Fred Hersch

«The trio is not an occasional one, but only Hirshfield is Fred Hersch’s regular partner. Steve LaSpina, on the other hand, plays more often with Jim Hall, exceptional presenter, to whom we owe the hallmark of the CD which not for nothing has many common characteristics (rhythms, atmosphere, balanced distribution of parts) with the best records of the famous guitarist. Hersch is divided between classical and jazz music, a bit like one of his main inspirers, Keith Jarrett. The other is Bill Evans, from the trio with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian. As you can see from the choice of repertoire, in this album the propensity is for the second model, especially for the two ballads by Cole Porter that Hersch re-proposes with the finest sensitivity, dialoguing with a superlative LaSpina, also protagonist of a version of All Blues by Miles Davis rich in nuances. Black Nile by Shorter, Simone by Frank Foster, and The Dolphin by Brazilian pianist Luis Echa complete the program, and perhaps it is in these pieces that the three musicians (Hirshfield is here an admirable drummer for discretion) operate intensely as a real trio.». ETC
Salvatore B G. Biamonte, Musica Jazz

«Pianist Fred Hersh, bassist Steve La Spina and drummer Jeff Hirshfield collectively knows as Etc, have a special chemistry having played together for years. On their last outing they’ve added the burly tenor tones of Jerry Bergonzi to that proven formula. While Etc is known for its gentle, cascading quality, Bergonzi holds nothing back on this session. He blows with Herculean fervor the energetic opener, “Splurge”, pulling the band along with him by the sheer force of his personality. He manages to settle into some mellower moments on Hersh’s “Days Gone By” and “Evanessence” an obvious nod to Bill Evans. But he sounds like he’s having the most fun where he’s going full throttle, as he does on Hersc’burner “Phantom of The Bopera” and on his own “Conclusive evidence”. A genuine saxophone colossus, with a ready-made trio». ETC+one
Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes