- Fred Hersch
Fred Hersch (born
October 21 ,1955 inCincinnati, Ohio ) is a contemporary Americanjazz pianist who has become a consistent and highly demanded performer on the international jazz scene.Hersch began playing piano at a very young age, growing up in the North Avondale neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. He also had an early interest in mandolin. By age 12, Fred had written his first symphony. He studied at [http://www.grinnell.edu Grinnell College] in the mid 1970s and began playing in jazz clubs in Cincinnati. He later graduated from
New England Conservatory of Music inBoston . His teachers includedSophia Rosoff . He moved toNew York City in the late 1970s where he soon found a place playing with artists includingStan Getz ,Joe Henderson ,Lee Konitz , andCharlie Haden .Hersch soon began recording his own records and composing music. Like a number of jazz pianists who have come of age over the past 20 years, he is strongly influenced by the work of
Bill Evans , though Hersch has also been at pains to distance himself from Evans' influence. Although Hersch has played in a number of different instrumental combinations, he also plays as a solo performer, and many of his albums--such as Live at the Bimhuis (2005)--are solo recitals. In 2006 he was invited by club owner Lorraine Gordon to perform the first-ever solo piano booking at the legendaryVillage Vanguard jazz club in New York City.Hersch's also works as a vocal accompanist and has recently recorded duo work with
Jay Clayton ,Nancy King , andKarin Oberlin .In 1986 he was diagnosed with
HIV .citation |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_2003_April_1/ai_100111743 |title=Songs of Whitman |periodical=The Advocate |date=April 1 ,2003 |first=Kenny |last=Fries |accessdate=2007-11-21 ] Since then, Hersch has campaigned and performed for severalAIDS -related charities and causes. Along withGary Burton andAndy Bey , Hersch is one of the few openly gay jazz musicians.He is also a music educator, having taught at the
New School University ,Manhattan School of Music ,Western Michigan University , and his alma mater, the New England Conservatory.Discography
* Horizons (1984)
* Sarabande (1986)
* E.T.C. (1988)
* Heartsongs (1989)
* The French Collection (1989)
* Short Stories (1989) with Janis Siegel
* Evanessence: A Tribute to Bill Evans (1990)
* Forward Motion (1991)
* Red Square Blue: Jazz Impressions of Russian Composers (1992)
*Dancing in the Dark (1992)
* Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. 31 (1993)
* The Fred Hersch Trio Plays (1994)
* I Never Told You: Fred Hersch Plays Johnny Mandel (1994)
* Point in Time (1995)
* Plays Billy Strayhorn (1995)
* Beautiful Love (1995) with Jay Clayton
* Slow Hot Wind (1995) with Janis Siegel
* Passion Flower (1996)
* Plays Rodgers & Hammerstein (1996)
* Thelonious (1997)
* The Duo Album (1997)
* Thirteen Ways (1997)
* Songs We Know (1998) withBill Frisell
* Let Yourself Go: Live at Jordan Hall (1999)
* Focus (2000) with Michael Moore and Gerry Hemingway
* Songs without Words (2002)
* Live at the Village Vanguard (2003)
* Songs and Lullabies (2003) with Norma Winstone andGary Burton
* Fred Hersch Trio + 2 (2004) with Ralph Alessi andTony Malaby
* Leaves of Grass (2005)
* Live at the Bimhuis (2005)
* Fred Hersch Trio Night and the Music (2007)
* Concert Music 2001-2006 (2007)ee also
*
List of jazz pianists References
External links
* [http://www.fredhersch.com/ Official Website]
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