An evening with Fred and Esperanza

[ElmerJFudd]

This sounds like it was a fun night.  Accompanying is like being the band leader and you’re the only one in the band.  😉 

 

 

Playlist:

 

 

[EricBarker]

I saw her here in Fairbanks, Alaska about 10 years back. Unfortunately, they were renovating our main hall, and used the symphony concert hall instead. The result was that the acoustics weren't anywhere as good as they should be, I had a lot of problems hearing her through the massive amounts of natural reverb. It really drove home that different spaces are better for different ensembles. Hall is gorgeous for choirs, alright for orchestras, and terrible for modern small groups. Was kind of embarrassing, really. But what I could hear was absolutely incredible!

[Docbop]

Big Esperanza fan here.   I first got into her when I was playing bass but as time and switches back to guitar and now piano I'm getting more into her composing and singing.     Fred well it's Fred Hersch he's a great pianist and has taught many who are now big name pianists.   So I'm diggin' this album.

 

I wish Esperanza would do another live stream recording session like she did for the Exposure album.   For those now aware of what she did she wrote, tracked, overdubs, and vocals for a whole album in about a week.   The cameras were on 24 hours a day, yes she slept the studio setup a room for her, but when she slept sometimes you'd watch the engineer working on the tracks from that day and sometimes it was just an empty room.    It was great watch her writing lyrics, working on music for songs,  work with her band to flesh out the songs, track the songs.    Then overdubs and others coming in to play like Robert Glasper who played great and was funny as can be.  Ray Anger, and others doing overdubs.   Then Esperanza working on vocals and Lalah Hathaway and other singers coming in.   In one week live she went from nothing to all recording for that album done only thing left was mixing.      The whole thing was also videoed, but the video was never released some bits were put up on YouTube.   As a perk to all of us who did the GoFundMe for this project on the last day she let those in  driving distance come down to the studio to celebrate the finish.   Also part of GoFundMe was a autographed copy of the album and during the songwriting she developed all the lyric on big bulletin board sheet of paper.  She cut those up and gave everyone a piece of her lyric sheets.    I thought the whole thing would be boring, but once it started it was so cool to be a fly on the wall of the sessions  I watch many hours everyday (a perk of being retired).    It was be great to she her do that again to watch an artist create.

[Sam Mullins]

Oooooh. Hadn’t heard of this one yet but with two of my favorite living musicians, I am in. Thanks for the heads up!

[marino]

Wonderful. Thanks!

 

[Mark Zeger]

Introducing Fred at 2015 Rochester Jazz Fest for a Monk-centric program