Fred Hersch
Fred Hersch has helped to shape the course of jazz piano over more than three decades as an improviser, composer, educator, bandleader, collaborator and recording artist. He has been called “an elegant force of musical invention” by the L.A. Times, and “a living legend” by the New Yorker.
With more than fifty albums to his credit as a leader or co-leader, Hersch has received critical accolades and numerous awards for his innovations within the classic piano trio format and in intimate duo combinations as well as for his compositions, including acclaimed settings of Walt Whitman’s poetry.
A committed educator, Hersch has taught at New England Conservatory, the Juilliard School, the New School, Rutgers University and the Manhattan School of Music and has given master classes around [...]
Fred Hersch has helped to shape the course of jazz piano over more than three decades as an improviser, composer, educator, bandleader, collaborator and recording artist. He has been called “an elegant force of musical invention” by the L.A. Times, and “a living legend” by the New Yorker.
With more than fifty albums to his credit as a leader or co-leader, Hersch has received critical accolades and numerous awards for his innovations within the classic piano trio format and in intimate duo combinations as well as for his compositions, including acclaimed settings of Walt Whitman’s poetry.
A committed educator, Hersch has taught at New England Conservatory, the Juilliard School, the New School, Rutgers University and the Manhattan School of Music and has given master classes around the world. Hersch’s influence has been widely felt on a new generation of jazz pianists, from former students Brad Mehldau, Sullivan Fortner, Aaron Diehl, Dan Tepfer, and Ethan Iverson to piano colleagues like Jason Moran.
Hersch made his debut for ECM with Enrico Rava on the duo’s 2022 album The Song is You and their collaboration has been hailed as a summit meeting of two jazz masters. The trumpeter from Trieste and pianist from Cincinatti share a deep affection for the tradition and a profound sense for melodic invention. Stereophile called the album “instantly essential”, saying, “both men are sentimentalists in the best sense, and both are lyrical players, which is what makes their pairing in The Song is You so captivating. The sound is breathtaking: spacious, natural, impeccably balanced, with glorious resonance and just enough of the sound of the room to add presence.”
Silent, Listening, Hersch’s second album for ECM, is a major addition to the label’s distinguished line of solo piano recordings and released on 19 April.
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