Although both emerged from similar roots, the cross-pollination of rock and jazz is fairly limited. There's the heavy horns of 70s groups Chicago, Tower of Power, and Blood, Sweat and Tears; the cool jazz fusion of Steely Dan; and the modern mix-it-up hip-hop of Us3. The only other jazz-influenced rock artist to make much of a name for himself in the general public is Bruce Hornsby, who combines the better aspects of jazz-lounge piano (like Dave Grusin or Keith Jarrett) with the folk-rock sound of Jackson Brown and James Taylor.

After his debut with the massive hit, "The Way It Is" (from the album of the same name), Hornsby has released successive albums that build upon the formula that worked for him so well in that first single: a rock rhythm section with a standout piano that takes both the melodic part and also adds the gracenotes to the lyrical lines (think of how "The Way It Is" has the three-note-three-note touches after the line, then switches to taking on the full melody between chorus and verses).

For me, Hornsby's best album to date is not that first one, but 1993's Harbor Lights. The jazz solos are much longer, and stronger, than on previous releases ("China Doll"), while the folky lyrics of philosophical musings have a touch more poeticism ("Fields of Grey," "The Tide Will Rise"). The best songs, though, are the ones that reveal Hornsby's funky side, like the horn-laced chorus of "Rainbow's Cadillac" (complete with wonderful backing vocals by Bonnie Raitt) and the infectious rhythmic drum on "What a Time." My favorite song is "Talk of the Town," about a mixed-race couple in a small town told in the first person with a medium speed, yet driving drum track.

If your only exposure to Hornsby has been his 80s hits, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by this album, by his increasing musicianship, and the maturity of his lyrics. This isn't teeny-bopper pop, but truly adult alternative music.

Harbor Lights shares the spot with Hot House as my favourite Hornsby album. If you can believe it I'm not too crazy on his musical time spent with the Range which probably contradicts the majority of his (former) fans and critics. I say "former" because Hornsby going independent was risky and even though I thought his music improved extremely, some individuals obviously lost their interest seeing how he has become less popular. I admit he did develop some absolutely great songs with the Range but I think they still held him back. Besides, who wants to hear the same sort of music over and over again. Why not try something new and not become so monotonous and repetitious. Hornsby is one of the rare musicians who embraces change. If I still haven't convinced you and you favour his old songs, then there are some versions on his live cd "Here Come the Noisemakers" which I feel are much better than his original recordings, such as "The Way It Is", "The Red Plains", "Stander on the Mountain" and especially "The Valley Road". Getting back to Harbor Lights, I feel he really broke through here and though it shows early progress in his independent career some of his best work appears. I can't name any one song in particular because all of them are great. Although I really do enjoy China Doll for some reason. No matter if you're a Hornsby fan or not the album Harbor Lights proves he is one of the most passionate, unique, consummate musicians in the last two decades. Who else would leave a comfortable position in a popular band and go out on his or her own to reach a different level in their music? It is a quality that many people don't have and don't recognize. Most musicians today are more celebrities than they are real musicians. But Hornsby assures us with Harbor Lights that he is at heart a musician.

When I put together a review, I normally try to mention something about the liner notes - positive or negative. In the case of Bruce Hornsby's "Harbor Lights", I think it's important to mention this at the beginning. The liner notes for this collection are simply outstanding and go a long way for helping you understand some of the new directions that Bruce takes for this particular collection. These liner notes do include lyrics, musician and production credits - all of which are important things. But, more importantly - there is a 2 panel write-up from Bruce himself that discusses some of the things he did differently. Bruce will give you his insight and context into each of the songs. This goes a long way into understanding this collection. With this particular review, I will try to add some additional perspectives on this collection and try to reference points that Bruce makes in his collection.

"Harbor Lights" marks the fourth album by Bruce Hornbsy. Hornsby pioneered something that has been called "The Virginia Sound". The best way I can describe this sound is a mixture of a lot of different genres of music: Jazz, Classical, Bluegrass, Rock, Country, and Pop. In the past, Hornsby incorporated a wide range of instruments in the songs to give this such a distinct sound: Mandolin, Guitar, Violin, Piano, and even Harmonica. On his first two albums ("The Way It Is" and "Scenes From the Southside"), if I had to pick a strong influence from those genres - I would probably lean toward Bluegrass. For his third album, "A Night On The Town", Hornsby began to emphasize Rock and to a lesser extent Jazz. For "Harbor Lights", Hornsby definitely turns things more toward the Jazz side.

Hornsby does a lot of other things differently as well. As Bruce indicates in the liner notes, this is his first album without his band - The Range. The lone holdover from The Range is drummer John Molo. Bruce also mentions that this is his first album where he took complete control of the Production Duties. He also mentions that this was recorded in his home studio in a very "loose" (i.e. jamming style session). One thing that Bruce doesn't mention is that most of the songs on this collection were written by Bruce and Bruce alone. On the previous three albums, Bruce's brother John would co-collaborate with Bruce on many of the tracks. On this collection, John only is credited with writing the words for 2 of the songs.

