Fred Hersch & esperanza spalding: Alive at the Village Vanguard

 © Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

I will keep this introduction short because I want to get this piece posted so those of you with access to the tour cities listed at the conclusion of the post can make arrangements to purchase tickets to attend these concerts and support the release of this new recording.

Whether it’s Swing Era vocalist Lee Wiley and pianist Jess Stacey, or Modern Era vocalist Jackie Cain and pianist Roy Krall or the current era’s vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant and pianist Sullivan Fortner or vocalist Gillian Margot and pianist Geoff Keezer, this duo combination of female singer and keyboard player has been a somewhat unique platform for Jazz expression in the history of the music.

I’m not sure of all the reasons for this rarity, but if I had to guess, I would imagine that it has a lot to do with trust, musical compatibility and a fearless willingness to “perform without a safety net” as there aren’t a lot of places to hide in such a quiet setting.

Of course, the safety net is there in the form of another essential ingredient to make such a pairing work - an extraordinarily high degree of musicianship. Or as esperanza spalding expresses it: “I like to live on the edge in my music, but I find myself trying things that I usually wouldn't when I play with [Fred], finding new spaces to explore in the realm of improvised lyrics."

Given the infrequency of such voice and piano duos, you won’t want to miss this recording as Fred and esperanza have created a moment in time.

Recorded in performance at the Village Vanguard over a three day period in 2018, the recording features almost 70 minutes of music by these exceptional artists that plays out over Great American Songbook songs, Jazz standards by Monk and Bird and originals by Hersch, all of which are detailed in Ann Braithwaite’s media release which follows. 

BRAITHWAITE & KATZ Communications ------------

Iconic pianist/composer Fred Hersch and visionary jazz vocalist esperanza spalding release a dazzling duo performance captured at the Village Vanguard

Due out January 6, 2023 on Palmetto Records, Alive at the Village Vanguard features two of jazz's most revered artists in captivating form at the legendary NYC club.

“Pianist/composer Fred Hersch and vocalist/bassist/songwriter esperanza spalding (stylized in all lower case) can both be counted among the most acclaimed and inventive artists in modern jazz. The Village Vanguard is the music's most revered venue, having played host to countless legendary musicians and beloved live recordings.

The duo and the club converge for a magical performance on Alive at the Village Vanguard, a rare opportunity for listeners to enjoy the singular and thrilling collaboration between two marquee jazz artists at the top of their game.

Due out January 6, 2023 via Palmetto Records, Alive at the Village Vanguard showcases the astonishing chemistry shared by these two master musicians, who bring out distinctive aspects in each other's playing. Hersch and spalding have convened for only a handful of New York City performances since their first meeting in 2013 during the pianist's annual duo series at the Jazz Standard. In that limited time the pair has developed a wholly personal approach, not only in the annals of piano-voice duets but in their own already highly individual practices. Taking the stage with no set arrangements and only a vague sense of the repertoire they'll explore, the dauntless pair delights in playing without a safety net.

"This recording sounds like you're in the best seat in the Vanguard for a very live experience," says Hersch. "You can really feel the vitality of the room, of the audience, and of our interplay. We decided on the word Alive for the album title as you can really feel the intimacy and energy of the performances."

Alive at the Village Vanguard marks Hersch's sixth recording from the storied club, where he's been invited to headline three weeks annually for many years. The album also vividly spotlights Hersch's stunning sensitivity and engagement as a duo partner; in recent years he's worked in a similar setting with such incredible musicians as guitarists Julian Lage and Bill Frisell, clarinetist/saxophonist Anat Cohen, saxophonist Miguel Zenon, and trumpet maestro Enrico Rava.

Hersch and spalding will celebrate the album's release with a return to the Village Vanguard for a weeklong engagement beginning on January 10. That will be followed by a three-week U.S. tour [see below].

"Playing with Fred feels like we're in a sandbox," spalding says. "He takes his devotion to the music as serious as life and death, but once we start playing, it's just fun. I like to live on the edge in my music, but I find myself trying things that I usually wouldn't when I play with him, finding new spaces to explore in the realm of improvised lyrics."

