Requisites
Dancing In The Dark ~ The Fred Hersch Trio | By Eddie Carter
I recently reacquainted myself with one of the most accomplished pianists in jazz. Fred Hersch has been playing since he was four, composing music since he was eight, and recorded over seventy original tunes. Fred’s worked with many great musicians and vocalists, performed as a classical soloist with orchestras and in chamber settings plus led his own groups. He’s also appeared at the Jazz Standard and Village Vanguard, has an extensive discography, and has been nominated for several Grammy Awards including one for the album I’m discussing this morning.
I first heard this record at the 1994 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It was one of the most auditioned audiophile LP’s heard on the turntables of various high-end manufacturers. Dancing In The Dark (Chesky Records JR 90) is a stellar album by The Fred Hersch Trio that I’m really happy to have in my library. Joining the pianist are Drew Gress on bass and Tom Rainey on drums. My copy used in this report is the 1993 US Stereo Audiophile pressing.
Side One starts with Dancing In The Dark, written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz. The song’s first appearance was in the 1931 musical revue, The Band Wagon. It was later reprised in the 1953 film version. Fred displays a delicate touch on the trio’s graceful melody, then goes right to the heart with a strong statement expressing happiness enhanced by Drew and Tom’s supportive energy into a tender fade. I Fall In Love Too Easily is a 1944 song by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn first heard in the film Anchors Aweigh a year later. The threesome eases into a tranquil opening chorus. Gress starts with a slow, seductive groove of beguiling warmth, then Hersch gradually builds gentle cascades into a passionately tender performance.
Secret Love by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster was first recorded in 1953 by Doris Day who also sang it in the musical film, Calamity Jane. The group takes this tune for a midtempo spin and each member gives an entertaining interpretation. The first side concludes with If I Should Lose You, composed in 1935 by Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin. This song comes from the 1936 film, Rose of The Rancho. Hersch makes this a solo showcase, beautifully characterizing the melody into an intimate dialogue that casts a spell of sensual beauty ahead of an exquisite ending.
Side Two starts with a spirited rendition of the 1948 Cole Porter composition, So In Love, first heard in the Broadway musical, Kiss Me, Kate. The mood is jubilant from the start of the trio’s theme treatment, and Fred swings into an enthusiastic workout before the slow-tempo out-chorus. For All We Know is a song composed in 1934 by J. Fred Coots and Sam M. Lewis that’s very popular among jazz and pop vocalists. Hersch lovingly performs the first chorus solo, then Gress and Rainey add their sinuous support to the remainder of the melody. Fred’s infectiously grooving interpretation showcases the pianist’s dazzling dexterity.
My Funny Valentine by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. It premiered in the 1937 Broadway musical, Babes In Arms. The trio paints on a subtle palette for the nostalgically tender theme. Fred’s lead solo is thoughtfully elegant and Drew crafts a deliciously inviting reading preceding the pianist’s reprise and soft summation. Dancing In The Dark was produced by David Chesky and Fred Hersch.
The album was recorded by Bob Katz, engineered by David Merrill, Jeremy Kipnis, and Peter Cho. It was mastered at Record Technology Incorporated and pressed on premium 180-gram audiophile vinyl. It’s a great demonstration record for your audio system with crystal-clear highs, a sharp midrange, and deep bass for a stunning soundstage. If you’re a fan of piano jazz and enjoy the standards, I invite you to go Dancing In The Dark with The Fred Hersch Trio. Your ears will be rewarded with an extremely enjoyable album that’s just right for a romantic evening with that special someone!
~ Dancing In The Dark, For All We Know, I Fall In Love Too Easily, If I Should Lose You, My Funny Valentine – Source: JazzStandards.com
~ Fred Hersch, Secret Love (Columbia 40108), So In Love – Source: Wikipedia.org
© 2020 by Edward Thomas Carter
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Clifford Edward Thornton III was born on September 6, 1936 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania into a musical family, his uncle pianist Jimmy Golden and his cousin, drummer J. C. Moses. He began piano lessons when he was seven-years-old, and studied with trumpeter Donald Byrd during 1957 after Byrd had left Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, and also that he worked with 17-year-old tuba player Ray Draper and Webster Young. Following a late 1950s stint in the U.S. Army bands, he moved to New York City.
