Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The Fred Hersch Trio: Night and the Music

420

The Fred Hersch Trio: Night and the Music

By

View read count
The Fred Hersch Trio: Night and the Music
Although there are no set formulas for success or achievement in jazz, there are certainly a few "legs-up and "add-ons. In the case of the trio, one such advantage is that of comfort and familiarity between the members. With these in play, the notes begin to blend and fall seamlessly in line: three voices turn to one. And while such synergy is relatively rare, look no further than The Fred Hersch Trio's Night and the Music for a prime example. Here the respected pianist and composer is joined in the studio by longtime bassist Drew Gress and drummer Nasheet Waits for a session covering a handful of originals, as well as selections from the American Songbook and two Monk classics.

The recording finds all three at the height of their faculties—expressive yet restrained, open and interacting with an ease established over several years together in a variety of contexts. So fluid and familiar is the trio with each other that at times—as on Irving Berlin's "Change Partners —the listener can barely discern between what's written and what belongs to whim. Other highlights include Hersch's "Rhythm Spirit and Cole Porter's "So In Love, both of which gleam with tension and release, along with Monk's "Boo Boo's Birthday —a playful, mischievous number among the pianist's favorites for live settings.

Overall, the disc offers a balance of meditative and physical playing, nicely attuned to the jazz lover's ear. And if you listen closely enough, you might just hear the night pitter-patter to the music.

Track Listing

So In Love; Rhythm Spirit; Heartland; Galaxy Fragment/You and the Night and the Music; Boo Boo's Birthday; Change Partners; How Deep is the Ocean; Gravity's Pull; Andrew John; Misterioso.

Personnel

Fred Hersch: piano; Drew Gress: bass; Nasheet Waits: drums.

Album information

Title: Night and the Music | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Palmetto 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.