Renowned pianist/composer Fred Hersch debuts on Palmetto Records in this classic jazz piano trio performance titled Live At The Village Vanguard. Formally released at a "live" date at the world-renowned jazz club in New York City, Hersch is joined by bassist Drew Gress and drummer Nasheet Waits. In his own words, Hersch has stated that the trio specializes in high lyricism and high danger. Truer words were never spoken as the disc opens with Thelonious Monk's "Bemsha Swing." Fred Hersch is in great form during his solo introduction before the bass and drums swing in. "Phantom of The Bopera" is a sensational bebop original that features the technical virtuosity of the trio and their ability to engage their listeners in compelling musical improvisations and conversations. The trio is really in the pocket on this one. Throughout the program, Nasheet Waits plays amazing drumlines including two outstanding solos on "Phantom of the Bopera" and Wayne Shorter's"Miyako/Black Nile" medley. He clearly shows why his is one of the better drummers of his generation. In addition to the seven originals written by Fred Hersch, the trio covers "Some Other Time" and "I'll Be Seeing You." These GAS favorites benefit from Hersch's award-winning style and shine in a pristine, new jazz environment. Live At The Village Vanguard is by far a major accomplishment for Hersch and shines just as brightly as his previous Grammy-nominated efforts. - Paula Edelstein
Usually it is Brad Mehldau who is heralded as the contemporary Bill Evans (to his evident irritation). Yet Mehldau's one-time teacher Fred Hersch is another musician who is able to combine Evans's dazzling pianism, romantic melancholy and surefooted improvising skills at high speed.
In this live trio set from New York's Village Vanguard, Hersch is accompanied by two formidable partners in bassist Drew Gress and drummer Nasheet Waits. The pair pull the pieces out of shape as unwaveringly as Hersch rounds up the chords and ushers things back into line. The feel is of a fresh and open three-way dialogue.
Hersch instantly establishes that he has more to offer than a mere Evans imitation, opening Thelonious Monk's Bemsha Swing with anxiously banging chords and startled, scuttling figures. Eventually he diverts into the tune and develops it as an amalgam of block-chord elation and frail, dainty motifs; it echoes Dave Brubeck and the Modern Jazz Quartet's John Lewis more strongly than either Evans or Monk.
Gress sketches daring counter-melodies all over the music. Waits, for his part, is the kind of risk-taker who helps his partners to fly higher, even if he does dig himself into a few holes - as when he is hit by the sudden realisation that he is coming out of his Bemsha Swing solo too fast to bring the tune back in.
As usual with this often rhapsodic pianist, ballads alternate with dense and complex swingers: six of the 10 pieces are Hersch's. The leader and Gress exquisitely intertwine on the tranquil At the Close of the Day and on the airily contrapuntal Endless Stars - both ballads catching Hersch's fondness for filmic love-song dynamics without being tearjerkers. Phantom of the Bopera, a fast dedication to Hersch's late employer Joe Henderson, represents the most unfettered Evans presence. Swamp Thang is a skewed, slow blues. And although the disc drifts a little from the halfway mark onwards, and there may be too many languorous ballads for some, a Wayne Shorter episode extends the ingenuity of both Hersch and Gress. - John Fordham
Track
01. Bemsha Swing (Best/Monk)
02. At The Close Of The Day (Hersch)
03. Phantom Of The Bopera (Hersch)
04. Endless Stars (Hersch)
05. Swamp Thang (Hersch)
06. Stuttering (Hersch)
07. Some Other Time (Cahn/Styne)
08. Days Gone By (Hersch)
09. Miyako / Black Nile (Shorter)
10. I'ii Be Seeing You (Kahal/Fain)
DREW GRESS bass
NASHEET WAITS drums
FRED HERSCH piano
Recorded May 16-18, 2002 at the Village Vanguard, NYC
Palmetto Records - PM 2088