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HERSCH SMERSCH: In anticipation of Fred Hersch's
upcoming solo performance at 8 p.m. Saturday, February 7, at St.
Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church, 4440 N. Campbell Ave.,
I asked one of our resident jazz writers about the guy. I was
fishing for info, plumbing story possibilities. After all, Hersch
has been nominated twice for a Grammy, produced 15 albums, his
most recent called Thelonius: Fred Hersch Plays Monk on
the Nonesuch label. Said unnamed jazz writer diplomatically declined
any involvement, claiming he didn't feel qualified to write about
"that kind of jazz," that it wasn't really his "area
of interest."
Hersch's critics commonly dub his performance style as bright and airy. They tender dubious praise in mutable language, using phrases like "a pianist of unquestioned distinction" (The Boston Globe) with a "unique creative style" (L.A. Times) or otherwise commenting on how his skill is coming along. Just the sort of out-of-context quotes that line and define press for costly Hollywood blockbusters, the ones that end up not quite the artistic statement for which the studio was hoping. So, feeling somewhat skeptical but determined to give Hersch a fair shake, I listened to his newest record. Mind you, I'm no jazzpert, but when the first few bars of the first track, the classic Monk standard "'Round Midnight" came off sounding more like something you'd hear from George Winston or his Windham Hill label (no offense intended to either), I was hard put to maintain an open mind. The stilted feeling of Hersch's carefully measured ease is chokingly saccharine and sadly, soulfully insubstantial. Somehow Hersch managed to infuse "Round Midnight" with a sense of frivolity. I listened as carefully as I could to the remainder of the tracks and heard little more than a brilliantly practiced, painfully pert and gleeful take on Monk standards. A polite dinner theater clap track between the songs would've fit right in. Given a choice, I'd much rather listen to Michael Feldman's house band on the NPR talk show Whadda Ya Know?
SALTY SOUL: What's the difference between a salty dog and a greyhound? Just a few weeks ago, you might've gone to the Congress Tap Room on a Friday night to query the expert. A bit of a salty dog himself, he was known to some tourists as "that asshole bartender," or to most regular Tap Room aficionados, long sly to his sinister wit and cantankerous charm, as just Jack. Jack is no longer the king of the Tap Room, his tenure there as a Tucson institution is over. We'll miss him. And speaking of greyhounds, good times and Tucson institutions, it occurs to me that the tried and true are often overlooked simply because they're so damned dependable and consistent. In terms of musicians, think for a moment of how many bands in town play regular gigs at regular places, week after week to little or no fanfare, just an appreciative crowd. Bands that aren't interested in getting famous--getting paid at the end of the night is just fine, thank you.
Catch up with Greyhound Soul on Friday, February 7, at The Third Stone Bar & Grill, 500 N. Fourth Ave. Call 628-8844 for more information. And the difference between a salty dog and a greyhound? Why, the salt, of course. LAST NOTES: The Tucson Guitar Society is sponsoring a concert duet with guitarist Stephen Aron and his wife, soprano JoNell Aron, featuring performances of old, American popular songs and solo classical guitar works by Ruiz-Pipo and Rossinin. Stephen Aron is noted for founding the classical guitar studies program at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and is currently a professor of music at the University of Akron. The Arons perform American music from 1890 through 1935, including Broadway hits, Vaudeville numbers, Hawaiian and Latin music and sentimental ballads. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, February 5, at St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church, 4440 N. Campbell Ave. Tickets are $10, discounted to $7 for students, seniors and members of the Tucson Guitar Society.
Those of you in the know, or who have an occasion to browse the
Phoenix New Times, probably noticed their big cover spread
detailing the rise and stumble of cute, innocuous Tempe sensation
The Refreshments. It seemed like a lot of brouhaha to be
made over a marginally interesting band living out the same old
here-today-gone-tomorrow rock-and-roll story. What it means, though,
is that the Refreshments, with their label deal on the skids,
will be playing local shows more often, and probably more cheaply,
at least for a while. Appropriately enough, The Refreshments are
scheduled to perform Friday, February 13, at The Rock,
136 N. Park Ave. If you recall, The Rock shut down last fall due
to lack of funds and lack of interest, and is now only available
for special events like, well, The Refreshments. The show is 21
and over and starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance and $13
day of show. Call Dillard's outlets for ticketing information.
--Lisa Weeks
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Hersch has made a career of blithely repackaging jazz by a variety
of performers, including Billy Strayhorn and Johnny Mandel, and
doing so with notable critical success. Why he ventures into the
realm of Thelonius Monk is really the question we should be pondering.
To his doubtful credit, he's very effective when adding his personal
touch, right down to finishing most of the Monk selections with
a trademark high-end ivory twinkle. I'd wager most free jazz heads
would probably agree that Fred Hersch is one of the most visible
ways in which jazz has failed in the past few decades. Hersch
is something like the equivalent of a jazz 
But some bands not only want to be famous, they deserve to be.
One band that has played its fair share of gigs in Tucson--enough
that you can hear some of the desert in all its songs--is Greyhound
Soul. Desert rock, tried and true. Gifted performers, excellent
musicians, quite simply a great Tucson band. Don't take them for
granted.
