Jul 9, 2024 11:35 AM
Trumpeter, Educator Jim Rotondi Dies at 61
Jim Rotondi, a renowned hard-bop trumpeter, composer and educator, died suddenly on July 7 at a hospital in France. He…
Fred Hersch has released a new solo album, Open Book.
(Photo: Jim Wilkie)Pianist Fred Hersch has long been recognized as an extraordinary interpreter of the Thelonious Monk songbook. But, despite including one of the iconic pianist-composer’s pieces in every one of his sets for most of his career, Hersch had never tackled “Eronel,” co-written by Monk and pianist Sadik Hakim—until now.
Monk’s original stride-inflected lines come in for a dizzying array of variations in Hersch’s imaginative version of the tune, which is featured on Hersch’s 11th solo album, the critically acclaimed Open Book (Palmetto Records), released Sept. 8. DownBeat is hosting the premiere of the music video, which was directed by Dylan DeMarko of Film is Animals.
Hersch has also received accolades for his new memoir, Good Things Happen Slowly: A Life In and Out of Jazz (Crown Archetype). The book covers the pianist’s meteoric rise in jazz, from his sideman days alongside masters like Art Farmer and Joe Henderson to his gradual recognition as one of the most innovative artists of his generation. Among Hersch’s honors are 10 Grammy nominations and a 2016 Doris Duke Artist Award.
Good Things Happen Slowly also chronicles Hersch’s story as the first openly gay, HIV-positive jazz musician, tracing his path through post-Stonewall New York City to the dramatic two-month medically induced coma in 2008 from which he emerged to make some of the most stunning and captivating music of his career.
Hersch’s long-time trio, which features bassist John Hébert and drummer Eric McPherson, has scheduled a European tour with appearances in Munich, Germany (Nov. 7); Cologne, Germany (Nov. 9); Rottenburg, Germany (Nov. 10); Strasbourg, France (Nov. 11); Barcelona, Spain (Nov. 14); Badajoz, Spain (Nov. 15); Madrid, Spain (Nov. 16); London (Nov. 18); Paris (Nov. 21–22); Chiasso, Switzerland (Nov. 23); Brussels, Belgium (Nov. 24); and Utrecht, Netherlands (Nov. 25).
For more tour information, visit Hersch’s website.
Hersch and several other artists performed at New England Conservatory’s Oct. 19 concert in celebration of Monk’s centennial. To read DownBeat’s review, click here. DB
Jim Rotondi was acclaimed for his wide, round trumpet tone, remarkable virtuosity and assured swing.
Jul 9, 2024 11:35 AM
Jim Rotondi, a renowned hard-bop trumpeter, composer and educator, died suddenly on July 7 at a hospital in France. He…
Charles Lloyd, seen here at the 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, makes DownBeat Poll history!
Jul 11, 2024 12:23 PM
The incomparable Charles Lloyd swept the 72nd Annual DownBeat Critics Poll, becoming the first artist ever to earn…
“Being president of Blue Note has been one of the coolest things that ever happened to me,” Was said. “It’s a gas to serve as one of the caretakers of that legacy.”
Jun 4, 2024 12:21 PM
Sitting with Don Was is a comfortable and unhurried exercise. He may seem slightly reserved at first, but ideas and…
The Century Room in downtown Tucson, Arizona, was born in 2021.
May 21, 2024 12:58 PM
Players got to play. It’s long been a part of jazz history: When there’s a venue vacuum, when there are fewer…
“She reminds me of my childhood and makes we want to cry,” Cécile McLorin Salvant, pictured here with writer Ashley Kahn, said of Dianne Reeves.
Jun 11, 2024 12:31 PM
Italy’s Umbria Jazz Winter is one of those rare annual festivals that not only coincides with a major holiday —…