Always a determined original in her own projects, spalding rarely sings standards, and her approach here is unique to her partnership with Hersch. She's revealed on this outing as not just a phenomenal scat singer but a charming and imaginative improvisational storyteller. The Gershwins1 "But Not For Me" becomes a witty, poetic extemporization on the lyric itself, examining the changes in language represented by the original's sometimes archaic terminology. Neal Hefti and Bobby Troup's chauvinistic ditty "Girl Talk" comes under barbed scrutiny from not only a feminist but also an eco-conscious perspective.

"I don't think anybody's heard esperanza sing like this," Hersch says. "She's a fearless vocalist, and is one of the biggest talents I know. She's got a huge reach in her intellectual knowledge and is a big thinker in both her projects and in her outlook."

Hersch's preternatural reflexes, profound emotional expressiveness and unparalleled gift for interpreting and reimagining repertoire with each new performance are on mesmerizing display throughout the album. His "Dream of Monk" has been a staple of the duo's sets since the beginning. With lyrics penned by the pianist himself, the tune is a dedication to one of the pianist's most indelible influences, whose own "Evidence" shows why Hersch is such a revered interpreter of the Monk canon. "Little Suede Shoes" transforms another bop-era classic, spinning a playful update on the Charlie Parker calypso.

"Some Other Time" is a Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne song, less well known than the Leonard Bernstein classic of the same name but a favorite of Hersch, who weaves an elegant and vivid tapestry during his mesmerizing solo. Egberto Gismonti's "Loro" is launched by spalding's unconventional scatting, which she eventually uses to engage in a nimble dance with Hersch's propulsive piano. The album closes with Hersch's best-known composition, "A Wish (Valentine)," with magnificent lyrics by Norma Winstone.

Though it's hard to believe given the buoyant spirits and playful interaction of the performances, both spalding and Hersch were working through pain on the October 2018 weekend that this music was recorded. Although the stint ended on a celebratory note with the occasion of Hersch's 63rd birthday, he was also scheduled to enter the hospital the very next day for hip replacement surgery. "I was in a lot of pain and walking with a crutch," he recalls. "Just getting down the famous stairs to the Vanguard was an ordeal, but once the music started the pain disappeared completely."

spalding, meanwhile, was struggling with family issues while juggling an intense schedule that included writing an opera with the master composer Wayne Shorter and beginning a teaching position at Harvard University. "I was going through a very difficult time in my life," she admits. "I was miserable every day when I got to the Vanguard, so I had to decide to plug into the capacity for this music to heal. I wanted to emanate something positive even though I was feeling so horrible. Neither of us were feeling well in our lives outside of the music, so the stage of the Vanguard became an alchemizing place for both of us, and I think you can feel that in the music."

Fred Hersch

A select member of jazz's piano pantheon, Fred Hersch is an influential creative force who has shaped the music's course over more than three decades. A fifteen-time Grammy nominee, Hersch has long set the standard for expressive interpretation and inventive creativity. A revered improviser, composer, educator, bandleader, collaborator and recording artist, Hersch has been proclaimed "the most arrestingly innovative pianist in jazz over the last decade" by Vanity Fair, "an elegant force of musical invention" by The LA. Times, and "a living legend" by The New Yorker. For decades Hersch has been firmly entrenched as one of the most acclaimed and captivating pianists in modern jazz, whether through his exquisite solo performances, as the leader of one of jazz's era-defining trios, or in eloquent dialogue with his deeply attuned duo partners. His brilliant 2017 memoir, Good Things Happen Slowly, was named one of 2017's Five Best Memoirs by The Washington Post and The New York Times.

esperanza spalding

Five-time Grammy Award-winning visionary esperanza spalding aims to ignite and portray various hues of vital human energies through composition, singing, bass playing and live performance. A lover of all music, especially improvisation-based music emerging from black American culture, spalding's musical aesthetic is prismatic. With projects like Radio Music Society, Chamber Music Society, Emily's D+ Evolution and 12 Little Spells, she has inventively combined and reimagined influences from jazz, funk, rock, musical theater and beyond. She has taught at Berklee College of Music and Harvard University, founded the Songwrights Apothecary Lab, and wrote the opera ...(Iphigenia) in collaboration with Wayne Shorter.

