Fred Hersch, Esperanza Spalding - Alive At The ... Review

The album's tracklist consists of eight performances that range from playful deconstructions of the Great American Songbook to poignant ballads:

The collaborative album , released on January 6, 2023 , captures a rare and intimate series of performances from October 2018 featuring pianist Fred Hersch and vocalist esperanza spalding . Recorded at the legendary Village Vanguard in New York City, the record serves as a "masterclass in improvisational trust," showcasing two modern jazz titans operating without a traditional rhythm section. A Departed Dynamic Fred Hersch, Esperanza Spalding - Alive at the ...

The most striking element of this recording is the absence of spalding’s signature upright bass. Choosing to perform strictly as a vocalist, she treats her voice as an agile, lead instrument that dances around Hersch's intricate piano arrangements. Hersch, a 15-time Grammy nominee, provides a "velvet drape" of accompaniment that is both supportive and provocatively experimental, allowing spalding to deconstruct standards and original compositions with "serpentine, uproarious digressions". Musical Highlights The album's tracklist consists of eight performances that