Michelle and I went to the first concert of the Institute for Advanced Study 2005 season (from a past association, I have friends there who can get me tickets – thanks again if you’re reading this!). These are always excellent, and this one was no exception. Fred Hersch is a jazz pianist and composer, and, even not knowing much about jazz, it’s easy to see how he pours his personal style into the interpretations of the music of the other composers he plays. The evening consisted of a rotation between the music of Thelonious Monk, Cole Porter, and his own compositions, with a conversation with Jon Magnussen, the Composer-in-Residence at the Institute, part way through.

As a virtual newbie to jazz music, I found some of the peices more accessible than others, but came away from the evening with a better appreciation, and at least some notion of where to start to listen to develop that appreciation. Fred Hersch’s repertoire, by his own admission, consists of composers whose music seems to be acting as a framework that allows for improvisation in performance (up to 90% of what’s played!), and that, to me, is what makes listening to, and watching the performance, interesting. I’m also curious to see if that interest holds when I can’t watch the performance, ie listening to a CD. This could be the start of a whole new world of music listening, and possibilities, for me…