Home » Jazz News » Video / DVD

298

DVD Release, "Let Yourself Go: The Lives of Jazz Pianist Fred Hersch"

Source:

Sign in to view read count
Aha! DVD is proud to announce the release of Let Yourself Go: The Lives of Jazz Pianist Fred Hersch. This artist has been cited as “one of the small handful of brilliant musicians of his generation" by Downbeat and as “a master who plays it his way" by the New York Times. He has been honored with three Grammy nominations as well as a Guggenheim Fellowship in composition. He has an extensive catalogue of recorded works as a leader and in collaboration with other significant artists.

German documentary filmmaker Katja Duregger spent more than two years filming Fred at numerous locations in the U.S. and Europe. There are interviews with his associates both in and outside the music world. What emerges is a comprehensive portrait of Hersch the musician, Hersch the activist, Hersch the teacher and Hersch as a person with HIV/AIDS.

Rather than the standard “feature documentary" format, the DVD is broken down into easily accessible modules. The first, the main movie, gives you an overview of the subject. This is followed by three more modules that give more insight into Hersch the musician, Hersch the educator and Hersch's life with HIV/AIDS. There are also four full-length live performances to round off the DVD.

About the DVD The DVD “Let yourself go” – The Lives of Fred Hersch” offers more than just the half hour main portrait film “Let Yourself Go.” Additional features offer a more detailed view into a broad spectrum of facets of Hersch’s life and work. Other people featured on this DVD include, Fred’s partner Scott Morgan and his brother Hank Hersch, musicians such as Norma Winstone, Nasheet Waits, John Herbert and Christopher ORiley, his long time sound engineer Michael Mac Donald, his teacher Sophia Rosoff and the head of the organization “Classical Action - Performing Art against AIDS“, Charles Hamlen.

Module 1: “Let yourself go”, Main Movie, 28.30 Min. Here we follow different aspects of Fred Hersch’s life – an overview which will be deepened in the other sections.

Module 2: “Listen” – The musician and composer Fred Hersch, 18.30 Min. This film focuses on Fred’s music and his approach to Jazz. It is about Fred as a composer, as a piano player and as a musician who feels comfortable with all kinds of musical styles. What does Jazz mean to him? Where does his style come from and what is he searching for?

Module 3:” To Tell a Story”- The Jazz Teacher Fred Hersch, 15.30 Min. This film shows Fred Hersch as a teacher. He teaches regular master classes in the most reputable music schools in the US and Europe. We show his teaching philosophy and how he connects his students with their own musical language and their own particular voice. He makes them understand how important it is to tell a story that really matters to them.

Module 4: “Always There” - Life with HIV and AIDS, 17.30 Min. This is a film about Hersch’s life with AIDS. It concentrates on how he has been living with HIV for over 20 years. One question is: how could have Fred survived that long, for he was one of the first infected by the Virus.

Module 5: In Concert A special feature concert footage. • With his Trio Live in Antwerp 2007 • Solo at the Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo 2006 • Solo at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam 2006

The idea of the Modular DVD When making documentaries, we have experienced again and again that interesting material didn't make it into the finished film. In a linear movie, certain aspects of the subject come to the foreground, while others have to be dropped - in order to create a strong narrative. But sometimes, a subject holds more than one story.

At the same time, we realized that DVD as a medium has a whole set of its own possibilities. It can be much more than a distribution tool for a film with added bonus material.

On the “Modular DVD", we approach a subject, a person, or a story by presenting several films on the same subject. Each of those “Modules" is devoted to a certain aspect and tells a story of its own, whilst being part of a bigger whole. This way, we explore the subject in a new and more comprehensive way.

We hope that Aha!DVD will give you an experience that goes beyond informative entertainment and leads you into an exciting journey of discovery!

ABOUT FRED HERSCH
Downbeat, the renowned jazz magazine, crooned several years ago that jazz pianist Fred Hersch (53), who comes from Cincinnati and has lived in New York for over 30 years, “is one of the most diverse and best pianists and composers of contemporary jazz.” He belongs to those musicians who are in constant development, who are continually rediscovering their playing style in search of the most diverse forms of expression. In his music, Hersch merges elements of Swing, Bebop, the US American song tradition, the avant-garde, newer music and classic with a truly individual and unique artistic depth and maturity.

Visit Website | Purchase

For more information contact .

Comments

Tags

Concerts

News

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.