“Whether he’s playing power chords at the piano, executing a dazzling run, or working through a dense bit of improvised counterpoint, he never seems to be showing off; instead, everything has some narrative logic or emotional purpose."
"Jerusalem Trilogy is his most ambitious offering, at the crossroads of different musical worlds: classical, jazz, and World music, all with a level of technique and sophistication that puts him in his own class... in short, a very wide sound palette, at the service of completely unbridled creativity. It is a pleasure to listen to."
"One goes from listening intently to the artist's skill with a keyboard to being swept up in the emotion it produces; it's uplifting and sad at the same time."
"The talent of a great artist is the search to allow all music to go beyond its limits, to revisit works in order to give them a new dimension. This is what we were treated to on this Saturday in September with pianist Matt Herskowitz."
"Pianist Matt Herskowitz's (piano concerto) Undertow took the F-minor Sinfonia, the spookiest of all the Inventions, and rode its sliding bass line through a secret-agent opening, a section of rugged math-rock that had me thinking of King Crimson, and a grand passacaglia that drew out the tragic implications of Bach's original. It ended on the brink of a high tutti cadence, and I would have been happy to hear the whole 20-minute piece repeated right away."
"You don't have to love classical or jazz to love Jerusalem Trilogy, you just have to love music."
“We hear the fusion between classical music and jazz trio improvisation, enrobed in airs of the Middle-East and Eastern Europe. All apparently disparate elements, yet beautifully woven together by the Montreal pianist. The disc is unique and irresistible.
"As an interpreter, Herskowitz revealed himself to be an extremely generous pianist, marvelously negotiating the curves, rhythmic variations and zones of shadow and light scattered throughout all the works. His percussive, muscular style - even virile - was perfectly suited to Gershwin."
"Must we recall the mastery of this jazz pianist, who must first be considered an exceptional artist? Rhapsody in Blue, George Gershwin's great classic, is superbly suited to the style of Matt Herskowitz, whose spectacularly virile attack, speed, intensity and precision of fingering perfectly serve this magestic work. The impression of improvisation remains in this piece - as it does for the three movements of the Concerto in F, as well as the Cuban Overture, which Herskowitz brilliantly arranged for solo piano. The Montreal pianist can be proud."
"Herskowitz acheives here a triumph of resourcefullness, to the point where we - almost - forget the absence of the other 50 musicians ...the rich thematic material, full of counterpoint and polyrhythms, permits Herskowitz to highlight his double-abilities as concert pianist and jazzman. The very fact that this album can be classified as both jazz and classical is a testament to its success - which is also, of course, Gershwin's."
"This sensitivity, musicality and originality provided us the most beautiful of gifts this November 28; virtuosity in its purest form, in all styles"
"This is an album that will appeal to lovers of classical music. It is an album that will appeal to lovers of jazz. Indeed it is an album that will appeal to lovers of music." (review of Jerusalem Trilogy)
"Here's an album that can be found in both the classical and jazz sections of the store. A complete pianist with irreprochable technique, Matt Herskowitz offers such an astonishing reading of this Gershwin repertoire that one forgets that he's playing alone, without orchestra.
"Besides playing the inventive, thorny solo in 'Purple Haze', Matt Herskowitz, the group's pianist, offered a stunningly beautiful solo in the Mingus classic 'Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,' and an energetic piece of his own, 'Serial Blues,' in which a remarkably fluid jazz piano line squared off against ensemble contributions couched alternately in classic blues harmonies and a contrapuntal 12-tone setting."
This was post-Miles Davis, post-Bill Evans, post-just-about-everyone stuff. Gershwin's tunes were at the core of the music, even if you had to listen pretty hard at times, but the style was contemporary. Terrific fun."
"... (he is) a poet at the keyboard, putting his talents to the service of any form of music that shares his passion for exploration. A smoldering inner fire impels Matt Herskowitz to flout musical convention, creating a jazz that's as enthusiastic as it is inventive."
"Pianist Matt Herskowitz made like Keith Emerson with a Chopin-meets-Little Richard solo piano jaunt". (from review of Les Triplettes de Belleville show at the 2004 Montreal Jazz Festival)"
"In Chopin's "Berceuse" and Ravel's "Gaspard de la Nuit," the fluidity of his scale work was effortless and light and sounded like streams of tinkling bells. His touch was as gentle as a feather. His expert pedaling allowed for technical clarity and his rhythm was precise."
"Locked in a strange embrace with his piano, tender and aggressive at once, hands first in perfect synchrony, then suddenly abandoning one another into furious autonomy, (his playing) was fluid to the point of bursting."
"He delivers hard-driving progressive bop, yet excels at soft and sensitive works... improvised lines breathe like brushstrokes on canvas, each note carefully selected and presented."
"The release is completed by an exquisite account of the Glazunov Second Piano Concerto by the young American Matthew Herskowitz, by far the best performance on CD."
"His pianism is formidably accomplished, with bristling clarity of articulation, a clipped rhythmic energy, commendable architecture and extreme musical directness and intelligence."
"Higher praise was owing Matthew Herskowitz for his noble, finely burnished interpretation of Beethoven's Second Concerto... everything in this performance suggested that the Second is more than the 18th - century entertainment it is sometimes presumed to be."
"Matthew Herskowitz, in Ravel's Ondine, produced opaque sounds evocative of the now seldom-heard Erard pianos, thrilling in its quiet intensity."
..."extraordinary high-octane keyboard virtuosity"
"...his is a much more energetic, driven, and probing style than that of most jazz pianists. In sum, he is a cultivated talent with an undeniably bright future in both musical worlds."
"In this particular hall, pianist Matthew Herskowitz stood out as someone to watch and listen for as he stands at the threshold of a promising career."
