EADE/HERSCH: IT TAKES TWO

Yet vocalist Dominique Eade knows the value of challenging/supportive accompaniment. Eade looks forward to her duet with pianist Fred Hersch at the Regattabar on January 31 as a collaborative, intimate sharing. "Fred's able to interact on all levels at the drop of a hat," she says from her Brooklyn home, "melodic, rhythmic, harmonic. He's unique as an accompanist -- especially wonderful in duo -- because things can go logically but unexpectedly in many directions."

The two met during student days at the New England Conservatory, and just a year ago at Jordan Hall they duetted at an unusually memorable faculty recital. The year before they had played the R-Bar with saxophonist Allan Chase. "We've known each other many years, but we've only become friends on gigs lately," says Eade. "Fred knows so much repertoire, we'll pick up songbooks, try things."

Eade's one-on-one performances extend to guitarists Peter Leitch and Mick Goodrick, pianist Ran Blake, bassist Mark Helias. "Each instrument presents a different challenge. With bass and voice, to make the textures interesting; with guitar, to keep the rhythmic flow going; with piano, to allow it to be sparse. There's no rhythm-flow problem with Fred. He's got a reputation as an intellectual player, but he's really an energy player: you feel the flow all the time."

Hersch, who has worked with the likes of Art Farmer, Sam Jones, and Joe Henderson, has emerged as a superb leader. He brings to Eade's gigs experience playing for cabaret singers and producing albums. His solo CD, I Never Told You: Fred Hersch Plays Johnny Mandel (Varese/Sarabande), has been nominated for a 1996 Grammy. His flair for elegance crests on the follow-up to the Mandel album, the Billy Strayhorn tribute Passion Flower (Elektra/Nonesuch, in stores January 30), which features two of Hersch's gorgeous string arrangements and an anguished duet on "Something To Live For" with singer Andy Bey.

Eade's My Resistance Is Low (Accurate) exhibits fine repertoire and telepathic interplay with her trio. She scats saxophonically and immerses herself in the band, and they turn on dimes: tempos and textures veer and glide with discoveries and surprises. She duets with bassist George Mraz on the ballad "You Don't Know What Love Is," which gets rethought as fast samba. "The Tender Trap" was crooned by Frank Sinatra in the 1955 film of the same name; Eade gives the piece an ironic twist, taking it very up, with every clipped syllable securely in place, and trading twos with drummer Lewis Nash's brushes in some daredevil scat.

Eade's deep-cutting original ballads benefit from sensitive workmanship. "Sometime Tonight" sustains moody melisma via the arabesques of Bruce Barth's piano. "Late Autumn Evening" slow-tangos to Mraz's bass and Nash's soft mallets. Eade plans to sing these with Hersch, as well as her jaunty, quixotic "Avenue A" and new originals. Her writing has been drawing more interest lately -- musicians are asking her for leads sheets, or to write lyrics for their tunes. Eade and Hersch will do Monk -- wordless versions of "Evidence" and "Criss Cross," "Hackensack" and "Bemsha Swing" with Eade's lyrics. There'll also be the Helen Humes-associated "Home," a Hersch waltz ("Up in the Air"), and Strayhorn's "Daydream" and "Blood Count" (the latter with Eade's lyrics, originally on her solo debut, Accurate's 1991 The Ruby and the Pearl). Their performance should be one of the gems of the season.

-- Fred Bouchard

(Dominique Eade and Fred Hersch perform at the Regattabar this Wednesday, January 31. Call 876-7777 for info.)