Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Fred Hersch Pocket Orchestra: Live at Jazz Standard

377

Fred Hersch Pocket Orchestra: Live at Jazz Standard

By

View read count
Fred Hersch Pocket Orchestra: Live at Jazz Standard
Fred Hersch has amassed an impressive discography since his arrival on the jazz scene in the '70s. In addition to stints with Stan Getz, Art Farmer and Toots Thielemans, and numerous appearances as a sideman, the pianist has recorded over two dozen albums as a leader, co-leader or solo performer, as well as composing extensively. Hersch, who revealed his HIV-positive status as a gay man sometime ago, has also been active in AIDS education, though the past few years have been extremely rough for him, including a three-month long coma, plus battling AIDS-related dementia and pneumonia.

Live at Jazz Standard is one of Hersch's most intriguing releases, as he performs ten striking originals (several of which he previously recorded as instrumentals) with trumpeter Ralph Alessi, vocalist Jo Lawry and drummer Richie Barshay, for an attentive audience at the busy New York City nightclub. The music reveals a diverse background, influenced by Hersch's classical training at times while also delving into nostalgic looks at earlier music forms, as well as forward-looking compositions. The quirky "Stuttering" is a playful post-bop tune that has its share of twists whereas "Light Years" is an intriguing work with Lawry alternating between spoken and sung passages, backed by appropriately spacey accompaniment. The sensual "Invitation to the Dance" is a vocal adaptation of Hersch's "Sarabande" and the tender ballad "A Wish (Valentine)" is a perfect closer, a touching vocal/piano duet.

Track Listing

Child's Song; Song without Words #4: Duet; Light Years; Down Home; Invitation to the Dance (Sarabande); Lee's Dream; Canzona; Free Flying; A Wish (Valentine).

Personnel

Fred Hersch: piano; Ralph Alessi: trumpet; Jo Lawry: vocals; Richie Barshay: percussion.

Album information

Title: Live at Jazz Standard | Year Released: 2010 | Record Label: Sunnyside Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Fred Hersch Concerts


Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

Near

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.