There's a certain kind of time that's metronomic, that's correct, but doesn't want you want to dance. It doesn't make you want to move, and it doesn't make you want to play.
Fred HerschBut I don't have anything to prove. My reputation is what it is. It seems that a lot of gay men are put off by jazz because either they don't believe it speaks to their own experience or they believe the genre itself to be somehow intolerant of homosexuality.
Fred HerschA lot of guys in New York will only play with an edge. They find their groove and that's their groove. to me, once I do that, there's no point in playing anymore because it should always be a mystery. Depending on who you are playing with, there are hundreds of ways of playing. I think that a master can play all those different kinds of time.
Fred Hersch