French opinion has elevated one jazz musician above all others: Fred Hersch (pictured left). The Academie du Jazz (apparently, the French didn’t manage to keep all English words out of their language) has recently given the pianist’s three-disc set Songs Without Words (Nonesuch/Warner Music) the Prix du meilleur disque d’annee (Prize for the Best Disc of the Year).
Hersch will no doubt be pleased that the title of his 1989 compilation album The French Collection is finally paying dividends with this prestigious prize. The Academie du jazz does give out one other major yearly award, but since it honors the Musicien francais de l’annee (French Musician of the Year), Hersch will no doubt understand why he’s not going to get it.
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