(Fred Hersch, piano; Drew Gress, bass; Nasheet Waits, drums)
Hersch has long been one of the most imaginative jazz pianists in the business. Influenced by Bill Evans, like so many others, he has his very own improvisatory style which is sometimes a bit reticent but always takes the tunes in fresh and unexpected directions. Most of his many albums have been live sessions and many also solo piano rather than with his trio. Sorry I’m just getting around to this one from last year, which still seems to be his latest – it’s a winner. He reports that of the ten tracks here seven were first takes, which in itself is a tribute to his fresh and immediate approach to the music. Four of the tracks are his originals, one written especially for fellow pianist Art Lande and another for drummer Billy Hart. His Galaxy Fragment flows into a medley with the CD’s title tune You and the Night and the Music. And I’ll always lend an expectant ear to any album featuring two Monk tunes – on which Hersch rounds off some of the rough corners but in exchange gives us some unexpected harmonic relationships.
TrackList: So In Love, Rhythm Spirit, Heartland, Galaxy Fragment/You and the Night and the Music, Boo Boo’s Birthday, Change Partners, How Deep is the Ocean, Gravity’s Pull, Andrew John, Misterioso.
– John Henry