Nov 19, 2024 12:57 PM
In Memoriam: Roy Haynes, 1925–2024
Powerhouse jazz drummer and bandleader Roy Haynes died Tuesday in Nassau County, New York. He was 99. One of the few…
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
“I treat every day like it’s Thanksgiving,” said Roy Haynes.
Nov 19, 2024 12:57 PM
Powerhouse jazz drummer and bandleader Roy Haynes died Tuesday in Nassau County, New York. He was 99. One of the few…
“Watching people like Max Roach or Elvin Jones and seeing how they utilize the whole drum kit in a very rhythmic and melodic way and how they stretched time — that was a huge inspiration to me,” Hussain said in DownBeat.
Dec 17, 2024 9:58 AM
Tabla master Ustad Zakir Hussain, one of India’s reigning cultural ambassadors and a revered figure worldwide…
“I love doing ballads,” Mike Stern says. “It’s just a part of me, some part of emotionally how I feel sometimes.”
Dec 3, 2024 12:52 PM
Stories of major shifts and rebirths among musicians during the past five years are common, from weathering the…
Jazz journalist Michael Jackson, left, dispenses a live Blindfold Test to drum master Billy Cobham.
Nov 19, 2024 12:26 PM
Drum king Billy Cobham, who, believe it or not, turned 80 in May, ruled the roost at January’s Panama Jazz Festival.…
Queen Latifah extols Harlem and the Apollo Theater at this year’s Kennedy Center Honors.
Dec 12, 2024 1:58 AM
Cuban-American jazz trumpet legend Arturo Sandoval and Harlem’s Apollo Theater were among the honorees at the 2024…
