Mark Stryker Posted July 18, 2012 Report Posted July 18, 2012 Long interview conducted by Ethan Iverson for his blog http://dothemath.typepad.com/dtm/interview-with-fred-hersch.html Quote
fasstrack Posted July 18, 2012 Report Posted July 18, 2012 (edited) Long interview conducted by Ethan Iverson for his blog http://dothemath.typepad.com/dtm/interview-with-fred-hersch.html Fred is quite the little bitch with his snotty remarks about great players, frankly far greater than he. It seems every interview I read with him it's the same thing. Not the classiest. I just get tired of musicians with big egos that figure they're 'holding court' in front of a mic. And I question how much he swings, though he talks about it here like he's an authority. I never got that foot pattin' feeling from his playing. I like Fred's music, it's an interesting blend of influences, and he has a beautiful touch. He's a real good musician, too, rounded and can write and orchestrate, etc. But please, Fred (and Lee Konitz, though he does it with way more class, no meanness, and it's more a case of over-thinking), enough already bitching everybody out. Life is short, (you, more than most, ought to know this with what you've been through) and it comes out really mean-spirited. Worry about your own thing. And learn a little humility. It might help you swing more. Edited July 18, 2012 by fasstrack Quote
jeffcrom Posted July 18, 2012 Report Posted July 18, 2012 Long interview conducted by Ethan Iverson for his blog http://dothemath.typepad.com/dtm/interview-with-fred-hersch.html Fred is quite the little bitch with his snotty remarks about great players... Did we read the same interview? Quote
fasstrack Posted July 18, 2012 Report Posted July 18, 2012 Long interview conducted by Ethan Iverson for his blog http://dothemath.typepad.com/dtm/interview-with-fred-hersch.html Fred is quite the little bitch with his snotty remarks about great players... Did we read the same interview? Sure, and I stand by what I said. It's mean-spirited, unnecessary, and shows no class the way he bitches out everyone's time feel, etc. and talks about himself with great importance. In fairness, he bitches himself out too, but it's the other side of the same coin, and just as boring, just as narrow a world view. And I'm not crazy about Iverson's obsequiousness here either. I just get tired of the arrogance of a lot of musicians, especially in the last 10-20 years. The music is self-involved and the egotism of a lot of people in interviews is a turn-off. It's not that you can't have opinions. Talented people are bright, perceptive and super-sensitive. But have a little class. Chris Anderson, who had pretty big ears, would never talk this way, not publicly, anyway. I find Fred's comments about rhythm and swinging amusing especially, and the way he holds himself up as an example. Music speaks loudest, and it's the best way to give opinions. But I guess to each his own.... Quote
JSngry Posted July 18, 2012 Report Posted July 18, 2012 I was a little surprised that no mention was made of his time with Billy Harper. Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted July 18, 2012 Report Posted July 18, 2012 Seemed like a good interview and I have the same artistic reservations. Quote
Big Wheel Posted July 18, 2012 Report Posted July 18, 2012 It's mean-spirited, unnecessary, and shows no class the way he bitches out everyone's time feel, etc. and talks about himself with great importance. This is very silly. The point of DTM interviews is to be interesting - to give people on the outside a chance to see artists being themselves (which is, opinionated people with nuanced views on things) - rather than just a bland repeating of "oh yeah, that guy plays great" because of some bullshit musical omerta masquerading as "class". Hersch gave his candid opinion of how he felt about various artistic decisions without hitting below the belt. Whose time/feel got criticized? Shearing (in the context of praising just about everything else about him), Jarrett sort of (in the middle of a very informed discussion about how he thought the standards trio was a bit played out despite early Keith being completely brilliant). That's about it. Virtually every critical music-related comment was surrounded by heaps of praise. As for the personal stuff, is it really news that Stan Getz was a dick and Art Pepper's demons led him to engage in dickish behavior? The stories humanize both of them rather than just call them out. Quote
paul secor Posted July 18, 2012 Report Posted July 18, 2012 I have no problem with someone expressing his opinions. Was this interview more mean spirited than the Miles blindfold test? Everyone's entitled to their opinions. Some just hold more meaning for me than others. Quote