Fred Hersch & esperanza spalding - Alive at the Village Vanguard

Palmetto Records - Catalog Numbers: PM2007LP; PM2007CD- Recorded October 19-21, 2018

Release date January 6, 2023

2023 album release concerts include Indianapolis (Jan. 8); NYC's Village Vanguard (Jan. 10-15);

Birmingham, AL (Jan. 18); Atlanta, GA (Jan 19); Seattle, WA (Jan. 24-25); San Francisco, CA (Jan. 26-27);

Newark, NJ (Jan. 29); Roanoke, VA (Jan. 31); Washington, D.C. (Feb. 1-2); Richmond, VA (Feb. 3);

Kennett Square, PA (Feb. 4); Troy, NY (Feb. 5)

Hersch / spalding Tour Dates - January 8 - February 5, 2023:

Sunday, Jan 8 - The Cabaret, Indianapolis, IN The Cabaret, Shows to be Announced,Purchase Tickets Now for Shows in Indy 

Tuesday - Sunday, Jan 10-15 - Village Vanguard, NYC: Village Vanguard

Wednesday, Jan 18 - UAB Arts, Birmingham AL An Evening with Fred Hersch and esperanza spalding - UAB Arts, UAB Arts:Experience Art from Different Angles..(alysstephens.org)

Thursday, Jan 19 - Emory University, Atlanta, GA - An Evening with Fred Hersch and esperanza spalding. 

Thursday. January 19, 2023, 8p.m. - Calendar of Events I Emory University, Atlanta GA

Tuesday & Wednesday, Jan 24 & 25 - Jazz Alley, Seattle, WA An Evening with Fred Hersch and esperanza spalding Dimitriou's Jazz Alley - Seattle, WA - Tue, Jan 24 - <br />Wed, Jap 25, 2023

Thurs/Friday, Jan 26-27 - Yoshi's, Oakland CA Thurs.8pm, Thurs 10p.m, Fri 8 p.m., Fri 10p.m.

Sunday, Jan 29 - NJPAC, Newark NJ An Evening with Fred Hersch and esperanza spalding - NJPAC

Tuesday, Jan 31 - Jefferson Center, Roanoke VA An Evening with Fred Hersch and esperanza spalding (jeffcenter.org)

Wed. Thurs, Feb 1-2 - Kennedy Center, Washington, DC An Evening with Fred Hersch and esperanza spalding I Kennedy

Center (kennedy-center.org)

Fri. Feb 3 - University of Richmond, Richmond VA Performances and Events - Modlin Center for the Arts - University of Richmond

Sat Feb 4 - Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA An Evening with Fred Hersch and esperanza spalding, Longwood

Sun. Feb 5 -Troy Savings Band Music Hall, Troy NY An evening with Fred Hersch & esperanza spalding, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall (troymusichall.org)

Fred Hersch's Jazz Epiphany

© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

“Given … [the] dramatic incidents in Mr. Hersch’s life, readers might be tempted to skip over the portions of this book dealing with the craft of music. That would be a mistake. Mr. Hersch belongs to that last generation of jazz performers who came of age learning the old-fashioned way, on the job and in the presence of the living masters instead of from a textbook or classroom assignment.

In these pages, he tells about gigging with Jo Jones Jr. in Greenwich Village, traveling on the bus with big-band star Woody Herman, partying with trumpeter Chet Baker and other rites of passage the likes of which do not exist for twentysomethings nowadays.

He also writes splendid impressionist essays on the essence of Thelonious Monk, the importance of rhythm in jazz, and the difference between an eighth note as played by Chick Corea (thin and bright), Herbie Hancock (fat and solid) and Fred Hersch (discrete, with space on each side, and with a distinctive pianistic color all its own).”

- Ted Gioia, “A Life Played By Ear,” Wall Street Journal, September 9-10, 2017

Although the word “epiphany” has Biblical origins, in the vernacular it generally means a moment of sudden revelation or insight. One slang definition for it is - An Ahah! Moment!!

