"I'm just bull-jiving... It's what we do in Virginia..."
There are several musicians who have been part of my life for decades. One of them is Bruce Hornsby. It was 1986 and I was training as a teacher when I bought the first album by Bruce and the Range from a music shop in Hull. The album included the song 'The Way It Is', which was heavily played on the new MTV, which was used to fill late night TV schedules for a while.
I first saw him in the late 1980s in Manchester with 'The Range', and it was apparent that he played alternative arrangements of songs, and improvised, as well as being so familiar with the music that he would respond to requests in most shows. Over thirty years later, he still does the same in various formats, including solo and with the 'Noisemakers'. I've seen him as often as I can... his last UK show was at the London Palladium and I was there.
A few weeks ago, I went to see him perform at the Royal Festival Hall as part of the Meltdown Festival curated by Chaka Khan. I had wonderful seats having sat in an online queue the moment that it opened for pre-sale.
The connection may not be obvious but Bruce wrote 'Love me Still' for Chaka Khan for the film 'Clockers'. Bruce's own version is excellent, but here's the original.
A review on Arcana gives a nice feel for the event.
It was a truly wonderful and memorable night, with just over 90 minutes of wonderful songs and stories.
Here's Bruce in the Radio 2 Piano Room playing his most famous song..
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