In the early 1960s, Clifford lived in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, New York in an apartment building with other young musicians, including Rashied Ali, Marion Brown, and Don Cherry. He performed with numerous avant-garde jazz bands, recording as a sideman with Sun Ra, Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, and Sam Rivers.
During the Seventies, Thornton and others were affected by the compositional ideas of Cecil Taylor, was active in the Black Arts Movement, and associated with Amiri Baraka and Jayne Cortez. This musical and artistic network provided him with a variety of perspectives on ideas such as black self-determination, performance forms, outside playing, and textural rhythm; and giving him access to performers who would provide the abilities some of his later compositions required.
He was included in the dialogue around the developing thought of political artists, including Shepp, Askia M. Touré, and Nathan Hare, as well as the journals Freedomways and Umbra. As an educator, he taught world music at Wesleyan University and created an Artists-in-Residence on campus, giving the academic world-music community exposure to Sam Rivers, Jimmy Garrison, Ed Blackwell, and Marion Brown. He arranged performances by Rashied Ali, Horace Silver, McCoy Tyner, and numerous others
Trumpeter, trombonist, activist, and educator Clifford Thornton, who played free and avant~garde jazz in the 1960 and ‘70s, passed away on November 25, 1989.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Ford Leary was born on September 5, 1908 in Lockport, New York. He married early, had a son, and left both wife and child for a music career. During the thirties he performed as part of the Frank Trumbaur band and with the Bunny Berigan band, the latter being one of his better positions while scuffling to make ends meet freelancing in New York City.
Ford would go on to work with Larry Clinton in the late Thirties and in the early 1940s with Charlie Barnet, Mike Riley, and Muggsy Spanier. As he was readying to begin a new career path as a replacement performer in the Broadway show Follow The Girls, he suffered a back injury from which he never fully recovered.
His short career ended in the late ‘40s when trombonist and vocalist Ford Leary, the only trombonist of note to die institutionalized at Bellevue Hospital, passed away on June 4, 1949 at age 40.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Jan Savitt was born Jacob Savetnick on September 4, 1907 in Shumsk, U.S.S.R. (now Ukraine) and reared in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He exhibited musical ability at an early age and began winning conservatory scholarships in the study of the violin. He was offered the position of concertmaster in Leopold Stokowski’s Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, but turned it down, preferring to continue his studies at Curtis Institute. A year later, believing himself ready, he joined Stokowski and the association continued for seven years, during which time Savitt gained further laurels as a concert soloist and leader of a string quartet.
In 1938, Jan Savitt & His Top Hatters broadcast from 5–5:30 pm every Tuesday, thru Friday as the KYW staff orchestra at KYW/NBC in Philadelphia. Saturday’s weekly broadcast was one hour, coast-to-coast. The group also played at the Earl Theatre and performed with The Andrews Sisters and The Three Stooges.
He got his start in popular music sometime later as music director of KYW, Philadelphia, where he evolved the unique “shuffle rhythm” which remained his trademark. Numerous sustaining programs created such a demand for the “shuffle rhythm” that Savitt left KYW to form his own dance crew.
His band was notable for including George “Bon Bon” Tunnell,[3] one of the first Black singers to perform with a white band. Tunnell’s recording with Jan included Vol Vistu Gaily Star, co-composed by Slim Gaillard, and Rose of the Rio Grande. Helen Englert Blaum, known at the time as Helen Warren, also sang with him during the war years.
In the 1940s Savitt recorded short pieces used a filler before network shows for the National Broadcasting System’s Thesaurus series. Some of the pieces he created were I’m Afraid the Masquerade Is Over; If I Didn’t Care; Ring Dem Bells; and Romance Runs in the Family.
Violinist, bandleader and arranger Jan Savitt, known as “The Stokowski of Swing” from having played violin in Leopold Stokowski’s orchestra, passed away on October 4, 1948.
