Hersch Learns To Play The Piano Again For 'whirl'

New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Shore Fire Media) - In late 2008, the pianist Fred Hersch spent two months in a coma and lost nearly all motor function in his hands. His album 'Whirl,' out June 22 from Palmetto Records, shows the brilliant results of his re-learning to play. "At first, I had to learn to work with a more limited palette, technically, as a pianist," he told The New York Times Magazine recently. Nonetheless, he says, "My playing became looser and more confident. "

That's evident on "Skipping," a swinging, mixed-meter gem on 'Whirl' that Hersch calls "challenging and fun to play."

"I was surprised that my facility has come back," he admits, but feels that his new style is more emotional and has more of an element of reckless abandon. "I've been in New York since '77, and now I want to throw it down."

Critics agree. The Chicago Tribune's Howard Reich recently wrote: "Hersch's playing sounded more persuasive than in the past." The New Yorker recently called Hersch "one of the greatest contemporary pianists."

The flowing, elegiac last track on the album, "Still Here," shows that Hersch can still dazzle, and that he's done more than survive his illness, he's triumphed. "It's almost like an encore," he says.
Hear "Still Here" here: https://bit.ly/bHCjdW