Famed pianist and Livermore native bringing ‘100 Hits of Stage & Screen’ to the Bankhead

Piano virtuoso and Livermore native Jason Lyle Black is set to take the Bankhead Theater stage on Mother’s Day to debut his new show, “From Blockbusters to Broadway: 100 Hits of Stage & Screen.”

Those who attend Sunday’s performance will see and hear the new arrangements by Black for the first time before he takes the show on tour later this year. 

“The biggest thing about the new show is that I’m writing for more than piano now, so I’m bringing my drummer out from Nashville with me,” Black told the Weekly in an interview. 

“This new show builds on a lot of what I did before which was a show around Broadway and so on — so it’s still in that same world but all-new music and just kind of a bigger sound,” he said, adding that songs from “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Phantom of the Opera” are examples along with music from iconic bands like The Rolling Stones and AC/DC, to name a few. 

Black said that one thing he strives to communicate with audiences is that his show is very fast-paced as he traverses through 100 songs on stage, which is a much different and more lively experience from a traditional piano recital. 

“It’s almost like a ‘Name that Tune’ type of experience for people because there’s just so much music that you hear and recognize,” the Granada High School grad said. 

In addition to drums, Black also has live projections on stage as well as some unique tricks up his sleeve like playing the piano backwards.  

Black said the last time he played at the Bankhead was in 2020, right before the pandemic shutdown, and he’s excited for the homecoming show more than four years later. 

While his parents have long roots in Livermore with decades spent in the area, they’ve since retired and moved out of state, but Black said they will be coming back to town to see the show on Sunday, creating a full circle moment and reunion with other friends and loved ones who remain local. 

Without wanting to give away any spoilers, Black also noted that he will be taking time out in the show to commemorate Mother’s Day and he has an “emotional moment” planned for the audience. 

Reflecting on the last time he was in Livermore and the state of the arts industry post-pandemic, Black said there has been a “wonderful comeback.” 

“Obviously, there was a lot of loss in the arts, specifically, from the pandemic — venues that closed down permanently and people that had to leave the industry just because they couldn’t survive that long without any work. But then, some of the flip side of that has been just a huge enthusiasm for return to live entertainment,” Black said. 

Since doing more touring in recent years and developing his new show, Black said he typically describes the style as a symphony type of experience with just a couple of instruments on stage. “One of my passions now is creating that really cinematic, symphonic sound with a surprisingly small stage,” he said, adding that he still includes several intimate moments of just him and the piano in the mix too. 

“I like to bring kind of a classical grade experience but to the everyday audience. I want it to be sophisticated and powerful and artistic but still very accessible,” he said.

Black’s performance this Sunday (May 12) is set to begin at 3 p.m. Tickets and more information are available at livermorearts.org.