Fred Hersch has released fifteen albums as a leader over a career
spanning more than twenty years, two of which have earned him
Grammy nominations. Since relocating to New York in 1977 from
his native Cincinnati, he has been consistently in demand,
performing extensively with jazz legends Eddie Daniels, Art
Farmer, Stan Getz, Charlie Haden, Joe Henderson, Toots
Thielemans and others. In 1986 he formed his own trio, which has
made seven recordings and appears frequently at renowned venues
and festivals worldwide. This year the conservatory-trained Hersch
was described in The Atlantic Monthly as "...one of the most
sensitive and genuinely lyrical players in jazz."
Prominent in Hersch's recorded output is a series of acclaimed
"songbook" CDs, encompassing the works of Billy Strayhorn,
Rogers and Hammerstein, Johnny Mandel and Bill Evans. Hersch's
1996 Billy Strayhorn tribute Passion Flower (Nonesuch), an
innovative and moving treatment of some of Strayhorn's most
memorable compositions, received widespread critical acclaim.
Fred Hersch Plays Rogers & Hammerstein (Nonesuch), Hersch's
third solo project, was equally praised. His solo performance at the
1997 Oris London Jazz Festival was especially well-received: "his
transformation of familiar songs...testified to the emergence of
maybe the most complete jazz-derived piano improvising style on
the contemporary scene" (The Guardian).
With Thelonius: Fred Hersch Plays Monk, Hersch's most recent
Nonesuch recording, he examines works by one of the jazz world's
most legendary keyboard innovators. Previewed extensively in
concert performances last year, Hersch's latest solo outing was
praised as "a landmark album" by The Washington Post.
Hersch's extensive work raising money for AIDS causes found
musical expression in his 1994 recording Last Night When We
Were Young: The Ballad Album, which benefited Classical Action:
Performing Arts Against AIDS. On the newly-released Fred Hersch
& Friends: The Duo Album, he plays duets with twelve jazz
legends, including Tommy Flanagan, Joe Lovano, Lee Konitz and
Kenny Barron, also to benefit Classical Action.
