Jazz Articles about Fred Hersch

Fred Hersch: In Amsterdam: Live at the Bimhuis

by Brian P. Lonergan
May 20, 2006

This live recording offers an exquisite sixty minutes of solo piano. In a mix of originals and standards, Fred Hersch's relaxed and loose approach (he didn't know he was being recorded) yields tunes that feel comfortably deconstructed--the ballads especially have a spacious air to them--and freshly re-imagined. Hersch's own voice is always paramount. It's as if, to give one example, he weren't playing the Hoagy Carmichael standard “The Nearness of You, but one of his own ballads that happened to ...

Fred Hersch: In Amsterdam: Live At The Bimhuis

by R. Emmet Sweeney
March 17, 2006

Fred Hersch In Amsterdam: Live At The Bimhuis Palmetto Records 2006

This live release by Fred Hersch is a rare creature: a solo piano recital that is never at a loss for lyrical and melodic ideas. The solo format exposes all of the musician's habits, pet themes and favored tones to our virgin ears without the benefit of the commanding physical pulse of a rhythm section. It's just Hersch and his thoughts. Thankfully, he's ...

Fred Hersch: In Amsterdam: Live at the Bimhuis

by Victor L. Schermer
March 11, 2006

A whole evening or an entire album of solo improvisation is the ultimate challenge to any keyboardist's ability to sustain the listener's interest. It takes quite a bit of daring, or else a feeling that one has “arrived as a master, to risk such an enterprise. Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau have successfully done it--and it is no accident that their names connote the best of the best in their craft. Now Fred Hersch takes the ...

Fred Hersch: In Amsterdam: Live at the Bimhuis

by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
February 11, 2006

It's time to use the g-word when referring to Fred Hersch. Although the word has been overused and thoroughly diluted in our culture, for me it's as elusive as the g-spot. In fact, I've never used the term “genius" to describe a living artist--at least, not until now--and it's probably long overdue, at that.

What makes a genius, anyway? I believe it requires an inspired originality that's way beyond talent, and a restless, searching intelligence that continues to ...

The Fred Hersch Ensemble: Leaves of Grass

by Jim Santella
May 18, 2005

The full chamber ensemble assembled by Fred Hersch for this project creates a beautiful scene that reflects Walt Whitman's poetry appropriately. A serious tone with religious fervor and dramatic overtones emanates from the adventure.

“Song of Myself," the album's centerpiece, flows gently, with Whitman's poetry supplying the lyrics and Hersch's ensemble supplying the mood. As Kurt Elling sings about people, places, beliefs, and motivation, we can feel the poet's aims. Cello, piano, rustic woodwinds, and gentle brass surround ...

Fred Hersch: Celebrating Walt Whitman

by Victor L. Schermer
April 21, 2005

Fred Hersch is a working jazz pianist and composer based in New York City, with an outstanding resume of accomplishments (see his website for full details). In addition to his three-decade long daily fare as a leader and sideman on a multitude of gigs and recordings, he has, over the course of his career, undertaken a variety of special projects, such as solo performances, duo collaborations, his own trio and other ensembles, and composition.

In an understated way, Hersch has ...

Fred Hersch: Celebrating Life in a Musical "Leaves of Grass"

by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
April 4, 2005

I attended the sold-out March 11, 2005 performance of Fred Hersch's (see April 2005 interview) Leaves of Grass at Zankel Hall, a relatively new and wondrous performance space in the belly of Carnegie Hall. This Palmetto CD has already been reviewed by two AAJ colleagues, and since I largely agree, I'll leave the parsing of the disk to them and focus myself elsewhere.

For once, I deliberately left my notebook at home. Already somewhat familiar with the CD, ...