Fred Hersch

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Fred Hersch (born October 21, 1955 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a contemporary American jazz pianist who has become a consistent and highly demanded performer on the international jazz scene.

Hersch began playing piano at a very young age and graduated from New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. His teachers included Sophia Rosoff. He moved to New York City in the late 1970s where he soon found a place playing with notable artists such as Stan Getz, Joe Henderson, Lee Konitz, and Charlie Haden.

Hersch soon began cutting his own records and became a noted composer. Like a number of jazz pianists who have come of age over the past 20 years, he is strongly influenced by the work of Bill Evans, though Hersch has also been at pains to distance himself from Evans' influence. Although Hersch has played in a number of different instrumental combinations, he is an exceptional solo performer, and many of his albums--such as Live at the Bimhuis (2005)--are solo recitals. In 2006 he was invitated by club owner Lorraine Gordon to perform the first-ever solo piano booking at the legendary Village Vanguard jazz club in New York City.

Hersch's work as a sensitive vocal accompanist is also notable. Recent years have seen duo work with Jay Clayton, Nancy King, and Karin Oberlin.

In 1986 he was diagnosed with HIV. Since then, Hersch has campaigned and performed for several AIDS-related charities and causes. Along with Gary Burton and Andy Bey, Hersch is one of the few openly gay jazz musicians.

He is also a music educator, having taught at the New School University, Manhattan School of Music, Western Michigan University, and his alma mater, the New England Conservatory.