Bruce Hornsby Teams With Béla Fleck & The Flecktones On This Date In 1997

On this date in 2007 iconic keyboardist Bruce Hornsby paired up with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones for a stellar performance at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in West Reading, Pennsylvania. Bruce, Béla, saxophonist Jeff Coffin, percussionist Futureman and bassist Victor Wooten served up a fantastic mix of Flecktones favorites, Hornsby classics and a choice batch of covers at this one-off concert. A crispy recording of the show has circulated for years and can be streamed below.

The evening started with the five-piece serving up a take on one of the Flecktones’ signature songs, “Stomping Grounds.” Hornsby then leads the group through his own “Rainbow’s Cadillac.” The first set continues with a handful of Béla and Jeff Coffin’s songs before the Flecktones leave Bruce alone on stage for a solo segment. Bruce’s solo piano section of the show saw him perform “My Romance,” “The Way It Is” and “Spider Fingers.”

Béla Fleck and Bruce Hornsby opened the second set with a duo segment of the show. Fleck and Hornsby kicked off the closing stanza with “On The Western Skyline” and “Not Fade Away.” The pair then treated the audience to a take on Bruce’s “China Doll” which is not the Grateful Dead song of the same name. Coffin and the Wooten brothers join in on the fun for “So What” ahead of a raucous “Big Country.” The set concludes with the Flecktones’ “Who’s Got Three?” followed by Hornsby’s “White Wheeled Limousine” and “More Love” by Victor Wooten. For the encore, Bruce Hornsby, Béla Fleck And The Flecktones say farewell with “Cheeseballs In Cowtown.”

Full Show Audio (Taped by Keith Litzenberger & Jeff Travitz)

[Originally Published: March 23, 2017]