Bassist Mauricio Morales remembers meeting pianist Adam Hersh at a show at the Continental Club in downtown Los Angeles. Afterward, Morales needed to get home somehow. "That's one of the benefits of not having a car," he jokes, for Hersh gave him a ride that night, asking Morales as they drove away, "Have you heard this record by Wayne Shorter called High Life?"
They became fast friends, matching the rate at which their careers have risen among an increasingly crowded constellation of artists who are redefining the creative jazz scene in L.A. They are launching toward the apex with their first shared collaboration, Between Dreams & Twilight – an exposition of intricate modern jazz composition, featuring nine pieces between the two of them; three written by Morales, three by Hersh and three co-written by both. The album also demonstrates the duo's brilliant musicianship, gleaming in the company of their exemplary bandmates: vibraphonist Warren Wolf, guitarist Mike Moreno and drummer Gary Novak, along with the L.A.-based Rogue Lemon String Quartet.
Morales and Hersh started to play and write music together soon after their meeting in 2021. "The music was just, you know, flowing," explains Morales. "I think the ideas we both had complemented each other smoothly. It reached the point where we both knew we actually had to do something."
Morales and Hersh know this is a seminal moment for them – the realization of their dreams of following musically in the footsteps of their heroes: Shorter, guitarist Allan Holdsworth and pianist Billy Childs for Hersh, Pat Metheny for Morales. But their dreams are tempered. Morales elaborates, "Twilight symbolizes the uncertainty within our journey in this field. Whether they are financial or emotional hardships, there is always a bit of darkness that can potentially bring you down if don’t have the mental fortitude to keep going. The dreams are part of the reason you’re still pushing forward…a little unpredictable and scary, but at the same time extremely exciting.”
Hersh adds: "I want to touch on another element – the scale of the project, the level of investment that both of us have put into it is pretty substantial. We brought in these artists whom we look up to musically but also have met through various career connections. I've gotten to play with Mike and Gary, and Mauricio had a connection with Warren and the strings, so he was able to bring them in." He continues, "The space between dreams and twilight; it's like the emergence of the career, putting yourself out there on a bigger scale than maybe what you've done previously."
The album emerges from silence with a flowing piano figure in 7/8, setting up "Eurybia," named evocatively for the daughter of Pontus and Gaia, god and goddess of the sea and earth in Greek mythology. Unique parts through the entire ensemble intertwine and splash together in this fantastical arrangement. "Reminiscence" features Morales on a concise melody, mirrored with guitar and developed in the strings before moving onto a more elaborate theme. "I would hear songs that I used to listen to when I was growing up," he says in explaining the title. "The power they have to bring back memories...it's a way of transcending through music."
"Low Life" is an homage to Hersh's guiding light, Shorter. "That's just an obvious reference to High Life, in a kind of tongue-in-cheek way," he states, regarding the classic fusion album from Shorter's post-Weather Report era. (Hersh has transcribed the entire album and performed it in its entirety no less than five times). "Straight-up, I just tried to write like Wayne."
The fantastical theme continues with "Cosmic River," a pensive, spacious sonic tone field named after the astronomical term for celestial phenomena like nebulas, star filaments and even our own Milky Way. "Poem to the Red Leaf" is about a mystery in a video game Morales enjoyed playing, and "Sand from a Broken Hourglass" is a poignant but stirring piece about wishing to pause the inexorable passage of time.
Twilight encroaches on the final three selections. "Where the Olive Trees Wither" leads the string quartet into a grove of dark energy. "Velos De Tormenta" was written by Hersh but titled by Morales, Spanish for "Veil of Storms," matching the piece's shrouded tempestuousness. Lastly, "Retratos De Vida Interrumpida," literally translates to "Portraits of a Life Interrupted," a moving tribute to Morales' uncle, who suffered a stroke and passed away not long after.
This series of tone poems encapsulates the promise of Morales and Hersh at the dawn of their careers, even as they understand the perils and pitfalls of their chosen path, and of life in general. Yet the luminosity of these two artists evinces that their day has come, dusky shadows far removed beyond the horizon.
Mauricio Morales is a Mexican-born, Los Angeles-based acoustic and electric bass player, composer, and arranger. He began his musical journey in Mexico, studying with Agustín Bernal and playing with Mexican jazz musicians before earning a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied under the direction of musicians like John Patitucci, Eddie Gomez, John Lockwood, Lincoln Goines, and many others. Morales moved to Los Angeles in 2018, where he continues to lead projects, release music, and explore contemporary jazz and fusion. Morales launched what has become a diverse discography with the fusion-tinged tracks of 2021’s Luna, followed by the improvisation-leaning trio album Eclipse in 2022 and The Endless Ride in 2023. The pop resonances and qualities on that album, including vocals, are in marked contrast with the almost entirely acoustic sextet context of Seven Days, written in the span of a week and premiered at the Angel City Jazz Festival in 2024.
Los Angeles-based pianist, keyboardist, and composer Adam Hersh has been a regular on the LA jazz scene as both a leader and sideman, performing and recording with Bob Sheppard, Mike Moreno, Warren Wolf, Munir Hossn, Bill Holman, Gary Novak, Billy Childs, Andrew Renfroe, Joe LaBarbera, Justin Brown, Devin Daniels and others. He is adept at performing in modern/fusion/straight ahead contexts and is proficient in programming sounds on synthesizers and utilizing electronics and keyboards. Hersh was selected as a Ravinia Composition Fellow in 2017, and in 2020 he released his debut album House Roots, a synthesizer-driven jazz fusion record. Following that, Hersch undertook two large projects, a full transcription of Wayne Shorter’s 1995 Grammy-winning album High Life, and a selection of compositions from iconic fusion guitarist Allan Holdsworth. Hersh's second album, Tornado Watch, was released in April 2024, featuring a sextet recorded live at Sam First Jazz club in Los Angeles, playing nine compositions by Hersh and his arrangement of Herbie Hancock’s “Toys.”
