Solo Concerts

Anyone still looking for the Bruce Hornsby they remember from the mid-'80s will discover that “Mandolin Rain” has survived the years. The Solo Concerts—an expansive collection of highlights from Hornsby’s 2012-13 American tour—shows us just where Hornsby’s head has been at. Older songs haven’t been completely banished from his catalog, but he’s mixing them up with boogie-woogie piano, touches of jazz, classical pieces, and even snatches from his film work. Considering it was always Hornsby’s elevated musicianship that gave his professional studio sound such power, it’s really no surprise to hear him tearing through diverse genres with a hand so deft that he swings a tune from one style to another all without losing his internal beat. Clearly, the audience is amused, if not outright astonished, at his facility, whether it be an excerpt from Arnold Schoenberg’s “Piano Concerto,” Elliott Carter’s “Catenaires,” or Hornsby’s own songs “The Valley Road,” “Mandolin Rain," and “Here We Are Again.”