Anat Cohen. Photo by Shervin Lainez.

Fred Hersch with toy piano.

Anat Cohen/Fred Hersch
Live in Healdsburg (Anzic Records)
A review

Anat Hersch and Fred Cohen— Oh, wait. That’s not quite right. But then, given how musically symbiotic their relationship is on Live in Healdsburg, this renaming of clarinetist Anat Cohen and pianist Fred Hersch is apt.

On eight duet tracks, which include three from Hersch, one from Cohen, and one each from Strayhorn, Rowles, Waller, and Ellington, these two live at the summit of collaboration, tickling one another’s fancy at every turn, independent but connected in a highly articulate way. You can hear how well they listen in how they take up one another’s ideas so readily and expand on them. On Hersch’s “A Lark,” for example, listen to Cohen sneak back in after a piano solo by picking up a rhythmic cell that Hersch laid down, and building on it. It doesn’t hurt that for both of them, there appears to be no barrier between musician and instrument, between an idea and its accurate and nuanced expression, and both explore the full timbral range of their instruments over the course of the album. Hersch brings a passionate clarity that has an almost classical feel. Cohen’s clarinet sings with a daring, playful passion that puts birds to shame. Both throw caution to the wind when they surprise a tasty and unexpected moment. Among the many high points are the misty reverie of Jimmy Rowles “The Peacocks,” the cascade of ideas on Strayhorn’s “Isfahan,” and the way the two open the windows of Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz” and let the breeze of their imaginations blow through this gorgeous old tune.

P.S. While you’re at it, check out Happy Song (Anzic Records), from the Anat Cohen Tentet, which features a lively presentation of everything from vintage swing and ballads to Brazilian, Klezmer, and African grooves.

© 2018 Mel Minter