Fred Hersch - Open Book

The Guardian 80

(Palmetto)

There’s no such thing as a casual listen to a Fred Hersch recording. Diving into the American pianist/composer’s work is no cold shower, though, but a trip into an enchanting world of teeming melodies, rich colours and criss-crossing stories. Like Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau, Hersch is a brilliant solo artist, and Open Book is a mix of originals and covers built around Through the Forest, a remarkable total-improv performance from a 2016 concert in Seoul. This 20-minute journey traverses dreamy Bill Evans-like musings, onrushing counterpoint, sleek swing and strutting dances – and typically, no idea spins for long without turning on a chord or cadence that suggests an old tune but isn’t. Whisper Not is a string of playful left-right chases; Antônio Carlos Jobim’s Zingaro is an outwardly orthodox ballad that invites attention to every gleaming detail and Thelonious Monk’s Eronel is coquettish rather than Monkishly truculent, but just as rhythmically audacious. It is a typical Hersch set: understated, cliche-free, and sublime in its craft and musicality.