NEWS Contact: Janet Crystal Phone: (203) 762-3950 Ext. 226 E-mail: [email protected] www.wiltonlibrary.org January 21, 2016 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jazz pianist Fred Hersch plays the Brubeck Room Feb. 6 Wilton, CT – Wilton Library is pleased to welcome jazz pianist Fred Hersch for a Hot & Cool: Jazz at the Brubeck Room concert on Saturday, Feb. 6, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. The Grammy Award-nominated pianist, composer and bandleader returns to an appreciative audience to play compositions from his repertoire. According to Dan Bilawsky, writing in All About Jazz, “When it comes to the art of solo piano in jazz, there are currently two classes of performers: Fred Hersch and everybody else.” In 2006 he became the first artist in the 75-year history of New York's legendary Village Vanguard to play a weeklong engagement as a solo pianist. His second solo run at the Vanguard was documented on the 2011 release “Alone at the Vanguard,” which received Grammy Award nominations for Best Jazz Album and Best Improvised Jazz Solo—two of the eight Grammy nominations Hersch has earned in his more than three dozen recordings as a leader and co-leader. In his 30+ years as a composer and band leader, Hersch has garnered rave reviews from music critics from the New York Times to Downbeat Magazine and more. Hersch has collaborated with an astonishing range of instrumentalists and vocalists throughout worlds of jazz (Joe Henderson, Charlie Haden, Art Farmer, Stan Getz, Bill Frisell); classical (Renée Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, Christopher O'Riley); and Broadway (Audra McDonald). Long admired for his sympathetic work with singers, Hersch has joined with such notable jazz vocalists as Nancy King, Norma Winstone and Kurt Elling. A committed educator, Hersch has taught at New England Conservatory, The Juilliard School, The New School and The Manhattan School of Music, and conducted a Professional Training Workshop for Young Musicians at The Weill Institute at Carnegie Hall in 2008. He is currently a member of the Jazz Studies faculty of Rutgers University. Hersch’s influence has (More) Wilton Library/2 been widely felt on a new generation of jazz pianists, from former students Brad Mehldau and Ethan Iverson to his colleague Jason Moran. An informal reception follows the concert where CDs will be available for purchase and signing. A donation of $10 per person is suggested. The Hot & Cool concerts are made possible by the William and Karen Tell Foundation with special thanks to Ed and Catherine Romer and Chris and Tish Brubeck. Advance registration is strongly recommended due to the popularity of the series. Pre-registrants should arrive by 7:20 p.m. to be guaranteed seating; wait-listed and walk-in registrants will be admitted after 7:20 p.m. if space is available. For information, directions and to register, visit www.wiltonlibrary.org and click on Events, or call 203-762-3950. # # # 01/21/16 Caption: Jazz pianist Fred Hersch performs in a Hot & Cool: Jazz at the Brubeck Room concert at Wilton Library on Saturday, Feb. 6, 7:30 p.m. $10 donation suggested. Advance registration recommended. Wilton Library, 137 Old Ridgefield Road, Wilton, CT, www.wiltonlibrary.org, 203-762-3950. Photo credit: Mark Niskanen Page 2 of 2 .