FRED HERSCH TRIO at THE VILLAGE VANGUARD, nyc, JUL 25
photography by ©Clara Pereira / text by Filipe Freitas
The highly esteemed pianist Fred Hersch took his current trio - featuring bassist John Hébert and drummer Eric McPherson - to the mythical The Village Vanguard for a one-week residency that served to celebrate a decade playing together. On Thursday, July 25th, JazzTrail was there to witness and capture rich musical moments. It was the first set and the room was packed with a crowd of admirers.
The thoroughly chosen repertoire involved a variety of styles and moods, incorporating covers as well as some of the pianist's finest original creations.
The trio took us to nice, soft, and comfortable places with renditions of popular songs such as Irving Berlin’s “Change Partners”, buoyantly delivered at a fast 3/4 tempo and immersed in a groovy graciousness, and Harry Warren’s “You’re My Everything”, marked by a piano solo upfront. Hersch’s single-note contours, manifestly alluding to the beautiful melody, were occasionally split into two distinct harmonious lines separated by pitch contrast.
The effortless communication between the three musicians was visible on challenging originals such as the rubato “Serpentine”, introduced by McPherson’s vigorous cymbal feast, and especially, on the avant-garde-ish “Stuttering”, initially founded in McPherson’s famous cross-sticking and Hébert's entangling drive, and designed with Hersch’s confident chromatic steps and intrusive atonalities. Still, the swinging pace remained vivid underneath, with call-and-response dominating the final section.
Even tackling glorious tunes by Ornette Coleman and Thelonious Monk, namely and respectively, “Turnaround” and “Ask Me Now”, the highlight of the concert was the sublime medley “The Wind / Mood and Sand”, where everything was cliché-free and awe-inspiring. After Hébert and McPherson have left the stage, Hersch finished the set alone on a note of true intimacy with a solo interpretation of Billy Joel’s torch song “And So It Goes”.
This was a wonderful concert where the audience thanked Mr. Hersch and his peers for such a positive energy. They left the venue feeling fully sated.