The words, "sing us a song you’re the piano man," remind us most of Billy Joel and his popular ditty, but they might also be attributed aptly to another improvisational piano virtuoso — three time Grammy Award winner Bruce Hornsby, who returns with his band for his fourth appearance at the Strand-Capital Performing Arts Center on Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. The concert will highlight Hornsby’s latest release, his first live album, Here Comes the Noisemakers.

A recording of concert performances from his 1998–1999 tour, Hornsby claims the disc is, simply, "the truest representation of what we do." Noisemakers — a title derived from a phrase said by a customer as Hornsby’s band took the stage at The Cave club in Virginia Beach during the late ’70s — is Hornsby’s seventh album.

The double CD features new renditions of songs from older releases, including the title track from Horsby’s first album, 1986’s The Way It Is. That disc was Hornsby’s most popular album — selling over 3 million copies and reaching triple-platinum status — and catapulted him to the musical zenith when he won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. The result that emerged from the clandestine project was a sound so compelling that after six years of rejection from major labels, RCA signed him. In 1987, the album’s title track, a story-like song depicting the harsh consciousness of society, was the most played tune on American radio. Additional singles from the release — which are also included on Noisemakers — "Every Little Kiss" and "Mandolin Rain," soon soaked the airwaves and soared the charts.

A talented songwriter as well as musician, a number of hits Hornsby co-wrote for other artists also grace the tracks of Noisemakers — including Don Henley’s, "The End of the Innocence" and Huey Lewis and the News’, "Jacob’s Ladder." In addition to writing with top-notch musicians, Hornsby has toured with many: Sheena Easton, Bonnie Raitt, Bob Seger, and perhaps his most famous stint, with the Grateful Dead, whom he debuted with at Madison Square Garden in an impressive, unrehearsed performance.