Posted on September 4, 2012 at 4:19 pm
For one concert a couple of years ago, I programmed “Over” to follow “The Old Red Hills of Home,” thinking it would be an interesting juxtaposition. I surprised myself (and my band) in the moment by not stopping in between songs – I just improvised a transition that could get me from Eb to E minor and went right into the second song. It turned out to be a very intense and powerful experience; there was something almost hypnotic about staying in that mode of war for so long. (Fear not, I won’t be adding “The Flagmaker” on any time soon.)
During my tour of Australia last year, I was able to explore that juxtaposition in more detail; here’s my performance from the final night of the tour. Listening to it this morning, I was caught totally off guard by the piano solo – I had no recollection of going for almost four minutes! I must have been in the zone that night!
I was listening to these recordings in preparation for my shows next week in NYC with Shoshana Bean. I’ll be exploring some more of my songs there – hope we’ll see you in the audience!
The Old Red Hills of Home/Over (Live)
Music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Piano and vocal: JRB
Recorded at the Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, S. Australia, 16 March 2011
One comment
That piano solo was one of the most amazing pieces of improvised music I’ve ever heard. Would you be doing anything like that next week in NYC?
The comments are closed.