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Fred Hersch: Solo
ByFred Hersch Solo is as graceful and beautiful set as any he has done since his recovery, a post 2008 discography that begins with Fred Hersch Plays Jobim (Palmetto, 2009), and rolls through to 2014's Floating (Palmetto), and visits in between one of his finest trio outings, Whirl (Palmetto, 2010).
Fred Hersch Solo is a set that puts the pianist's technical expertise front and center. His is an approach rich in emotion, with a nimble delicacy of touch. The set opens with a floating medley of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Olha Maria" and "O Grand Amour," a Brazilian journey that drifts in the beginning then gains strength and sense of urgency. Hersch takes the familiar "Caravan" into quirky and unfamiliar territory, and lays down a gorgeously stately homage to Robert Schumann on "Pastorale." Thelonious Monk's "In Walked Bud" is an ebullient romp, and Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" sounds as if it drifted up out of a prayer book.
The "sound" of the music, recorded in a Catskills church, is warm and resonant, with a reverential tint, and Hersch, with now ten solo recordings in his discography, is in splendid form. Another jewel of a post-coma recording Fred Hersch.
Track Listing
Olha Maria/O Grande Amor; Caravan; Pastorale (For Robert Schumann); Whirl (For Suzanne Farrell); The Song Is You; In Walked Bud; Both Sides Now.
Personnel
Fred Hersch
pianoFred Hersch: piano
Album information
Title: Solo | Year Released: 2015 | Record Label: Palmetto Records
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Fred Hersch
CD/LP/Track Review
Dan McClenaghan
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
Palmetto Records
United States
New York
New York City
Thelonious Monk
Solo