Customer Reviews

Fred Hersch Plays Jobim

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a very accomplished, but to me rather cold, performance by the gifted Mr. Hersch, with whose work I was already fairly familiar. It is not a jazz approach to Jobim's work, however, nor is it Jazz with a Bossa Nova tinge. It is more a study of the complex harmonies which Hersch finds and developes in Jobim's coompositions. It is a lesson and an exploration and probably very enlightening to anyone wishing to study Jobim's music so deeply, but was not a satisfying experience for this listener - the fault probably being mine.

This is a unique tribute to Maestro Antonio Carlos Jobim: nine of his most-beloved classics rendered by the brilliant solo piano of Maestro Fred Hersch. Hersch's trademark lyricism and stunning technique bring new colors and depth to this familiar material, and his exquisite version of "Luiza" is worth the price of admission all by itself. Recorded in 2001 and only just released, this long-awaited gem is an absolute requirement for fans of the great Brazilian composer and for Hersch collectors as well.

I was put off buying this cd by the mixed reviews. The marriage of Fred Hersch and the music of Jobim should be a winner, and it is! I saw Fred Hersch live at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival, and he played How Insensitive in his performance. I was completely spellbound by his beautiful, fluid, empathetic playing of this Jobim chestnut. His music moves me.

Jobim's original harmonies don't allow for reharmonizations and I believe Fred Hersch, with his very fine sensitivity, understands that very well. But if one had a chance to hear Jobim's own piano playing (I am blessed to have seen him live a few times) would know that his sense of time as well as his touch are indispensable and inseparable from his compositions. Specially when performed as solo piano pieces.

THIS IS TRULY ONE OF THE BEST RECORDINGS OF TOM JOBIM'S LOVELY TUNES BY A MASTER IMPROVISATOR THAT I KNOW OF. [I CAN THINK OF BRAZILIAN JAZZ SINGER LENY ANDRADE AND PIANIST CRISTOVAO BASTOS] AS ANOTHER. TOO MANY TIMES JOBIM'S MUSIC IS GIVEN THE SOFT JAZZ APPROACH YET, HIS HARMONIC LANGUAGE WELCOMES EXPLORATIONS THAT MUSICIANS SHOULD TRY. {I FORGOT TO MENTION ROSA PASSOS AND RON CARTER'S WONDERFUL RECORDING OR THE FEW JOBIM TUNES THAT LUCIANA SOUZA HAS RECORDED].TOM WAS A GREAT POPULAR COMPOSER, THINK SABIA, O BOTO, ESTRADA DO SOL, OR AS PRAIAS DESERTAS,GREAT SONGS! I HOPE FRED RECORDS MORE OF TOM JOBIM'S MUSIC.

One has to contradict some of the reviewers, who considered this CD as a kind of "gymnopedia" or "study". The real art is behind the music - as the real pictures of a photography are behind the photography. Other parallels could be mentioned: the real message of a film is situated behind the film. In so far, this CD is a kind of innovation moving to the music of Jobim. "Fred Hersch plays Jobim" invites the listener to a journey to Brazil. One might also ask: Where are the roots of Brazilian Music? Isn't it a melting pot of styles rooting in European, African and (South-)American tradition? Find out what the "(South-)American Tradition" really is and enjoy the CD.