Fred Hersch Offers Music That Makes Him Happy

MacDowell: We Are Here

MacDowell Fellow and jazz composer Fred Hersch (00, 01, 02, 03, 06, 07, 10, 17, 19) – called a “pianist, composer, and conceptualist of rare imaginative power" by The New York Times – has earned a place among the foremost jazz artists in the world today. He was nominated for a 2020 Grammy award in the category of Best Instrumental Composition for his piece "Begin Again" which was composed at MacDowell in 2017. It was his 15th nomination. His trio was named Best Jazz Group in the 2019 DownBeat Critics Poll. He was named a Doris Duke Artist in 2016.

Here, he provides us with our second installment of “MacDowell: We Are Here.” Most of the following are links to YouTube performances of the songs. In sending along this playlist, Fred says, “Here is a list of music that makes me happy.” We hope you enjoy these recordings.

Bach Brandenburg Concertos; Six Partitas

Mozart "Jupiter" Symphony; Six Quartets Dedicated to Haydn

Stravinsky "Dumbarton Oaks" Concerto

Beethoven Piano Sonatas (as played by Igor Levit); String Quartets

Charles Mingus: Let My Children Hear Music

Miles Davis: Friday and Saturday Night at the Blackhawk; Sketches of Spain

Sonny Rollins: Way Out West

John Coltrane: A Love Supreme

Ornette Coleman: Tomorrow Is The Question

Thelonious Monk: Alone In San Francisco

Ahmad Jamal: Live at the Pershing

Keith Jarrett: Facing You (SoundCloud link) (also on YouTube but Music Premium required)

Joni Mitchell: Travelogue

Egberto Gismonti: Infancia

Elis Regina and Antonio Carlos Jobim: Elis & Tom

Ravel: String Quartet

Toninho Horta: Aqui Oh

Duke Ellington: Ellington Uptown

Self-plug: Fred Hersch: Leaves of Grass (SoundCloud)

We'll have two new featured Fellows for MacDowell: We Are Here each week!