Fred Hersch: LEAVES OF GRASS

[ghost of miles]

Just got a promo of this in the mail and hope to give it a spin tomorrow. Hersch was here in Bloomington last year and performed an early version of LEAVES with some IU School of Music students; I caught the first half of it and thought it worked, for the most part. I have mixed feelings about Kurt Elling, but I'm still eager to hear how this project came off in the studio (and to hear all of it; I had to leave and go back to work during the intermission of the Bloomington performance). More info on LEAVES here.

[ghost of miles]

Have listened to this twice now, and a fair amount of it works for me... though it's a bit wearing to listen to straight through, in some ways. Some pieces, such as "Now I Will Do Nothing But Listen," work very well indeed. A lot of Kurt Elling... Kate McGarry does several female vocal parts. Projects like this often seem to me fraught with risk of turning into pretentious mishmash, but Hersch generally pulls it off. Some may find it too artful and polite.

[Jazzmoose]

I've heard a couple of cuts on the radio, and it just doesn't work for me, I'm afraid. But then Kurt Elling in general doesn't work for me, so....

[cliffpeterson]

Pianist-composer Fred Hersch knew it was a massive, ambitious undertaking to try to write music to capture the essence of the classic "Leaves of Grass" by the great American poet Walt Whitman.

And on Sunday evening at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, devoted fans were richly rewarded with one of only a handful of performances that the Fred Hersch Ensemble is playing this year in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the publication of Whitman's collection of poems.

Capturing the spirit and vision of Whitman's words, the 10-piece ensemble turned in a glowing and frequently inspired evening of jazz chamber music. Or was it chamber music jazz?

Who cares? Hersch and his group deftly walked the tightrope between classical and jazz music without compromising either side of the equation. The through-composed 75-minute oratorio eschewed the usual verse-chorus-bridge pop song structure altogether, and yet somehow managed to frequently swing like mad.

Surprisingly, Hersch kept his solo work to a minimum, although he shined brightly on the second half showcase, "At the Close of the Day," offering nimble and eloquent playing during the only instrumental selection of the night.

The band members each had their moment in the spotlight. Drummer John Hollenbeck fueled the opening "The Riddle Song (Overture)," while cellist Gregory Heffernan laid down a warm, intimate bed of sound for "Song of the Universal." Trumpeter Ralph Alessi was particularly spirited in "The Mystic Trumpeter," opening the second half of the night with an exciting, extended duet with vocalist Kate McGarry. But top honors for the brass section go to Mike Christianson, whose sexy growl highlighted "Part X: My Lovers Suffocate Me" from "Song of Myself."

And while Hersch was clearly at the helm - often stepping up from the piano bench to do a bit of conducting - the night belonged to jazz vocalist Kurt Elling for a demanding, tour de force performance. Except for McGarry's fine singing on "Song of the Universal," Elling was the only one at the microphone during the first half of the show - including all 11 sections of "Song of Myself" - yet he never once seemed less than riveting. A veteran jazz singer, Elling knows how to bring real drama to the moment without getting caught up in a wave of mere theatricality. He had a clear command of Whitman's words and Hersch's contemplative and optimistic music, underscoring the sense of intimacy with his warm and resonant baritone voice and crisp diction.

Whitman would have been proud at this marvelous night.

FRED HERSCH ENSEMBLE

Where: Troy Savings Bank Music Hall

When: 7 p.m. Sunday

Highlights: "Song of Myself"

The crowd: Sadly, the performance was woefully under-attended, with only about 300 seats filled.

from www.timesunion.com web site

[alankin]

I heard them perform last weekend at the Kimmel center in Philadelphia. I thought it was very good. Maybe you could characterize it more as jazz influenced chamber music, but I thought it was effective and gave life to Whitman's poetry. I know some don't like Elling, but I enjoyed his singing...

I also have the Palmetto disc. I think it's stronger than the concert was...

[Spontooneous]

I'm hoping to catch the live performance March 31 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Anybody else here plan on going? (Long shot, I know.)

[jlhoots]

I've heard a couple of cuts on the radio, and it just doesn't work for me, I'm afraid. But then Kurt Elling in general doesn't work for me, so....

My take exactly (& I do like Hersch).

[alankin]

Just curious, what don't you like about Elling? (Or alternately, what do you like about him?)

[jlhoots]

Just curious, what don't you like about Elling? (Or alternately, what do you like about him?)

This is subjective (what isn't?), but he comes across to me as just "too hip".

I don't like Mark Murphy either.

[alankin]

I've listed Go Jazz titles in the past, but not anything very recently. What's the name of the new Telesforo title?

[md655321]

I heard a bit of this on Fresh Air with Terry Gross and enjoyed the idea more than the music. I agree that a little Kurt Elling goes a looooong way, but I feel that about most vocal jazz. Plus, fitting the words into music is always a difficult endeavor. Worth a listen if you are a Fred Hersch or a Walt Whitman fan, and I love both.

[Jazzmoose]

Just curious, what don't you like about Elling? (Or alternately, what do you like about him?)

I dunno, to be honest. He just sounds like he's trying too hard or something. Reminds me of Kenny Hagood in that when I hear either of these guys singing, I see Bill Murray doing his lounge lizard act on SNL. I don't know if that explains it well, but there it is...

[cannonball-addict]

Just curious, what don't you like about Elling? (Or alternately, what do you like about him?)

He's quite nasal. And he tries to scat like a horn player but he is not quite there - there's something about it that is utterly annoying about singers trying to sound like horn players with their scat. Most just haven't really listened to enough other jazz besides vocalists. If a vocalist wants to scat, they need to do it like a real jazz solo - not some nonsense thing that doesn't swing or take any harmonic risks. Also he often has a good idea but doesn't enunciate it with the appropriate inflections. I really dig it though when he sings multi-phonics (more than one note at once). He did this on the Bob Mintzer Big Band record from 2004 on MCG Jazz (a subsidiary of Telarc).

I recommend y'all checking out Gege Telesforo, an Italian singer featured in Mike Weil's blindfold test this past fall. That guy clearly has listened to enough non-vocal jazz that he sounds like a CAT! All his stuff is on Italian and German labels but I'd be happy to send burns of this disc that Mike Weil sent me. It's on a label run by Ben Sidran called GoJazz.

I dunno if Alan Lankin is listing new GoJazz! releases on his site. Alan?