NEW ALBUM
Text from the press release made by JazzFuel:
Acclaimed Danish vocalist and songwriter Lilly Hertzman returns this Spring with her sixth studio album, Heartshaped, a deeply personal offering with roots reaching back more than a decade. Recorded in New York, Heartshaped (April 17th, 2026) revisits a set of eight unrecorded originals, brought to life alongside acclaimed pianist Aaron Parks, his longtime bass collaborator Thomas Morgan, and award-winning Korean drummer Jongkuk Kim.
Heartshaped explores ideas of connection, impermanence, and attentiveness — to oneself, to others, and to the natural world. The album’s title itself reflects Hertzman’s guiding concept: living with an awareness rooted in empathy and listening, where inner intuition and shared experience intersect.
While grounded in jazz, the music moves fluidly between singer-songwriter sensibilities, lyric-driven storytelling, and open, responsive ensemble playing. The choice of acclaimed musician Aaron Parks as pianist and co-producer is not haphazard: many of the tunes were first conceived in 2014, when they worked closely together in Denmark. Though the songs lay dormant for years, their eventual recording is unforced and timely.
Joined by Thomas Morgan and Jongkuk Kim, the two-day session at Clubhouse Recording Studio in Rhinebeck yielded twelve recordings, eight of which form the final album. The quartet’s interplay is marked by restraint, trust, and space: Parks’ piano provides a harmonic and emotional anchor, while Morgan’s distinctive tone and Kim’s highly responsive drumming allow the songs to unfold with clarity and patience. Lyric and melody remain central, whilst the music moves fluidly between jazz improvisation and a song-based sensibility.
Recorded with minimal rehearsal, form, tempo, and dynamics remain flexible and shaped in the moment. Rather than fixed arrangements, the music develops through attentive interaction, with piano, bass, and drums responding closely to the vocal line. Improvisation grows organically from the songs themselves, informed by shared listening and a calm, unhurried pace.
From the outward-looking hope of Heartshaped to the shadowed, nocturnal worlds of The Calling and In the Sound of the Night, the album moves between light and darkness without forcing resolution. Big Heart emerges as one of the album’s most intimate moments, shaped by personal loss and unexpected musical turns, where generosity and grief sit side by side. Rather than offering answers, Heartshaped listens closely, allowing each song to arrive in its own time.
REVIEWS of Heartshaped / New album
“Lilly Hertzman Turns Jazz Into Poetry in a Luminous, Thought-Provoking Album. For Hertzman, voice and music matter deeply, but the text is equally central. What emerges is not simply a singer, but a poet. These songs could stand, without embarrassment, alongside a contemporary volume of poetry. Her interpretive approach carries a literary weight that is essential to understanding her work: these are compositions rooted in the immediacy of the present, shaped by the anxieties and urgencies of the modern world. She transforms current events into poetic material, suggesting that art itself, in its form and intention, participates in shaping not only beauty, but meaning.(...)
Not simply a vocalist’s album, but an artistic proposition, a work whose full resonance emerges only through attentive listening and reflection.
It is not for every listener. A certain literary sensitivity is required to grasp the depth of its musical and poetic ambition. It is a demanding, even risky, choice, one that may be understood differently on either side of the Atlantic. It does not seek consensus. It seeks engagement, and perhaps transformation.”
“Lilly Hertzman revisits eight of her previously unrecorded originals with a trio of stellar musicians to create an impressively immersive work” (…) Hertzman has a seductive, hypnotic voice that draws you in and provides a compelling focus throughout. Through her gaze you enter a world of spiritual mysticism that both reassures and brings a continuous sense of wonder. But it is all firmly rooted in the here and now, exploring themes such a humanity’s place in the Cosmos, of global community, connectivity with nature, and faith in love and hope. Don’t expect simple song structures; these are pieces with a poetic sense of motion and much going on beneath the bonnet. Do expect a strong sense of melody and finely wrought textures that reveal new depths with each listen.(…)This album is a high quality offering with much to ponder and enjoy from all involved.
“a deeply personal work rooted in her artistic inspirations”
“excellent compositions, fine and sensitive vocals”
“Lilly Hertzman is a singular talent, singer, songwriter, lyricist, and arranger. The trio is absolutely awesome, delivering her tunes with energy, creativity and excellence. They bring this project alive” (…) On a tune titled, “The Calling” the music is very reminiscent of 1960 jazz grooves. Once again, I think of John Coltrane’s music (…) As far as being a jazz singer, for me, she is a talent similar to Joni Mitchell. Lilly Hertzman has her own style and sound.”
“Her voice gives hints of late period Billie Holiday, expressive, clear and deeply emotive, and she uses it well in painting vocal landscapes.”
“Talent, imagination, and sensitivity are all that's needed. Lilly-Ann possesses all of these qualities.”
“An album that celebrates the beauty of listening, perfect for those looking for music that speaks to the heart, with grace, depth and a unique voice”
Bio
LILLY HERTZMAN is critically acclaimed as a jazz vocalist and for creating evocative songs as a songwriter. Her versatile career includes world-class collaborations with some of the finest and most creative jazz musicians. Among others Lew Soloff (US), Aaron Parks (US), Gilad Hekselman (ISR), Kirk Knuffke (US), Gustaf Ljunggren (S), Anders AC Christensen (DK), Jonas Berg (S), Thommy Andersson (S), Krister Jonsson (S), Jacob Fischer (DK).
Her inspirations and influences are many and goes across genres like jazz, singer-songwriter, folk and pop. Her origins also cross borders, with a mother from Japan and a father from Denmark.
Of her five critically acclaimed albums the 2017 release, TENDERLY feat. Gilad Hekselman, received rave reviews and was listed as Top 5 Best Vocal Release 2017 by The New York City Jazz Record. In 2021 it was handpicked by the Japanese label and store, Disk Union, for release on CD in Japan.
Her latest album, THE SONG IS YOU, feat. Gilad Hekselman & Kirk Knuffke, has received much acclaim too. It was followed up by a release-tour in DK and Germany in autumn 2021, and a promo video from legendary Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen has been published and can be viewed on this website and here on Lilly’s YouTube page.
In late August and start September 2022 Lilly was on a two week duo tour in South Korea and Japan with Gilad Hekselman, and they recorded a new album in Dec 2022 the day after they were one of the main acts at the Danish Music Award Jazz Show at the main hall in Musikhuset, Aarhus.In April 2023 she recorded a new album with her own songs together with Aaron Parks (piano), Thomas Morgan (double bass) and Jongkuk Kim (drums).
So new music is on the way!
“Lilly’s authenticity is unsurpassable ”
Video 1
Lilly Hertzman feat. Gilad Hekselman
Danish Music Awards Jazz 2022 ✨
Performance from The Large Hall at MUSIKHUSET in Aarhus, DK
It’s always like a dream for me to play with Gilad. He makes it so easy to sing and it’s a thrill to tell and shape the story together with him. Unfortunately, this evening I was having a flu and so was struggling with my voice a lot. I hear that very clearly, and you probably will too. But, that’s life - and the show had to go on. I hope you will enjoy it anyway.
We played two songs. The first one, Little Flower, had its live premiere in Denmark at this performance. It’s a song I wrote during the summer of 2022 for my then 16 year old daughter. But it can be for any child - also the child within yourself. That’s also what I am saying in Danish in the introduction, in case you wondered ;-)
The second song is the jazz ballad,The Nearness Of You. Both songs were part of our set list during our two week duo tour in Korea and Japan in Aug/Sep 2022, and will be featured on a new duo album, that we recorded the day after this show.
Lots of love, Lilly