Usually when an artist decides to self-produce, work at home, and take on the majority of the songwriting - it sometimes proves to be too much. Phil Collins for his "Both Sides" album tried to make a true solo album in which he did everything (including play most of the instruments) and the end result reflects that it is too much. For "Harbor Lights", Bruce does enlist the help of some top musicians - the end result gives this collection a very good feel. The musicians included are Pat Metheny, Branford Marsalis , Phil Collins (who at this time was working on the "Both Side" project), Bonnie Raitt, and Jerry Garcia. The inclusion of Metheny and Marsalis make sense. Metheny is a legendary guitarist whose Jazz-like style fits very nicely with the Jazz-like theme of "Harbor Lights". Metheny contributes some of this great guitar work on "Harbor Lights", "Talk of the Town", "China Doll", and "The Tide Will Rise". Marsalis also has experience in working in Jazz/Rock fusions. Bruce had done a song with him during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. It was Marsalis' horn work that played a major role of Sting's Jazz-infused Rock album, "The Dream of the Blue Turtles". Marsalis contributes some outstanding horns on this collection to "Long Tall Cool One" and "Rainbow's Cadillac". Collins contributes both percussion and vocal work: "Talk of the Town" (bongos); "China Doll" (background vocals). Raitt's unique vocals are heard on "Rainbow's Cadillac" and "The Tide Will Rise". As for Jerry Garcia, he had started working with Bruce on "A Night on the Town". Bruce had actually worked with Garcia on some Grateful Dead Shows. Garcia contributes some nice guitar work "Passing Thru" and "Pastures of Plenty".

Hornsby's albums have always had some strong songwriting. His liner notes describe many of these songs beautifully. On previous works, we've seen sociological messages this on "The Way It Is", "Look At Any Window", and "Fire On the Cross". Hornsby is at no loss for this on this collection as "Talk of the Town" deals with an interracial marriage. Hornsby has always done a nice job at a "storytelling narrative" style in prior songs such as "The Road Not Taken" and "A Night on the Town". You'll hear this style on this collection on songs like "What a Time" and "Long Tall Cool One".

While the Virginia Sound might have switched directions, Bruce hasn't totally abandoned it. As Bruce says in the liner notes, the song "The Tide Will Rise" is about the Waterman of Virginia. You'll hear a bit of the classic style from his Range days on "What a Time" (i.e. a bluegrass spin). You will also hear some violin and viola on "Pastures of Plenty" - something that was more of a Hornsby staple in his earlier days. In fact, "Pastures of Plenty" really does a good job at the whole spirit of the Virginia Sound - the fusion of the many genres.

If you don't own any Hornsby cd's, and you're reading the reviews to pick one, this is the one to get.

Here's the deal. I bought "The Way It Is" and "Scenes From The Southside" as soon as they came out and listened to them everyday until I knew them backwards! I was totally hooked. And I went and heard the band play live a bunch of times and totally freaked out. They are great albums for sure.

When "A Night on the Town" came out either I was going in a different way with my tastes, or it just wasn't as good. I listened to it a bit, but not nearly as intensely as the first two discs.

Then I lost track of Bruce.

A half a year or so ago I was on a gig with a bass player who said he keeps "Harbor Lights" in his car disc-changer at all times. So I thought it was time to give him another shot. I'm really glad I did.

While the previous albums were great, and had individual masterpieces on them, this cd is the complete package. It totally flows from track to track with NO WEAK TUNES. I think this really is the best thing he's done as far as having all the facets of a great album covered. The writing is great, the performances are great, the recording is great, the mood of the whole thing is perfect. THIS IS CLASSIC HORNSBY.

I think this is his highest achievement as a recording artist.

I've gotten a few of the more recent ones, and they have some nice stuff on them, but this one is THE Hornsby classic.

There are certain albums I can always count on. If I have a long trip in the car, I know I can totally groove (and be totally musically satisfied) with albums like Donald Fagen's "The Nightfly"; Joni Mitchell "Blue", Elton John's "Tumbleweed Connection", James Taylor's "Mudslide Slim and the Blue Horizon."

I'm proud to say that "Harbor Lights" makes it into my list of all-timers.

I saw Bruce play at a concert back in April, and after hearing "What a Time," "Fields of Gray" and "Tide Will Rise" for the first time I knew I had to get the CD right away. It didn't leave my player for weeks afterward. The album is poppy, jazzy, funky, rocking, and slow and beautiful by turns. It puts pictures in my head of long spring nights and special friends. There isn't a clunker anywhere on the record either: I've listened to it dozens of times and still never want to skip a single track. This is definitely one of the best CDs I've picked up in the last several years.