David Dalle
Thursday August 11th, 2022 with David Dalle
Fred Hersch's jazz "Sati Suite" for his piano trio and string quartet. Jack DeJohnette at 80.

Today we'll start with a recent release I've been sitting on for a couple of months: American jazz pianist and composer Fred Hersch's "Breath By Breath" for piano trio and string quartet. The bulk of this lp is the eight movement "Sati Suite". This work draws on two important influences in Hersch's life. He grew up listening to string quartets in Cincinnati, as his piano teacher was the wife of the cellist in the LaSalle Quartet, a famous quartet who specialized in 20th century music. As a child he often had the chance to listen in on their rehearsals. When he first started composing, as a child, he almost always thought in four melodic parts. The other influence is his practice of Bhuddist meditation, which gives the album, suite and its movements their titles. "Sati" is a Pali word for "mindfulness" or "awareness". Hersch found refuge in meditation during the pandemic. Fred Hersch's plea is that he "hope[s] that you will take the time to slow down and listen to the suite in its entirety - not so easy when we live in a world of seemingly urgent distractions and sound bites. It was a joy creating this music and I sincerely wish you an awakened heart, peace and equanamity." I hope you will join me in honouring his request and take the time today to listen to the "Sati Suite".