Songs Without Words

Fred Hersch - Songs Without Words

Songs Without Words
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CD Details

Artist: Fred Hersch
Edition: Music CD
Format: Box set
CD Release Date: 2001-03-20
Music Label: Nonesuch
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
  1. Songs Without Words: Aria
  2. Songs Without Words: Ballad
  3. Songs Without Words: Tango
  4. Songs Without Words: Duet
  5. Songs Without Words: The Moon's Lullaby
  6. Songs Without Words: Waltz
  7. Child's Song
  8. Up In The Air
  9. Heartsong
  10. Sarabande
Music CD 2
  1. Work
  2. Caravan
  3. The Wind
  4. Con Alma
  5. Fall
  6. Winter Sweet
  7. Whisper Not
  8. Miyako
  9. Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love/Jump Monk
  10. Mood Indigo
Music CD 3
  1. Get Out Of Town
  2. So In Love
  3. From This Moment On
  4. Don't Fence Me In
  5. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
  6. All Of You
  7. Easy To Love
  8. I Concentrate On You
  9. You're The Top
  10. Let's Do It

Music reviews of Songs Without Words

Music Review: An Embarrassment of Riches
Rating: 5 Stars

The latest release from pianist Fred Hersch is a sprawling boxed set of 3 CDs loosely united by the concept of "songs without words". While this might be perceived as overly bold, excessive, or self-indulgent, instead Hersch's ambitious project is a shining artistic success and one of the finest jazz releases of the year to date.

The first disc, "Songs Without Words," consists entirely of Hersch's original compositions, the second, "Jazz Tunes," is a collection of songs by Monk, Mingus, Shorter, Ellington and others, and the third CD, "Music of Cole Porter," is, well, a selection of Cole Porter songs. While most performances are solo piano, Fred is joined by other players (including Ralph Alessi on trumpet and flugelhorn and Rich Perry on tenor sax) for some duet, trio, and quintet arrangements.

I was fortunate enough to see a live solo performance by Mr. Hersch just a few days ago where he played some selections from this release before an amazingly small audience of 50 or so people. (Being at Shank Hall in Milwaukee, he commented what an honor it was to share the stage with the famed Stonehenge model from "Spinal Tap.") Needless to say, these CDs capture the wonderful essence of this concert and more. This is the kind of set you really treasure, knowing it will provide endless hours of listening and discovery. Those who enjoyed his "Live at Jordan Hall" release will surely love this collection which has a similar relaxed and intimate recital-like atmosphere. The disc of originals is probably the most interesting and unexpected treat here... "Songs without Words" is a 6-part suite of pieces combining abstraction and lyricism in various short character forms. "Child's Song" is a particularly evocative extended duet with Jamey Haddad on percussion.

The predominant mood over all three discs is reflective, introspective, and a bit cerebral, but interspersed are a fair share of whimsical and rollicking pieces, such as "Caravan" and "Let's Do It". Yet my personal favorites are the lovely ballads, both the originals and the interpretations, which may bring to mind the pianism of Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau. Particularly stunning is the lightness of touch and richness in tone and voicings that Hersch displays here. Performances of "The Wind," "Mood Indigo," and "So In Love" will leave you breathless.

At the concert I attended, Fred revealed that this was originally conceived as a 4-disc release: the fourth CD would have been all songs by Antonio Carlos Jobim... imagine that!

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