FRED HERSCH

© 1997 Mike Metheny


In the past ten years, pianist Fred Hersch has emerged as one of the jazz world's most prolific recording artists. His work as a sideman with a host of notable jazz greats has been acclaimed worldwide, as have dates as the leader of his own trio.

JAM recently spoke with Hersch about a range of topics to do with a prosperous career in jazz.

Fred Hersch

JAM: You've been appearing with chamber orchestras lately. Describe the program at such a concert.

FH: It's an interesting program; and a program I do a number of times a year around the country and in Europe with orchestras and chamber orchestras. The orchestra plays an overture of some kind, and then I play a piano concerto -- like Mozart's Piano Concerto #27 in Bb, for example. Then on the second half of the concert we do ten or so arrangements of mine for jazz trio and chamber orchestra. Some of the arrangements are based on pieces of classical music by Ravel, Debussy, Bach and Scriabin; some are jazz tunes by me, Thelonious Monk and Billy Strayhorn.

JAM: How difficult is it to switch gears from jazz to classical?

FH: It's sort of an odd experience. I mean, as a jazz musician, you usually have a whole set to let things develop, to pace things in a more leisurely way. But a lot of these arrangements really demand being in a certain place at a certain time and wearing sort of a "classical hat." You have X number of bars and X amount of time to be an improviser. It's a lot of fun, though; and the energy you get from sitting in front of any orchestra is great. I mean, every kid who grows up playing the piano wants to do that someday. But for me as a performer, there's a sense that the time is going by very quickly! It's a very compressed sort of experience.

JAM: You've recorded 14 albums as a leader and over 80 as a sideman. Can you name a favorite or favorites in each category?

FH: Well, I can name a few. As a leader, a record that came out almost two years ago, "Passion Flower: Fred Hersch Plays Billy Strayhorn" is pretty good. I did a trio record many years ago with Charlie Haden and Joey Barron called "Sarabande" that holds up really well. But my favorite is a new one that's coming out in January ('98), a solo album of the music of Thelonious Monk. As a sideman, I did a nice record with Toots Thielemans called "Only Trust Your Heart" that I'm very fond of.

JAM: Leader or sideman. Do you have a preference?

FH: At this point, I do very little work as a sideman. Last year I made a pretty high-profile record with Gary Burton; you know, projects like that done mostly in the studio. But I haven't gone out and played live as a sideman in quite some time. Most of my year is divided between five or six different things: playing solo concerts, some trio concerts, and these hybrid concerts with orchestras. I also do a lot of benefit concerts and fundraisers for issues to do with AIDS and HIV, I write a column for "Keyboard Magazine," and I teach privately. And then recordings -- not just my own, but other projects I get involved in as a producer or arranger. So, every week is very different.

JAM: In your sideman days, you worked with a "who's who" of modern jazz legends. Let's do a little name association. What were your impressions of Joe Henderson?

FH: Playing with Joe Henderson is like trying to catch up with a moving freight train (laughs). He's so resourceful and quick. I played with Joe on and off for about ten years and I learned so much from him. It was like going to graduate school.

JAM: Stan Getz.

FH: Just being able to sit next to him and hear the sound that he got was a real thrill. He was such a pure player with such an amazing sound.

JAM: Art Farmer.

FH: Playing with Art really gave me my first big exposure as a bandmember. Art was very supportive; he encouraged me to write my first tunes, and to learn how to arrange things, which I do quite a bit now with my trio. So, one of things I learned from Art was how to put together a repertoire that's a little more personal.

JAM: Toots Thielemans.

FH: Playing with Toots is like playing with the hippest singer in the world. He's so melodic, and plays with so much emotion... And because of the instrument he plays and his knowledge of harmony, the way he plays on chord changes is very unique. He also has a great sense of humor, and a lot of warmth.

JAM: Charlie Haden.

FH: Charlie is completely unique, as are all of these guys. I've always played a lot of "open" music, music that's unstructured or what you might call "free." But Charlie has such great ears, when I've played with him I've been able to recreate sets of changes and play without preconceived notions of harmony. With Charlie, you can invent the harmony as you go along.

JAM: You mentioned the new album ("Thelonious: Fred Hersch Plays Monk"). How much of an influence has Monk been?

FH: Everybody puts me in this "Bill Evans bin;" but, Bill is probably less of an influence than Monk -- or even Earl Hines -- in the way that I think and feel. I've played Monk for years and years, so, doing a solo album of his music was something where I thought, "Well, now that I'm in my 40s and kind of established, I can do that now." But with any interpretation of Monk, the trick is not to imitate, but to use his writing and his playing as sort of a springboard to do something that's personal. I feel that way about everything I do. There has to be some kind of personal reason (to do it), with a personal signature. I wouldn't want to just recreate something that's been done better.

JAM: Any other ongoing projects you'd like to mention?

FH: Yes, there is one other thing. About four years ago I did a benefit CD for an organization called Classical Action: Performing Arts Against AIDS. It was a ballads album in which I asked all my "famous friends" come and play a ballad. I think it raised almost $125,000. So, I've done a sequel to that which is now available. It's called "Fred Hersch and Friends: The Duo Album" and it came out really well. On it are all these great players like Gary Burton, Joe Lovano, Diana Krall, Tommy Flanagan, Andy Bey, Lee Konitz, Jim Hall, Kenny Barron, Tom Harrell... It's a fundraiser for a very good organization, but it's not available in the stores; it's only available by mail order. I can give you the phone number for people interested in buying one.

JAM: Please do.

FH: It's 212-840-0770. You'll be contributing to a good cause!


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