Fred Hersch Trio performs at the legendary Village Vanguard jazz club from July 23 – 28, 2019
Pianist Fred Hersch / Photo credit Jim Wilkie
Jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader, Fred Hersch is a celebrated figure in the music world. Known for his deceptively simple yet deeply nuanced performing style, Hersch’s appearances with his renown trio, in partnership with other musicians, and in solo performances are always highly anticipated by the fans. These upcoming sessions with bassist John Hébert and drummer Eric McPherson are no exception.
Notorious for its very special ease of sound and compositional precision, the trio is a regular at the venerable jazz spot Village Vanguard. Treat yourself to the fete of great music with your fellow piano jazz connoisseurs.
Piano-jazz master and composer with solo performances at a legendary NYC club on October 31 – November 2, 2017
Fred Hersch / Photo credit Jim Wilkie
It’s a well known fact that every jazz musician is dreaming about performing at the Village Vanguard,a celebrated New York jazz spot. Going there is part of a sacred ritual for music fans, and for the musicians, it’s a recognition of their mastery and acceptance in the world of jazz. Pianist and composer Fred Hersch is a regular presence on the club schedule and will be performing there October 31 – November 2, 2017.
Fred Hersch is a celebrated figure on the international jazz scene. He came to fame in 1984 when he debuted with Horizons. His very sophisticated style of introspective and emotionally rich music is gaining in its depth with each appearance and recording. Hersch plays with his highly acclaimed trio, in solo concerts and in collaboration with other musicians. One such collaborationwith another remarkable pianist Sullivan Fortnerhas taken place early in October 2017 at Bard College organized by the Catskill Jazz Factory. An established pianist and a bandleader, Hersch is also a well-known composer and jazz educator. Being nominated for ten Grammy awards, the last two in 2017, and named a 2016 Doris Duke Artist puts Hersch at the top of the list of contemporary jazz musicians. His very personal story of near-death health crisis, a remarkable come-back and an openness about his experiences all contribute to his very distinct status among the musicians. A profile in the WallStreetJournal by Ted Gioia calls this return to life “a miracle” which brought Hersch music to the level “that doesn’t get any better than this”. Hirsch’s latest albumOpen Book was released in September 2017.
While jazz remains Hersch’s passion and major preoccupation, he is also a talented storyteller, with a lot to share with his readers. His new memoir “Good Things Happen Slowly” was released in September 2017. NPR’s Terry Gross interviewing Hersch had described the story in the book as what “it was like to be closeted in the jazz world, and then come out as gay and as having AIDS”.
Hersch talent is clearly reaching new highs with each new show, and the upcoming appearances at the Vanguard will surely be no exception.
Listening to jazz music at Village Vanguard, a celebrated New York jazz spot, is part of a sacred ritual for music fans. This week the club is hosting Vijay Iyer Trio from May 9 to May 14. Iyer’s trio (Iyer, piano; Marcus Gilmore, drums; Stephan Crump, bass) is particularly famous for its albums Accelerando(2012) and Historicity (2009). Accelerando was voted #1 Jazz Album of the Year for 2012 by three separate critics polls at DownBeat, Jazz Times, and Rhapsody.
The concert at the Village Vanguard starts with simple introduction of the musicians by Iyer with a compulsory explanation of the pronunciation of Iyer’s name. It then gets into continuous musical journey seemingly uninterrupted and fluid. It feels that one tune smoothly leads to the next like sea waves so the audience is getting deep into the sound. The musicians’ high calibre is in full view. There is no solos per se as the band improvises together.
Iyer was interested in music from his childhood playing in school orchestra and continuing performing when studying at Yale University which he graduated with a degree in Physics and Mathematics. He then pursued his scientific and musical exploration at the University of California at Berkeley getting a Ph. D. in the cognitive science of music. In addition to performing and writing his own compositions, he is the Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts at Harvard University. Before Harvard University he was teaching at Manhattan School of Music, NYU and The New School. Iyer started playing professionally with Steve Coleman, a bandleader and a saxophone player back when he was still at Berkeley.
In talking to Oberlin Review at the time of a Master program there at Oberlin Conservatory in April 2017, he stressed the importance of keeping the music within “the living context” and for the artists to think broadly about the world and their responsibility in serving it.
Vijay Iyer, a 2013 McArthur Fellow, had been “the most lauded piano player in jazz” according to The New Yorker profile in February 1, 2016 issue. It is quite interesting that in that same profile the fact that Iyer until then was not invited to play at Village Vanguard was brought up. The record is corrected now.
