Hornsby

Having spent years as a jobbing musician and songwriter, Bruce Hornsby finally made his commercial breakthrough in late 1986, when The Way It Is topped the US singles charts. This superb live set was broadcast on WNEW-FM a week after its release, and captures the band at their jazzy, melodic best, with Hornsby s remarkable keyboard work to the fore.

The Noisemakers, Bruce Hornsby's regular backing band since 2002, aren't credited on 2019's Absolute Zero, which should be an indication that the album is a bit of a departure from the other records he's made during the 21st century. While the Noisemakers haven't avoided adventure, Absolute Zero feels as if it was made without any regard to boundaries, either in terms of style or approach. Such fearlessness is evident from the outset, when the record kicks off with a dexterous rhythm suitable for a vintage post-bop session, but it's too reductive to call Absolute Zero an odyssey into straight jazz.