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Conversations About Jazz & Other Distractions
Conversations About Jazz Features
The Composers on September 3
Hammonds House Digital invites you to join us for Conversations about Jazz & Other Distractions hosted by former jazz radio host and founder of Notorious Jazz, Carl Anthony. Every other Thursday, Carl takes audiences on a unique journey through the world of jazz music with artist talks, workshops, and listening sessions.
On September 3 Conversations about Jazz delves into the subject of influential jazz composers. Carl’s guests for this program will be saxophonist, composer and educator Tia Fuller; trumpeter, composer and leader of the Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra Russell Gunn; and drummer, educator and activist Jaimeo Brown. They will discuss their own music, composers that have influenced them, leadership, making albums and more. This program is for the jazz novice and jazz head alike. The event is FREE, but you must register. To register click HERE.
Saxophonist Tia Fuller is an accomplished solo artist who has recorded five full-length projects with her quartet. Her most recent album, Diamond Cut, received a Grammy nomination in the Best Instrumental Jazz category. She is recognized as well-respected collaborator who has recorded and toured with numerous high-profile artists. She performed as part of the I AM… Sasha Fierce and Beyoncé Experience World Tour on stages across the globe; served as assistant musical director for Esperanza Spaulding’s Radio Music Society tour; and recorded and toured with Dianne Reeves for her Grammy-winning Beautiful Life album. Currently, Fuller is a faculty member at Berklee College of Music.
Trumpeter, composer and band leader Russell Gunn grew up listening to rap and hip hop. At the age of sixteen his dedication to the art of jazz took shape, although hip-hop has remained an influence on his work. Gunn has performed with numerous musicians including Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Roy Hargrove, James Moody, and R&B hitmaker Maxwell. In 1999 Gunn released his first solo project, Ethnomusicology Vol. 1, which earned him a Grammy nomination. SmokinGunn followed a year later and, in 2001, Ethnomusicology Vol. 2. Since that time, Gunn has released two more volumes in his Ethnomusicology series. In 2007 the trumpeter paid homage to fellow St. Louis, IL, native and trumpet icon Miles Davis with Russell Gunn Plays Miles. More recently Gunn released Pyramids (2019) and Get It How You Live (2020) with his Afro-Futurist Jazz Big Band, The Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra.
Jaimeo Brown (pronounced jah-mayo) began his drum career at age 16 with his father bassist Dartanyan Brown, mother pianist and woodwind specialist, Marcia Miget, and drum teacher, Sly Randolph. In the last 20 years, Brown has worked with musicians including Stevie Wonder, Carlos Santana, Q-Tip, Carl Craig, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Locke, David Murray, and others. He gained experience performing and educating audiences around the world as an ambassador for the US State Department. In addition to performing, Jaimeo contributed material for the Oscar and Grammy award winning documentary ’20 Feet from Stardom’ and PBS production of Ralph Ellison’s ‘King of the Bingo Game.’ As the Director of Transcending Arts Jaimeo is a passionate educator, working in community service in NJ and NY by giving lessons to kids through programs such as NJPAC and New City Kids.
Hammonds House Museum is generously supported by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, Fulton County Arts and Culture, the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, AT&T and WarnerMedia.
Hammonds House Museum’s mission is to celebrate and share the cultural diversity and important legacy of artists of African descent. The museum is the former residence of the late Dr. Otis Thrash Hammonds, a prominent Atlanta physician and a passionate arts patron. A 501(c)3 organization which opened in 1988, Hammonds House Museum boasts a permanent collection of more than 450 works including art by Romare Bearden, Robert S. Duncanson, Benny Andrews, Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, Hale Woodruff, Amalia Amaki, Radcliffe Bailey and Kojo Griffin. In addition to featuring art from their collection, the museum offers new exhibitions, artist talks, workshops, concerts, poetry readings, arts education programs, and other cultural events throughout the year.
Located in a beautiful Victorian home in Atlanta’s historic West End, Hammonds House Museum is a cultural treasure and a unique venue. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they continue to observe CDC guidelines, but look forward to welcoming in-person visitors soon! For more information about upcoming virtual events, and to see how you can support their mission, visit their website: hammondshouse.org.MEDIA: For more information, contact Karen Hatchett at Hatchett PR, karen@hatchettpr.com.
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