute Deadicated (“Jackstraw”). After turning down probably thirty requests for his participation on subsequent similar projects (as tribute records became as common as mosquitoes in May in Virginia), Bruce said yes to two in 1999, the aforementioned Keith Jarrett paean and Ricky Skaggs’ “Big Mon,” a Bill Monroe tribute featuring many guest artists. Ricky and Bruce, along with Ricky’s band, Kentucky Thunder, recorded “Darling Corey” in November in Ricky’s studio in Hendersonville, TN. A summer 2000 release date is planned.
Grateful Dead Boxed Set
The first comprehensive career-spanning box set devoted to the Grateful Dead has been released by Grateful Dead Records. The 5-CD set So Many Roads includes two songs with Bruce – “Terrapin Station” and the “Jam Out of Foolish Heart,” a performance mostly featuring Jerry Garcia and Bruce involved in pointillistic musical conversation.
Grammy nomination
Bruce has been nominated for “Best Pop Instrumental Performance” for “Song C“, from “Spirit Trail” CDl. This is his 10th nomination in over 13 years. His competition includes Santana, Jeff Beck and Willie Nelson, so fat chance for him.
Keyboard Magazine
The January 2000 issue of Keyboard celebrates the magazine’s 25th anniversary, and inside the editorial staff picked “the top keyboardists of the past 25 years,” listed as 25 Giants of Keyboard Music. Bruce
Hornsby was picked along with Chick Corea, Prince, Bill Evans, Keith Emerson, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Billy Joel, Elton John, Dr. John, Stevie Wonder, and Joe Zawinul. Congratulations!
Clint Black
Clint Black, renowned country music hat man, asked Bruce to be a part of his latest release, D’Lectrified, and they performed a duet on Leon Russell’s “Dixie Lullaby“. Bruce also played an extended piano solo on an old Black war-horse “No Time To Kill“, and enjoyed playing with two of the L.A. session greats, Abe Laboriel and John Robinson.
Bruce & Bruce
A highlight of the Bonnie-Jackson-Shawn-Bruce tour was the opportunity to sit in with Bruce Springsteen at the MCI Center in Washington, DC in September. Springsteen had the four (along with Mary Chapin Carpenter and Patti Scialfa’s cousin) sit in on two encore songs, “Hungry Heart” (where Bruce and Shawn sang the third verse together) and “Red-Headed Woman” (where Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt shoved microphones directly into the accordion as the other Bruce soloed chromatically through the three chords).
Leon & Bruce
Leon Russell had Bruce come to his house in Nashville (while the latter was there recording with Ricky Skaggs) to play piano on the Standards record he is making, and they ended up doing a duet on the Ray Charles classic “That Lucky Old Sun.” Release date (and label) for this project remain a mystery.
2000 Live Album
The live album that fans have been badgering Bruce to make for at least twelve years is now being put together, taken from various shows recorded during the last year.If all goes according to plan, the record will include performances from Austin City Limits, BET Jazz Central, Woodstock, and other band shows from May and August 1999. The release, on RCA, should occur sometime in early summer 2000.
New Studio Album
On January 17 the band started recording new songs for the seventh RCA studio record. Good luck.
Ricky & Bruce
Ricky Skaggs and Bruce had such a great experience recording together on the Bill Monroe tribute album that they have decided to make an entire duet album of bluegrass music, to be recorded in the fall of 2000. Bruce has always wanted to make a bluegrass record, and this will probably be the first of several through the years.
Shows in 2000
The year 2000 is shaping up to be mostly a recording year after the intense touring of 1999, but there are several concerts already on the slate for this year. Here are the dates confirmed as of January 10:
February 20 – solo piano concert at West Virginia University
February 26 – solo piano concert at the Peace Center in Greenville, SC
April 12 &13 – Troubadour series (solo piano) in Lexington, KY
April 15 – Troubadour series (solo piano) in Ashland, KY
April 28 – Houston Symphony in Houston, TX
April 29 – Dallas Symphony Orchestra in Dallas,TX
June 15-18 – Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Telluride, CO
June 23- Newport Jazz Festival in New York City
June 24 – JVC Jazz Festival in Saratoga, NY