Fred Hersch - Open Book review

It's nearly ten years since pianist Fred Hersch was forced to relearn his instrument (documented in his 2011 DVD My Coma Dreams) but if anything, he just keeps getting better. Admired by his fellow musicians, revered by his former students (including Brad Mehldau and Ethan Iverson), still perhaps a little under-rated by the audience at large, Hersch is the musician's musician, a deep and thoughtful artist who strikes that elusive balance between soul and skill every time he touches the keyboard. This magnificent solo recording is aptly named, a revelatory experience, almost indecent in its emotional truth, and proof - if it were needed - that music, particularly in the hands of a poet like Hersch, can express what words cannot even approach. palmetto-records.com