Product Description Following a critically acclaimed box-set, a duet recording with Ricky Scaggs and a jazz trio album w/ Christian McBride & Jack DeJohnette, the beloved songwriter/pianist/vocalist returns to the format that has brought his greatest commercial success. Accompanied by his seasoned touring band the Noisemakers, Hornsby's stellar new songs are presented in dynamic arrangements with his signature blend of rock, country, pop & jazz and featuring some of the finest vocal performances of Bruce's illustrious career The title track is the end theme for Spike Lee's documentary Kobe at Work about the NBA superstar Kobe Bryant. Bruce also wrote the score (his first) Hornsby has a featured role (as himself) in the film World's Greatest Dad opening August 21st starring Robin Williams directed by Bobcat Goldthwait and featuring several Hornsby songs including the Levitate track "Invisible" A number of the songs on Levitate are part of the score for a prospective Broadway musical SCKBSTD currently in development. About the Artist "When I play music, I guess I'm what you'd call an ecstatic," says Bruce Hornsby. "I'm always pursuing those joyful, exuberant, transcendent moments that happen when everything is working. That's why I called this album Levitate, because that's what those moments feel like." By any standard, Bruce Hornsby has built one of the most diverse and adventurous careers in contemporary music. Drawing from a vast wellspring of American musical traditions, the singer/pianist/composer/bandleader has created a large and remarkably accomplished body of work that's employed a vast array of stylistic approaches, while maintaining the integrity, virtuosity and artistic curiosity that have been hallmarks of his work from the start. The 13-time Grammy nominee's multifarious talents and far-ranging musical interests are prominent on Levitate, which marks the artist's Verve debut. The album's 13 songs span an expansive sonic and emotional palette, encompassing heartfelt insights and absurdist humor, while incorporating a broad assortment of influences within compact song structures. The material ranges from the expansive, expressive songcraft of "Prairie Dog Town" and "In the Low Country" to the gently reflective introspection of "Invisible" and "Here We Are Again," with the album-opening "The Black Rats of London" offering a swaggering treatise on the influence of the rodents, insects and microbes upon key historical events. Such colorful moments help make Levitate a consistently compelling evocation of Hornsby's established abilities, as well as a substantial creative departure. "I've always been about finding a place to express my interest in playing the piano within the pop song context," Hornsby explains. "But with this record, I felt like I'd done that enough, so this time I really wanted the focus to be on the songs. This record actually has a couple of songs that are under three minutes, which is kind of unprecedented for me. "It's also my first record with no piano solos," he adds. "I tend to write long, lyric-intensive songs, and I also like to blow. But this time I thought, I've done that, and I really want to make this record more about the writing." Beyond its distinctive musical approach, Levitate features the vibrant balance of sincerity and silliness that's long been a hallmark of Hornsby's songwriting. "As I get older, I tend to gravitate in my writing more and more toward the humorous," he says. "For years, I was sort of well known for writing love songs, but I stopped doing that a long time ago, because it's just not what I'm interested in now. But for Levitate, I actually wrote a love song, 'Here We Are Again'--although it's a time-travel fantasy love song using the language of physics, it resonated for me as an interesting angle lyrically." Levitate also demonstrates Hornsby's knack for provocative songwriting collaborations. For instance, "Cyclone" features resonant wordplay courtesy of legendary Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter. The album's title track, meanwhile, finds Hornsby writing a haunting lyric around a theme originally written by soundtrack composer Thomas Newman for The Shawshank Redemption. And "Paperboy" and "Michael Raphael," both co-written by Hornsby and lifelong friend Chip deMatteo, draw upon Hornsby's longstanding fascination with the language of modern classical music. The album is the first Hornsby release co-credited to 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. "This particular lineup 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', ISBN13: B002A4Q5ZI ISBN10: B002A4Q5ZI Material Type: audioCD
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