People can argue ad infinitum as to whether the “best” trio around these days has been Keith Jarrett’s team with Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette, but I believe people vote with their feet, and the combo that I actually listen to the most has been that led by pianist Fred Hersch and his compatriots bassist John Hebert and drummer Eric McPherson. This six disc set covers the ten year period of the trio led by Hersch, and it’s an impressive opus, combining a high level of interplay, song selection, song composition and soloing that never sounds superficial but always well crafted and filled with creativity and experimentation.
The premier of the band was the 2010 studio Whirl which was released on the heels of Hersch’s harrowing recovery from his AIDs-related coma. The music has roots in bebop with a clear as crystal fingering of “Mrs. Parker Of KC” with Hersch giving rococo reads of the classy “You’re My Everything” and delving into sepia ballads for “Sad Poet.” This is possibly the Hersch album I imbibe the most often.
Two of the discs are from his famed February 2012 residency at the Village Vanguard in which Hersch shows his allegiance to his musical inspiration Bill Evans with a deep “Tristesse” dedicated to Paul Motian as well as a stretching out of Ornette Coleman’s “Lonely Woman” that segues into Evans’ “Nardis” without dropping a stitch. Hersch demonstrates his respect for tradition on his film noir take of “I Fall In Love To Easily” and a recasting of a Monk piece on “Dream Of Monk” as well as displaying his craft at the pen on his own “Jackalope.” These evenings set the pace, attitude and direction for the duration of the box set, and while there is a growth of communication and depth, there’s never a veering off course to True North.
2014’s Floating is possibly the trio’s most overlooked album, and it’s an underrated nugget. The song sequence is cleverly organized like a live gig setlist. The overall mood is reflects the title, emphasizing thoughtful melodicism, even with McPherson quietly shaking the percussion on the intro to the somber “Far Away” and Hersch gives a candle flicker of an opening solo to “West Virginia Rose” while the team gets nostalgic on “Long Ago and Far Away” before flexing their muscles most on the Louisiana Hayride of “Home Fries” and Hebert getting adventurous on “Arcata.” Subtle joys.
The major difference between the trio’s 2016 return to the Vanguard from their earlier set can only be determined by that subjective feeling of confidence that comes with the familiarity of playing together for a number of years. From Hersch’s solo opening to “A Cockeyed Optimist” that eventually brings in his bandmates to the high energy emitted on “The Optimum Thing” and “Calligram,” the gents seem ready to have an inspired and inspiring evening and are tighter than Kim Kardashian’s leggings on “Everyobodys’s Song But My Own.” Whee!
The Europe concert (or more specifically, Belgium) is chock full of Hersch compositions and bop classics. The team is as in sync as the Houston Astros infield on the vibrant “Newklypso” while the pair of Shorter tunes (“Miyako” and “Black Nile”) is like a suite giving each artist a spotlight aria. The solo encore “Blue Monk” gives evidence that Hersch could very well be jazz’s Chopin, with a deep and rich lyricism that comes once a generation.
If you don’t have any of these albums, here’s where to start. Sure, you could buy a single unit and see if you like it, but you’re going to get them all. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday.