Fred Hersch Leaves Of Grass CD

Lyricist: Walt Whitman .
Personnel: Fred Hersch (piano); Kate McGarry, Kurt Elling (vocals); Erik Friedlander (cello); Bruce Williamson (clarinet, alto clarinet, bass saxophone); Tony Malaby (tenor saxophone); Ralph Alessi (trumpet, flugelhorn); Mike Christianson (trombone); Drew Gress (bass instrument); John Hollenbeck (drums, percussion).
Leaves of Grass finds pianist Fred Hersch and a stellar ensemble of musicians performing Walt Whitman's classic poetry to music. Hersch has long displayed an organic mix of Keith Jarrett's blissed-out focus, Bill Evans' epic patience, and Tommy Flanagan's straight-ahead sense of swing. Combine all that with a deft post-bop harmonicism, classically trained technique, and finally the epic poetry of Walt Whitman and you get this gorgeously cerebral album. Interestingly, Hersch has apple picked from various parts of Leaves of Grass, only including certain parts that truly spoke to him. The result is a semi-classical-sounding oratorio that makes room for spoken word sections, sections done in vocalized song, and outright improvisation. Giving life to Whitman's actual words are singers Kurt Elling and Kate McGarry, who instill each phrase with precision and eloquence. Similarly, Hersch's backing ensemble, including trumpeter Ralph Alessi, tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby, trombonist Mike Christianson, clarinetist Bruce Williamson, cellist Erik Friedlander, bassist Drew Gress, and drummer John Hollenbeck, helps deliver an atmospheric and nuanced backdrop for Whitman's poetry. Hersch's Leaves of Grass will certainly not be to everyone's taste -- poetry and jazz rarely are -- however, as an exercise in combining the two mediums, Hersch has not only succeeded, but also created one of the best albums of his career. ~ Matt Collar
Fred Hersch has consistently proven himself to be not only an adroit, imaginative pianist, but also a captivating interpretive talent. While many jazz musicians are content to rework the same standard tunes year after year, Hersch has applied himself to composers diverse as Rodgers & Hammerstein, Lennon & McCartney, and Bill Evans. With LEAVES OF GRASS, Hersch's compositional gifts take a front seat--he's recorded original material before, but never on the scale of LEAVES.
With LEAVES, Hersch sets the classic poetry of Walt Whitman to music, in a sprawling multi-part suite or (in classical-music terms) oratorio for a medium-sized group and two singers. Those expecting "swing" in Hersch's usual classy manner may be a bit disappointed--Hersch is rather subdued, with swing supplanted by pointed, quirky ensemble writing recalling two major American composers named Charles (Ives and Mingus). Kurt Elling's singing is front-and-center, alternately wailing and sailing like a jazz vocalist and thundering with the authority and depth of an opera singer. LEAVES OF GRASS is a commanding listen, but well worth it for those treasuring Whitman's poems and Hersch's inventive compositions.Down Beat (p.66) - 4 stars out of 5 - "While the cadence of Whitman's words often take the singer far from his swinging comfort zone, the direct nature of his delivery and innate theatricality allow him to embody the lyrics."
JazzTimes (pp.72-3) - "[T]he poems seem to grow from and reflect upon one another as the music gracefully shifts between awestruck pastorales, proud celebrations and magical nocturnes, with a few flickers of genre thrown in along the way."