If you go
Yaron Herman Trio
Where: La Maison Francais, Embassy of France, 1401 Reservoir Road NW
When: Monday, Sept. 14, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. Wine reception with the artists will follow the concert.
Info: $20, students with ID $15; instantseats.com
How do jazz artists reinvent the trio concept while keeping the music joyful, creative, natural and, most importantly, uncomplicated? Pianist Yaron Herman, along with bassist, Matt Brewer and drummer Gerald Cleaver are sure they have found the magic, musical formula and have — so to speak — taken their act on the road.
“All three of us consider that the essence of jazz is not playing it safe, but rather by going further into the music each time,” Herman has written. This has allowed us to find our own universe and a personal sound.”
As part of their 2009 world tour (more than 100 concerts played in 30 different countries), the trio continues to explore the essence of jazz this Monday evening at the District’s La Maison Francaise performing works from their 2007 album, “A Time for Everything” and their latest release, “Muse.”
With numerous solo recordings under his belt (Herman is the recipient of the “New Talents” trophy from the Sunside jazz club and was elected “Adami Jazz Talent” by the French artistic community), he has developed a theory of musical improvisation called “Real Time Composition.” He and the trio have implemented the theory moving it toward a jazz-performance metamorphosis.
Explaining his theory, Herman notes in part that jazz, and more importantly improvisation, is by definition a music of the present, composed and performed in real time while it aims to touch eternity. Eternity, he acknowledges, is the absence of time — the present.
“Each moment is unique and will never repeat itself which requires an acute level of awareness,” he has stated. “The artist has to find the seeds of eternity which lay hidden in these fleeting moments. Sincerity becomes essential.”
In addition to lecturing on Real Time Composition at the Sorbonne, his theory is inherent in the energy and quality of live performance, both solo and with his trio.
“Yaron has often been compared to one of my favorite pianists, Keith Jarrett, who’s sold out Carnegie Hall solo and trio performances I have been [to],” said
Charles LeGette, director of communications and marketing for La Maison Francaise at the Embassy of France. “The music of Yaron Herman’s Trio is exciting, lively and smart. It’s music from the soul. WhatYaron’s trio is doing is special and I can’t wait to hear this extraordinary group live.”