For most Jazz musicians and Jazz fans, epiphany often means the moment when the music “spoke to them,” for as Louis Armstrong was fond of saying: “The music either speaks to you or it don’t.”

Over the years, I’ve conducted an informal survey of fellow Jazz musicians and fans and the range of starting points for when they first became interested in the music ranges from parents record collection to a random encounter with the music on an FM radio station that turned into a quest to hear more music by a particular artist.

In this excerpt from Fred Hersch's forthcoming memoir, Good Things Happen Slowly: A Life In and Out of Jazz (Crown Archetype), the pianist recalls his introduction to jazz.

“I had my jazz epiphany on wintery night near the end of 1973.I had recently returned to my hometown of Cincinnati after one term at Grinnell College. There was a small club in town called the Family Owl, and I went in expecting to catch some bluegrass in the basement. At the entrance I noticed a sign that said "Live Jazz Upstairs." On a whim, I climbed the stairs to the second floor, where a local saxophone quartet was playing.

The leader was a tenor saxophonist named Jimmy McGary, a fiery little man in his forties with a reddish-gray beard. He was a strong player with a full tone and a hard-swinging feel. The bassist was a wiry guy of indeterminate age named Bud Hunt—a solid player not quite on McGary's level. The drummer was a hulking, mad-looking bear of a man named Grover Mooney. He played in the mode I would later associate with Elvin Jones, with a kind of rolling approach to time. The pianist, who didn't make much of an impression on me, was playing a Fender Rhodes.

There was no sheet music on the stage. The musicians seemed to be creating the music out of thin air. I was mesmerized.

On the break at the end of the set, I worked up my courage, went up to McGary, and asked if I could sit in. He said, "Know any tunes?"

I said, "I think I can play 'Autumn Leaves.'" McGary nodded, and when it was time to start the second set, he waved me oh. I took a seat at the Rhodes, trying to look casual about it, and played "Autumn Leaves." Actually, I overplayed it and messed up the form without knowing it. Adrenaline rushing, I went back to the bar.

After the set, McGary came up to me and said, "Come with me, kid." He brought me to a small break room in the back of the club. There was a table in the corner that held a portable record player and a few LPs stacked next to it. Jimmy lit a joint and passed it over to me. While I was taking my hit, he put the record on the turntable. "Now listen to this," he said. "Don't talk — just listen."

The LP was Ellington At Newport, the live recording of Duke Ellington and His Orchestra at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival. Jimmy picked up the tone arm and dropped the needle on the second track of the second side: "Diminuendo And Crescendo In Blue," the number that made the performance a sensation, with 26 improvised choruses by the tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves. The energy was extraordinary, building with every chorus Gonsalves played. People were hooting and hollering like it was a rock concert. It was absolute hysteria. But beneath it all you could hear the fabric holding it all together, the shared sense of swing rhythm that brought the musicians together — the basic rhythm of jazz. At the end, Jimmy picked up the needle and looked me in the eye. "That's time," he said.

"Now, you have to have time. And you have to know some tunes. So, as soon as you've done some listening and you've worked on your time and you know some tunes, you can come back and play."

Later that week, I went to Mole's Record Exchange, a cluttered store in the university area that sold used albums for a buck or two. I rifled through the jazz bins, working my way from A to Z, and bought every album that had a version of "Autumn Leaves" on it: records by Miles Davis, Ahmad Jamal, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, Erroll Garner, Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Cannonball Adderley — more than a dozen. I brought the pile home and played each version of the tune, skipping all the other tracks. Then I played them all again, one by one. It was a revelation. Some were subtle, some virtuosic, some brisk, some meditative. Each version was unique, and all of them were all great.

It struck me: In jazz it's individuality, not adherence to a standardized conception of excellence, that matters most. Difference matters — in fact, it's an asset, rather than a liability. There is no describing how exhilarating this epiphany was for me, as a person who always felt different from other people.”

[Excerpted from GOOD THINGS HAPPEN SLOWLY. Copyright c 2077 by Fred Hersch and David Hajdu. Published by Crown Archetype, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.]