The new Herskowitz Rozenblatt Project CD, "Forget Me Not," is now available in stores across Canada.

After a year of work and waiting, we're pleased to finally announce the new HRP CD was released in September on Disques Tout Crin (distribution Fusion III) across Canada. Reviews are now starting to come in, and more are expected soon. More HRP concerts are being scheduled, so please check this page periodically for new concert info.

Herskowitz Rozenblatt Project website: MadFusionMusic.com

Listen to sound clips and purchase Forget Me Not online at CD Baby

REVIEWS OF "FORGET ME NOT"

A personal letter from Dave Brubeck
Dear Matt,

I have listened. I have been on the road so much, or involved in finishing compositions for a new premier that I haven' had time to get around to telling you how fantastic you are, even more than on your last album.

Tomorrow I leave on tour for possibly four months, and I am taking your new CD with me so that I can have more time to really listen and enjoy. Your first track called "Concerto Enfou" was absoiutely frightening for me to hear someone do so much on piano. Hearing such technique from you almost ruined my day. I said to myself, "This is the final straw. I'd better retire now."

The next track with Lew Soloff caimed me down a bit with the humor of the piece. When I got to track 9, what you had going on in "Brazil" I found almost impossible to analyze so much was going on. I couldn' understand what percussion instruments could damn near play the melody. Whoever the percussionist is, he also is a "monster". I'll have a week on the Queen Mary to be listening to this album, but in the meantime, know how Impressed I am with all you are doing and frightened by what you will be doing in the future.

Thanks for the mention in your album notes. I have been deeply interested in you from the very first time I heard you. Congratulations again and again for developing your unbelievable talent. Goodbye for now.

All the best,
Dave Brubeck

Montreal Gazette
"This recording, a stunning first by an ensemble of classically trained musicians - pianist Matt Herskowitz and drummer David Rozenblatt - has it all and then some. Forms usually associated with contemporary classical cohabit with the funky, bluesy, Latin and Brazilian. Wild improv contrasts with moments of silence in 12 pieces that range from the wildly dazzling opener - Concerto en Fou - to a tragically simple reading of Under Your White Starry Heaven by Abraham Brudno, a Holocaust survivor, with bassist Mat Fieldes. Trumpeter Lew Soloff brightly kicks off If I Were a Rich Man, from Fiddler on the Roof, leading into a Cuban montuno - a tribute to the harmony of disparate traditions in the hands of inspired master musicians."
5 stars out of 5

La Presse, Montreal
"Virtuose montréalais

Montréalais depuis 1999, Matt Herskowitz doit désormais être considéré parmi les incontournables de la métropole. Dans cette île, très peu de pianistes de jazz ont atteint la maîtrise de ce diplômé du Curtis Institute of Music et de Juilliard : dextérité, célérité, attaque, sens percussif, spectre de styles, connaisances harmoniques, inconstestable calibre international." "Herskowitz forme...un superbe power trio acoustique avec son colléque David Rozenblatt, excellent batteur, et le bassiste Mat Fieldes auxquels se joignent sporadiquement le trompettiste Lew Soloff et le DJ Rémy Sealey"
31/2 étoiles sûr 4

translation:

"Montreal virtuoso
A Montrealer since 1999, Matt Herskowitz must henceforth be considered among the essentials of the Montreal music scene. On this island, very few pianists acheive the mastery of this graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and Juilliard: dexterity, speed, attack, percussive sense, range of styles, harmonic mastery and incontestable international calibre."
"Herskowitz forms a superb acoustic power trio with his colleague David Rozenblatt, an excellent drummer, and bassist Mat Fieldes, joined sporadically by trumpeter Lew Soloff and DJ Rémy Sealey."
31/2 stars out of 4

The Montreal Mirror
"NYC pianist Herskowitz (a Montreal fixture in recent years) and drummer Rozenblatt need not fret. This effort is anything but forgettable. The principles of jazz underlie explorations of neo-classical, world music and pop ideas, assembled and exploded in a sly, even playful manner (Terry Gilliam fans should note the two versions of Ary Barroso's "Brazil"). The dynamic, capricious "Concerto en Fou" and propulsive title track (featuring Rémy Sealey's tasteful scratching and a vocal line aped most capably by Lew Soloff's trumpet) start things with a bang, but even the most placid moments crackle with quiet energy."
8/10

WholeNote Discoveries (thewholenote.com)
"Fasten your seat belts and check your minimum height requirement, because "Forget Me Not" by the Montreal-based Herskowitz Rozenblatt Project is about to take listeners on a frenzied roller coaster ride of idiomatic twists and turns that could leave even the most experienced jazz aficionados light-headed.

Pianist Matt Herskowitz and drummer David Rozenblatt waste little time showcasing compositional audacity and technical proficiency with Concerto en Fou, an up-tempo number bordering on the avant-garde and atonal. Chords, melodies and even standards, yes that's right, standards make their way on the album project with two versions of Brazil along with The Days of Wine and Roses, which Herskowitz calls our 'gateau fromage' in the CD's liner notes. "Forget Me Not" also ventures into the exotic with Amr Bi Ismak, a beautiful Arabian number by Lebanese composer/instrumentalist Marcel Khalife. Herskowitz and Rozenblatt also draw upon wheir own cultural backgrounds with a Latin-esque interpretation of If I Were A Rich Man and Under Your White Starry Heaven, which Herskowitz first performed in Paris with Yiddish singer Theresa Tova.

Bass player Mat Fieldes completes the trio formats and trumpet veteran Lew Soloff makes guest appearances. "Forget Me Not" by the Herskowitz Rozenblatt project is many things: fast, furious, impressionistic, funky, Latin, moody, ethnic, and.... impressive."

