Fred Hersch belongs to jazz’s piano pantheon. He has been an influential creative force for decades as an improviser, composer, educator, bandleader, collaborator, and recording artist. Here, he has been proclaimed “the most arrestingly innovative pianist in jazz over the last decade” by Vanity Fair. Also, he is hailed as “a living legend” by The New Yorker. A seventeen-time Grammy nominee, Hersch has garnered jazz’s most prestigious awards. Here, these include a Doris Duke Artist (2016), Jazz Pianist of the Year from the Jazz Journalists Association (2011, 2016, 2018), and the Jazz Magazine (France) International Artist of the Year (2021). Furthermore, the Fred Hersch Trio was voted the #1 Jazz Group in the 2019 Downbeat Critics Poll.

Hersch is an acclaimed and influential solo pianist. There, he has twelve solo recordings in his catalog including the 2024 release, Silent, Listening. All About Jazz has remarked that “when it comes to the art of solo piano in jazz, there are two classes of performers: Fred Hersch and everybody else”. Also, New York Times simply calls him “a master who plays it his way”.

The Fred Hersch Trio has remained at the pinnacle of modern jazz, venerated for embodying thrilling interplay and dynamic spontaneity. The Wall Street Journal calls the trio “one of the major ensembles of our time.” Also, the New Yorker has applauded it for playing with “high lyricism and high danger.” The Trio has appeared at major jazz festivals throughout Europe and the U.S. Additionally, they have regularly headlined the legendary Village Vanguard since 1977.