Since his breakthrough The Way It Is album in 1984 Bruce Hornsby has worn many a musical hat. His collaborations with Huey Lewis, Ricky Scaggs and the Grateful Dead leave little doubt about his competence and versatility as a pianist, composer, and arranger. Still, it was something a surprise when he popped up in the jazz world by releasing Camp Meeting, his first pure jazz album, this time playing alongside highly reputable jazzmen Christian McBride on bass and the legendary Jack DeJohnette on drums.

The 11 songs prove Hornsby to be not only capable of sharing the stage with seasoned veterans McBride and DeJohnette, but also show him to be a creative and intelligent jazz pianist in his own right. The album contains a pair of Hornsby originals mixed in with a tasteful selection of standards. Highlights include an energized romp through Ornette Coleman’s “Questions and Answers,” a deeply funky take of Bud Powell’s “Un Poco Loco,” the spirited original “Stacked Mary Possum” and a beautiful piano/bass arrangement of the introspective Keith Jarrett ballad “Death and the Flower.” On the album’s most daring tune, “Charlie, Woody and You” Hornsby successfully rearranges Dizzy Gillespie’s “Woody n’ You” to incorporate 12-tone harmonies a la 20th Century composer Charles Ives (who gets half the authorship credit on the track).

McBride and DeJohnette play with typical excellence, keeping the groove fresh and funky from start to finish. Hornsby’s biggest shortcoming is that he rarely displays the art of restraint and at times he tramples McBride and DeJohnette with his busy left hand. Still, Camp Meeting is an excellent album that works as a whole because of its varying dynamics and masterful playing throughout.