Fred Hersch Inspired By Ballet, Byard, Jobim And Shorter On 'whirl'

New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Shore Fire Media) - The music of Grammy-nominated pianist Fred Hersch draws on many sources of inspiration. On the Fred Hersch Trio's 'Whirl' CD (out June 22 from Palmetto Records), the 10 beautiful tracks, six penned by Hersch, only some of those sources are musical.

The great ballerina Suzanne Farrell, for example, inspired the title track, which Hersch says "takes its rhythm from her spinning en pointe," while "Snow Is Falling" was written as "snow came down outside the window of our getaway in the Pennsylvania woods" and "Mandevilla" is named after a Brazilian jasmine vine.

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Jaki Byard was a youthful inspiration for Hersch, who studied with him at the New England Conservatory and calls him "a true encyclopedia of jazz piano" and "an underrated composer"; Byard's quirky blues "Mrs. Parker of K.C." is itself inspired by Charlie Parker's mother. "Sad Poet" is dedicated to Antonio Carlos Jobim, and "Still Here" is for Wayne Shorter, who Hersch says is "one of my strongest influences. He, at 75, is still vibrant, active and composing music of depth, originality and beauty - a real inspiration for all of us."
Some might say the same of Hersch.