Catskill Jazz Factory
​Heard Fresh: Music for Two Pianos

About the Musicians

FRED HERSCH:
An exploratory artist, outspoken activist, influential educator and possessor of one of the most personal and expressive pianistic styles in improvised music, Fred Hersch has led a singular life that has shaped one of the most acclaimed and influential voices in modern jazz. At the forefront of the music for more than three decades, he's earned countless awards and accolades including ten Grammy® nominations. Hailed by Vanity Fair as "the most arrestingly innovative pianist in jazz over the last decade," he stands as a defining figure in several different contexts, credited with more than 40 albums that span breathtaking solo recitals, compelling duos, gold-standard trios and innovative chamber pieces. Hersch has told his inspiring story in his new memoir, Good Things Happen Slowly: A Life In and Out of Jazz; in the feature documentary The Ballad of Fred Hersch; and on stage in the confessional jazz-theater piece My Coma Dreams.

SULLIVAN FORTNER:
Lauded as one of the top jazz pianists of his generation, Sullivan Fortner is recognized for his virtuosic technique and captivating performances. The winner of three prestigious awards - a Leonore Annenberg Arts Fellowship, the 2015 Cole Porter Fellowship from the American Pianists Association, and the 2016 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists - Sullivan's music embodies the essence of the blues and jazz as he connects music of all eras and genres through his improvisation.

As a leader, The Sullivan Fortner Trio has performed on many of the world's most prestigious stages including Jazz at Lincoln Center, Newport Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Discover Jazz Festival, Tri-C Jazz Festival, Jazz Standard, and the Gillmore Keyboard Festival. Fortner has been heard with other leading musicians around the world including Dianne Reeves, Roy Hargrove, Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, John Scofield, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Fred Hersch, Sean Jones, DeeDee Bridgewater, Roberta Gambarini, Peter Bernstein, Stefon Harris, Nicholas Peyton, Billy Hart, Dave Liebman, Gary Bartz, Etienne Charles and Christian Scott.

Catskill Jazz Factory

Catskill Jazz Factory
​Heard Fresh: Music for Two Pianos

Fred Hersch & Sullivan Fortner

“A pianist of cultivated taste and erudition… the sort of jazz musician who brings a lissome elegance to his playing.” – The New York Times on Fred Hersch
 
Named “The most arrestingly innovative pianist over the last decade,” by Vanity Fair, jazz titan Fred Hersch joins his protégé Sullivan Fortner, the 2015 American Pianists Association Cole Porter Fellow in Jazz, for a cross-generational, double piano concert featuring the music of Fred Hersch, Cole Porter, Thelonious Monk and more.

Hersch’s Fisher Center debut follows the release of a new album, Open Book, and the publication of his memoir Good Things Happen Slowly, which chronicles Hersch’s life as an openly gay, HIV-positive jazz player with a deep look into the jazz culture that made such a status both transgressive and groundbreaking.

Listen as Hersch talks with NPR's Terry Gross this month about his life 'In And Out Of Jazz' and his new memoir.