La Scena Musicale
"Le mot qui s'impose pour ce disque du pianiste Matt Herskowitz, enregistré à Montréal avec son trio, le Herskowitz Rozenblatt Project, est... déroutant. Ce diplôme des grandes écoles, dont la carrière est déjà ponctuée de plusieurs coups d'éclat, revendique le droit d'absorber tous les styles. Cette dynamique fonctionne à plein dans son Concerto en fou, qui fait le grand saut entre le classique et le jazz. De même, Forget Me Not, avec son motif d'ostinato au piano derrière la trompette hurlante du musicien invité Lew Soloff passe pour un vrai morveau de bravoure. Même si cet éclectisme effréné pourrait à la lonque devenir lancinant pour l'auditoire, Herskowitz démontre avec deux de ses ballades (un thème arabisant de son cru et Four Women, immortalisé par Nina Simone) que point n'est besoin de toujours jouer vite. En dépit de ces réserves, il sera tout de même interessant de suivre de plus près l'évolution de cet acrobate du clavier qui a quitté la Grosse Pomme pour élire domicile au Québec."

translation:

"The word that stands out for this disc of pianist Matt Herskowitz, recorded in Montréal with his trio, the Herskowitz Rozenblatt project, is... unpredictable. This graduate of the great music institutions, whose career has already been punctuated with many impressive accomplishments, dives headlong into all musical styles. This dynamic is most fully exploited in his Concerto en fou, which bridges the leap between classical and jazz. Likewise, Forget Me Not, with it's piano ostinato behind the screaming trumpet of special guest Lew Soloff, makes for a truly bravura track. Even if this unchained ecleticism can in the long run become fatiguing for the listener, Herskowitz demonstrates with two of his ballades (an Arab theme, filtered through his own personal style, and Four Women, immortalized by Nina Simone) that virtuosity is not always necessary. Despite this small reservation, it will be interesing to closely follow the evolution of this acrobat of the keyboard. who left the Big Apple to make Québec his home."

Winnipeg Free Press
"This is a tasty first album by the classically trained pianist Matt Herskowitz and drummer David Rozenblatt and its mix of contemporary classical, jazz, funk, blues and Latin music is refreshing and energetic.

Trumpeter Lew Soloff is a bright addition to this Quebec trio that includes bassist Mat Fieldes and the horn player is great on the title track (which includes turntablist Rémy Sealey) and he works If I Were a Rich Man into a Cuban montuno.

The dozen tunes only include one standard, The Days of Wine and Roses while Concerto en Fou, the opener, is a blazing tune by Herskowitz. This is a good, non-standard jazz disc and a band worth keeping an ear on.
31/2 stars

Journal de Montréal
"Maîtrisant aussi bien les accords classiques que jazz, le pianiste Matt Herskowitz nous offre un disque, à géométrie variable, assez inspirant. Redoutable technicien dont les maîtres sont Mal Waldron, Herbie Hancock et probablement Aki Takase, il déploi en douze plages son savoir-faire, quelquefois un peu brouillon. En compagnie du trompettiste américain Lew Soloff, qui fait office de personne invitée, nous explorons un univers bouillant, pas toujours reposant et qui demande une oreille attentive."

translation:

"Mastering equally well the classical and jazz genres, pianist Matt Herskowitz offers an eclectic and fairly inspired disc. A formidable technician whose influences include Mal Waldron, Herbie Hancock and probably Aki Takase, he displays it all in twelve tracks, at times a bit disorganized. In the company of American trumpeter Lew Soloff, who appears as special guest performer, we explore a super-charged universe, not always relaxing, and which demands an attentive ear."


[Reviews of live performances]

Kreiszeitung Syke, Germany
"A truly devilish threesome

A bit of Chopin, a helping of the Orient through Marcel Khalife’s compositions, and a whole lot of jazzy single-mindedness. With this mix the Herskowitz Rozenblatt Project electrified its audience in Bremenhaven’s Fischereihafen Theatre at this year’s Musikfest Bremen.

Matt Herskowitz, David Rozenblatt and Mat Fieldes - all musicians in Kristjan Järvi’s Absolute Ensemble- conjure up a dense, almost intimate atmosphere in the small theatre.

Using just a handful of spotlights, all attention is focused on the protagonists. Driven by a passionate love for the music, the listeners, who in this setting can see everything from up close, are taken for a ride with the devil by the 3 jazzmen.

They immerse themselves in their own compositions, as well as versions of Dave Brubeck and Nina Simone originals.

The solos by pianist Matt Herskowitz, drummer David Rozenblatt and bass-player Mat Fieldes cause the air to vibrate. Out of what seem to be mere improvisations, all of a sudden a highly concentrated entity flows together that brings both musicians and audience into realms of ecstasy.

Especially Herskowitz repeatedly steps beyond the boundaries of his keyboard. He plays standing up, swings back and forth and lets the entire instrument speak, not just the keys.

Blues and funk mix with swing and classic, they surprise with abrupt, intentional breaks, and let the notes softly linger, only to let them reclaim their full swing in an almost magnetic fashion. The concert constantly changes speed, much to the delight of not just the musicians.

As their special guest, the three invited trumpet player Lew Soloff. The expectations may be high, but this New Yorker, charmingly introduced as the ‘incomparable’, does not disappoint. He inserts wonderfully pointed highlights into the funky creations." September 2004, translation of German text

Naples Daily News, Naples, FL
"...a sensational, volatile trio."

The Post-Star, Glens Falls, NY
"Herskowitz...made full use of his technical prowess to play breathlessly fast passages. Yet, the trio could swing hard. In various tunes... they played solid mainstream jazz with ecstatic fervor."