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Anat Cohen/Fred Hersch: Live In Healdsburg

By Dan Bilawsky
March 19, 2018
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Anat Cohen/Fred Hersch: Live In Healdsburg

When you think of these two lauded artists, duo encounters aren't the first thing likely to come to mind. Pianist

Fred Hersch

piano
b.1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Fred Hersch spends most of his time toggling between solo and trio work, and it's almost impossible to keep up with the size and/or scope of clarinetist Anat Cohen's varied pursuits. But that's not to say that the art of the pas de deux doesn't figure into their respective paths. Cohen paired up with guitarist Marcello Gon?alves for Outra Coisa -The Music Of

Moacir Santos

composer / conductor
1926 - 2006

" data-original-title="" title="">Moacir Santos (Anzic Records, 2017), which received a Grammy nomination, and Hersch's sizeable discography is dotted with duo dates placing him in contact with artists as different as vocalist

Nancy King

vocals
1940 - 2025

" data-original-title="" title="">Nancy King and clarinetist

Nico Gori

clarinet
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Nico Gori. The pianist also spends a spring week each year exploring the duo format on the stage of New York's Jazz Standard. His partners there, changing nightly, have included vocalists

Kate McGarry

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Kate McGarry and

Jo Lawry

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Jo Lawry, saxophonists

Steve Wilson

saxophone
b.1961

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Wilson and

Chris Potter

saxophone, tenor
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Chris Potter, vibraphonist

Stefon Harris

vibraphone
b.1973

" data-original-title="" title="">Stefon Harris...and clarinetist Anat Cohen.

This live date comes from a performance on the other coast—at the 2016 Healdsburg Jazz Festival in California—but the location is largely irrelevant. It's the sensitivity, responsiveness, and fluidity of expression that really matter. Cohen and Hersch both have serious technique, huge range, and incredible ears, so the success of this encounter should come as no surprise to anybody familiar with their work. And those new to these two need only take a look at the first couple of tracks on this album to understand the depth of their artistry, both as individuals and in cooperation. Hersch's "A Lark" welcomes with a conjuring of daybreak and a dainty dalliance, but the music isn't all quaint and quiet. Telepathic weaves and soaring declamations also figure into this expressive opener. Then comes his "Child's Song," opening on a pianistic portrait of innocence before settling into a calm current and tapping into youth's curious nature. Control in dynamics and artful searching skills are but two of the many aspects that impress over the course of this number.

The six performances that follow offer manifold bounties and surprises. Cohen's "Purple Piece" proves more fluently expressive and pliable here than on the version found on Poetica (Anzic Records, 2007),

Billy Strayhorn

piano
1915 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Billy Strayhorn's "Isfahan" takes on a slyer-than-usual gait and a sportive countenance, and "Lee's Dream" rightly conjures thoughts of honoree

Lee Konitz

saxophone, alto
1927 - 2020

" data-original-title="" title="">Lee Konitz, both in a head reminiscent of the Tristano-Konitz partnership and through the adventurous subtext. Then there's a take on "The Peacocks" that's as appropriately haunting and captivating as any starry trip through this

Jimmy Rowles

piano
1918 - 1996

" data-original-title="" title="">Jimmy Rowles classic, a "Jitterbug Waltz" playing on rubato expressions before adopting a more joyous stance, and a "Mood Indigo" closer that's a pure Ellingtonian daydream. If you're looking for the definition of musical chemistry and artistic telepathy, look no further: Live In Healdsburg is most certainly it.

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Track Listing

A Lark; Child's Song; The Purple Piece; Isfahan; Lee's Dream; The Peacocks; Jitterbug Waltz; Mood Indigo.

Personnel

Anat Cohen - Fred Hersch

Anat Cohen: clarinet; Fred Hersch: piano.

Album information

Title: Live In Healdsburg | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Anzic Records

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