the night before: David Hajdu, Maria Schneider, Fred Hersch

** Doors for this conversation will be at 3:30pm. There will be no performances at this event.**

A conversation on jazz and journalism with author David Hajdu and musicians Maria Schneider and Fred Hersch. Moderated by Carolina Abbott Galvao. A special event on the occasion of Hajdu’s new book, The Night Before: Essays on Music, Comics, and Culture.

David Hajdu

Esteemed for his writing on music and culture, Hajdu has published eight books of biography, cultural history, criticism, fiction, and graphic nonfiction appearing internationally in seven languages. He first established his reputation as a writer on jazz with his landmark biography of Billy Strayhorn, Lush Life which The New York Times named one of the Hundred Best Nonfiction Books of All Time. A creative artist as well, Hajdu is author of the serio-comic novel, Adrianne Geffel, and co-author of a body of musical compositions featured on nine albums by a diverse range of artists, including four albums dedicated solely to songs with his lyrics.

Maria Schneider

Blurring the boundaries between jazz and classical traditions, Schneider is among the few artists to receive Grammy Awards in multiple genres, honored in jazz and classical categories, as well as for her work with David Bowie. Her music has been described as “evocative, majestic, heart-stoppingly gorgeous, epic and beyond categorization.” Since her debut recording Evanescence (1994), Schneider has developed a distinctive compositional language for her 18-member orchestra, writing specifically for the individualistic voices within the ensemble. The group has performed worldwide, and Schneider has guest-conducted more than 90 ensembles across 30 countries.

Fred Hersch

A member of jazz’s piano pantheon, Fred Hersch has been an influential creative force over more than three decades as an improviser, composer, educator, bandleader, collaborator, and recording artist. He has been proclaimed “the most arrestingly innovative pianist in jazz over the last decade” by Vanity Fair and “a living legend” by The New Yorker. A seventeen-time Grammy nominee, Hersch has garnered jazz’s most prestigious awards, including a Doris Duke Artist (2016), Jazz Pianist of the Year from the Jazz Journalists Association (2011, 2016, 2018), and the Jazz Magazine (France) International Artist of the Year (2021).

Moderator Carolina Abbott Galvao writes on music for The New York Times and other publications.