A Rare One-Time Coming Together of Guitarist Mick Goodrick and Pianist Fred Hersch

Feebles, Fables and Ferns captures a rare one-time coming together of luminaries Mick Goodrick and Fred Hersch, recorded in Hersch’s studio in New York, in August 1988.

Looking back at the session almost four decades later, Hersch notes how “the highlight to me is just the level of ensemble playing. There was a lot of profound listening going on between the both of us.” The expansive grasp of both musicians’ language and expressive abilities on their respective instruments is to the fore throughout this rich program.

Hersch and Goodrick’s intimate dialogues lay bare the qualities that have earned both men a reputation as leading mentors in improvisation. Previously known compositions by the pianist and the guitarist appear in concentrated guises, with Goodrick’s album-title-lending “Feebles, Fables and Ferns” (recorded for his ECM date In Pas(s)ing ten years earlier) offering a focused glimpse at the playfully intertwined lines the two spin around each other on the go.

Recorded in Hersch’s New York Studio in August 1988 – Available June 19, 2026 via ECM