Fred Hersch Trio

Fred Hersch, born in 1955, has always been something of an insider tip in the ranks of jazz pianists. Little known to the wider public, the award-winning New Yorker’s influence on the next generation of pianists, such as his pupils Brad Mehldau or Jason Moran, cannot be overestimated. Hersch stands for highly individual jazz that pays no heed to genres, a style of jazz where emotions come before virtuosity: sometimes sublime, sometimes sophisticated, sometimes bursting with power, sometimes soft and caressing. Hersch has often been compared to Bill Evans on account of his clear-cut phrasing and his impressionistic style of playing; but his own hand is long since predominant in his music located between jazz, classical, folk and avant-garde. Soulful music, which Fred Hersch presents at the Elbphilharmonie with John Hébert on the double bass and Eric McPherson on drums.