Alive at the Village Vanguard explained

Alive at the Village Vanguard
Type:live
Artist:Fred Hersch, Esperanza Spalding
Cover:Alive at the Village Vanguard - cover.jpg
Border:yes
Released:6 January 2023
Recorded:19–21 October 2018
Venue:Village Vanguard, NYC
Genre:Jazz
Label:Palmetto
Producer:Fred Hersch, Esperanza Spalding
Chronology:Esperanza Spalding
Prev Title:Live at the Detroit Jazz Festival
Prev Year:2022

Alive at the Village Vanguard is a collaborative live album by pianist Fred Hersch and jazz singer Esperanza Spalding.[1] [2] Palmetto Records released the album on 6 January 2023.[3]

Background

The album marks Hersch's sixth release recorded in the storied venue. He explained, "This recording sounds like you’re in the best seat in the Vanguard for a very live experience. You can really feel the vitality of the room, of the audience, and of our interplay. We decided on the word Alive for the album title as you can really feel the intimacy and energy of the performances."[4] Spalding does not play a bass here, performing vocal parts only.[5]

Reception

Matt Collar of AllMusic wrote, "Alive at the Village Vanguard captures pianist Fred Hersch and vocalist Esperanza Spalding in an intimate yet inventively expressive duo performance. On first glance, the combination of Hersch (a veteran performer known for his lyrical standards work) and Spalding (a virtuoso bassist and singer known for her highly conceptual, genre-bending albums) may seem like an odd pairing." A reviewer of Jazz Trail commented, "Without major arrangements, this piano-voice duo recording captured live at New York's Village Vanguard, shows off the many musical qualities of Fred Hersch and Esperanza Spalding. The pair imbues most of the tunes with a quirky perspective and humor, but I felt this work more as an audience entertainment rather than an audio recording to be revisited."[6]

Jeff Tamarkin writing for Relix added, "Eight numbers, most of them standards from one era or another, were recorded up close and personal, sans any embellishment, albeit with audience sounds left intact as nature intended."[7] Jon W. Poses of Chicago Daily Tribune commented, "There are a lot of things that really make listening to and absorbing the compressed session wonderful, but what stands out to me is the overall whimsical, fanciful aesthetic — it’s omnipresent. These two are really at ease with each other’s musical quirks, twists and turns."[8]

Personnel

Band
Production

Notes and References

  1. Web site: An Evening with Fred Hersch and esperanza spalding Kennedy Center . . 2 February 2023 . en.
  2. Web site: An Evening with Fred Hersch and esperanza spalding - 2023-01-27 - - Yoshi's - Oakland CA . . 2 February 2023.
  3. Web site: Fred Hersch & esperanza spalding Release Album & Tour Dates . . 2 February 2023 . en . 6 January 2023.
  4. Web site: Esperanza Spalding and Fred Hersch Announce 'Alive at the Village Vanguard’ . Bass Magazine . 3 February 2023 . 19 October 2022.
  5. Web site: Whitehead . Kevin . Esperanza Spalding teams up with pianist Fred Hersch in this 'Vanguard' recording . . 22 March 2023 . March 14, 2023.
  6. Web site: Fred Hersch & Esperanza Spalding - Alive at the Village Vanguard . JazzTrail NY Jazz Scene Album Reviews Jazz Photography . 2 February 2023 . 10 January 2023.
  7. Web site: Tamarkin . Jeff . Fred Hersch & esperanza spalding: Alive at the Village Vanguard . . 22 March 2023 . 17 February 2023.
  8. Web site: Poses . Jon W. . Notes and tones: Hersch, spalding come 'Alive' on upcoming record . . 27 July 2023.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Alive at the Village Vanguard".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.