From the April 2013 issue of The New York City Jazz Record: — It’s clear right away that pianist Fred Hersch’s “My Coma Dreams” is not a typical concert experience. Hersch premiered the “jazz theater” piece in New Jersey in 2011; the new production at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre (March 2) was altered but substantially similar. Narrator-vocalist Michael Winther portrayed both
My monthly list of recommended CDs, as published in The New York City Jazz Record, April 2013: Ches Smith and These Arches, Hammered (Clean Feed) Benoît Delbecq & Fred Hersch Double Trio, Fun House (Songlines) Charles Lloyd & Jason Moran, Hagar’s Song (ECM) Nicholas Payton, #BAM Live at Bohemian Caverns (BMF) Kendrick Scott Oracle, Conviction (Concord) Ben Wendel & Dan Tepfer,
My monthly list of recommended CDs, as published in The New York City Jazz Record, September 2012: Riccardo Fassi, Sitting in a Song (Alice) Jürgen Friedrich, Monosuite for String Orchestra and Improvisers (Pirouet) Fred Hersch Trio, Alive at the Vanguard (Palmetto) François Houle 5 + 1, Genera (Songlines) Hafez Modirzadeh, Post-Chromodal Out! (Pi) Arturo O’Farrill, The Noguchi Sessions (Zoho)
This review appears in the September 2011 issue of The New York City Jazz Record. — Caramoor Jazz Festival Katonah, New York August 5-7, 2011 By David R. Adler On paper, this year’s Caramoor Jazz Festival stood up nicely against the more extensive offerings the same weekend at Newport. Friday evening belonged to one group only, pianist Renee Rosnes and
In the August 2011 issue of The New York City Jazz Record: — To this point, guitarist Rez Abbasi has focused overwhelmingly on original material, and although his work could be said to sit within the modernist mainstream of jazz, he’s spent little time in public playing standard tunes. That changed when he appeared in a trio setting with bassist Johannes
In case you missed the last one… Plunge, Tin Fish Tango (Immersion) MSG (Mahanthappa/Sardjoe/Guilfoyle), Tasty! (Plus Loin) Vijay Iyer with Prasanna & Nitin Mitta, Tirtha (ACT) Omar Sosa, Calma (Otá) Orrin Evans, Captain Black Big Band (Posi-Tone) Fred Hersch, Alone at the Vanguard (Palmetto)
I have a brief news-oriented piece on Fred Hersch in the September 2010 JazzTimes. It struck me long after submitting the story that the word “gay” does not appear in it, despite the fact that Fred has been out for well over a decade. At first I thought I should have corrected this, but ultimately I’m glad that it didn’t