Big Wheel Posted July 18, 2012 Report Posted July 18, 2012 Not even in the same ballpark as Miles. Quote
fasstrack Posted July 19, 2012 Report Posted July 19, 2012 In every interview I've read or heard on radio with Hersch he's been very full of himself, self-absorbed and self-promoting, and uncharitable in his opinions of other players, esp. pianists. That's no knock on his talent, just a drag to be exposed to that kind of relentless self-absorbed negativity. Maybe he's different in person. I hope so anyway. Yes, he's entitled to his opinions, you to yours. This is mine, that's all. Quote
johnlitweiler Posted July 19, 2012 Report Posted July 19, 2012 A thoughtful interview IMO, interesting insights re Evans, Byard, Jimmy McGary, lots of others. Hersh seemed to seriously try to answer Iverson's questions. Quote
marcello Posted July 19, 2012 Report Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) I thought it was a honest and respectful interview. A like Fred a lot, who is a real master musician. A very hi-level, hi-intelligence musician! Regarding his story about Art Farmer and that first bassist and drummer he played with: It was Vishnu Wood and Walter Bolden. I know because he told me that story a few years ago during a dinner conversation ( along with his trio members John Hebert and Nasheet Waits), I told him one of the first time I heard him was with that quartet. Edited July 19, 2012 by marcello Quote
fasstrack Posted July 19, 2012 Report Posted July 19, 2012 Walter Bolden can play. Is he still alive? Probably not. I knew him in the '80s. Nice cat. He used to hang a lot at the Jazz Cultural Theater-always looking for Cliff Barbaro, and he came to a gig I was on at the West End. I have no comment on Vishnu Wood... (; (that's one way to do it...) (; Quote
fasstrack Posted July 19, 2012 Report Posted July 19, 2012 Wow, Big Wheel, did you actually use the word 'omerta'? That's funny. I think you said 'bullshit omerta'-funnier still. Now find a rhyme for omerta and I'll REALLY be impressed! Quote
Big Wheel Posted July 19, 2012 Report Posted July 19, 2012 The irony is that you've been about 5x as negative in this thread than Hersch was in the entire interview (which I'm not convinced you even read in its entirety). I won't comment on the self-absorbed part. Quote
PHILLYQ Posted July 19, 2012 Report Posted July 19, 2012 Hersch didn't seem at all mean, just honest about what he values. Quote
fasstrack Posted July 19, 2012 Report Posted July 19, 2012 That's it. I quit. For the record I did read it all the way through. And even agreed with some of it. He's a very smart guy, and an astute commentator, just a little bitchy for me, and lacking in manners and humility. Sorry you have such a problem with it to the point of getting personal. I'll not respond and leave your comments about me to the 4 winds. I'm done with this. Quote
Big Wheel Posted July 19, 2012 Report Posted July 19, 2012 For the record I did read it all the way through. OK. When you're done with this particular flounce then maybe you can tell us which specific criticisms you thought were "bitchy" instead of just asserting it over and over. (Not even going to try to unpack the gendered insult there.) Because as a piano player I thought virtually all of it was fair and thought-provoking. I enjoy Beirach's playing more than Hersch seems to but the criticism seems reasonable, as does the stuff he's not so into from Keith and Chick. (Does anyone out there really think the Elektric Band was anything but an abomination?) Quote
fasstrack Posted July 19, 2012 Report Posted July 19, 2012 It's not worth it. I see where it's going. You're trying very hard to provoke me with personal insults and I'm just not getting into a pissing contest with you. Not going there. Instead I'll just listen to all these great players and find the good. Hersch too, who I enjoy. Have a good one. Quote
Big Wheel Posted July 19, 2012 Report Posted July 19, 2012 I'd be much less dismissive of your posts if you actually supported them with specifics. The board is much richer for it when people discuss stuff rather than just say the same unsupported opinion again and again. Quote
David Gitin Posted July 19, 2012 Report Posted July 19, 2012 I enjoyed Fred's candor and his specifics about what he valued or didn't in the players he discussed. Quote
robertoart Posted July 19, 2012 Report Posted July 19, 2012 And he has certainly provided a good source for anyone wanting to strengthen their own arguments about Chick Corea's last thirty years Quote
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