A Fred Hersch for the umpteenth time in great shape, to re-read in total relaxation seven standards and five of his splendid compositions. Although far from the clamor of the great record industry, the American pianist has been able to record with regularity for some years, to give us records destined to leave a deep mark on the listener.
Fantasy; technical teaching; deep internalization of the evergreen interpreted; refined harmonious thought, which is substantiated through a discreet and whispered soloism. These are some of the main characteristics of his rich piano playing that emerge strongly in Personal Favorites, his fourth CD for Chesky.
Twelve pieces to develop the innermost folds of an extremely multifaceted piano art, which recovers all the harmonic richness of the Evansian world and a certain sensitivity of romantic touch within a solid and swinging architecture. An admirable expressive lightness, which makes an extremely layered sound fabric easy, aimed at the continuous recomposition of the three musical levels (melodic, harmonic, rhythmic).
The pieces interpreted therefore become a pretext for exercising a 360-degree executive practice, which starts from a brief thematic cue, and then consists of many signs: the precision and sharpness of formal rigor; the open form; the ruthlessness in obtaining tasty rhythmic and melodic alterations with respect to the original fabric; the lyrical and romantic inspiration. All this to create a truly splendid record, which reaches the highest peaks in trio solutions compared to the more conventional solutions with the quintet. - Aaj Etaly Staff / allaboutjazz.com
Tracks
01. Secret Love
02. Played Twice
03. For All We Know
04. Child's Song
05. Evanescence
06. I Fall In Love Too Easily
07. Professor K.
08. Forward Motion
09. Iris
10. Nostalgia
11. Out Of Nowhere
12. If Should Lose You
DREW GRESS bass (1/2/3/5/6/9/11)
SCOT COLLEY bass (4/7/8/19)
TOM RAINEY drums
FRED HERSCH piano
Chesky Records - SACD324