Love Grows Deep
Dick Sisto/Fred Hersch (SteepleChase)
by Rachel Smith
Neither Dick Sisto nor Fred Hersch is a stranger to an
intimate album. The Kentucky-based vibraphonist and
NYC-based pianist, longtime friends, join forces on the
recently released Love Grows Deep—a reissue of Duo
Live (Ear X-Tacy)—which takes listeners back to a 2001
concert at the Kentucky Center for the Arts, and features
eleven tunes (only nine of which appear on the original
release).
The album immediately stands out for its
instrumentation, though it’s not a first for either: Sisto
recorded a piano-vibraphone duo album with Kenny
Werner, and Fred Hersch has played and recorded in duo
with Gary Burton. The tunes here represent an admirable
melding of these two musicians and their instruments. At
times, the merging is so smooth that only an attentive ear
can pick up which notes are played on which instrument.
The opening selection, Benny Carter’s “Only Trust Your
Heart” immediately establishes a relationship of mutual
support between the two. Neither instrument is relegated
to a support capacity, and both musicians comp each
other’s solos lightly and thoughtfully. The solos are so
well integrated that one might miss when the tune moves from a solo to duo and back again.
Sisto and Hersch are likewise balanced as composers,
as well, contributing two and three originals, respectively,
to the program. Both musicians showcase the traditional
capacities of their instruments: the vibraphone sounds
clean; the piano sounds lush. But more interesting are
the moments where they seem to tap into one other’s
sound. Hersch brings out the percussive quality of the
piano (after all, it is a percussion as well as a string
instrument) and Sisto brings out the chordal capabilities
of the vibraphone. The duo depart from their beautiful
complementarity with some productive dissonance on
two of the pianist’s tunes, “At the Close of the Day” and
“The Chase”. This aesthetic break from their conjoined
sound serves as a reminder that we are listening to two
musicians—one who has been rightfully recognized for
his craft, and another who deserves more attention.
For more info visit arkivmusic.com/collections/steeplechase.
Hersch is at Village Vanguard Jun. 16-21.