Celebrating David Bowie,
featuring players from his iconic albums, comes to Plaza Live on Thursday.
If anyone is qualified to keep David Bowie’s legacy alive, it’s Mike Garson.
Beginning with 1973’s “Aladdin Sane,” the New York jazz pianist performed on 16 studio and live albums with the British rocker who died in 2016. For the past year, Garson has been on the road with fellow alumni (as he calls them) of Bowie’s recording sessions, including guitarist Earl Slick and bandleader Gerry Leonard. The tour has attracted stars such as Sting, Ewan McGregor and Gary Oldman to perform in various cities.
On Thursday, Garson brings Celebrating David Bowie to Orlando’s Plaza Live (8 p.m., 425 N. Bumby Ave., $29.50-$200, plazaliveorlando.org). On the phone from Arizona, Garson, 72, discussed the tour, his admiration for Bowie’s work and playing on some of the most famous tracks of all time. Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Question: What made you want to put this tour together?
Answer: When [Bowie] was alive, I would get calls every few months for another tribute band. And I would say to them, “Why would I want to do a tribute band when I’m working with the real man?” When he passed, there was no David Bowie, so I had to further his music. People want to hear his music. That doesn’t die; it lives forever.
Q: What do you feel will be the lasting impact of Bowie?
A: I think in a 100 years from now, you’ll look back at the 20th and 21st centuries, and David will be in the top three to five greatest artists … because of being the soundtrack for so many people and his effect on so many artists. I’m still learning about his brilliance. I think he just was smarter than all of us.
Q: Bowie was often known for esoteric lyrics. Have some of his words started making more sense to you as you’ve been performing them?
A: Yes. I’ve been adding a song called “Conversation Piece” [1969] and the lyrics are to die for. I’m waking up to his songs. Sometimes I don’t think he wanted you to know what it all meant. Sometimes it has layers of meanings. Sometimes it is what it is, maybe just a love song. And many times he was describing the conditions on the planet.
Q: Do you have special guests lined up for Orlando?
A: I don’t know who’s showing up in Florida. It might be just us; it has to do with people’s schedules. There’s not one artist I’ve called that hasn’t wanted to do it. But we’re self-contained, and the audience doesn’t go away disappointed.
Q: When you recorded the famous piano solo for “Aladdin Sane,” did you realize what an impact that song was going to have?
A: I grew up in the jazz and classical world, so I didn’t know who [Bowie] was when I got the call. When he asked me to record on “Aladdin Sane” ... it was just one take. It was five minutes of my time. I didn’t hear the track for 20 years after that.
And every night now, I play it new; it’s improvised every time. And I now extend the end. Because David would want me to keep pushing the envelope and never getting stuck in a comfort zone. That’s where we shared a creative mind.