Prolific bassist and composer Michael Feinberg issues his eighth album as a leader with Hard Times, a layered and eclectic response to the pandemic, rendered by an impressive cast of collaborators. Feinberg features Leo Genovese on keyboards and synths, Billy Buss on trumpet, Godwin Louis on alto, Noah Preminger on tenor, Gabriel Globus-Hoenig on percussion, Orrin Evans on piano, Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts on drums, and special guest trumpeter Randy Brecker on “Monkeys Never Cramp.” The album is mostly originals excepting the title track, two from McCoy Tyer, and one from Miles Davis.
Much of Feinberg’s writing is done with the renowned drummer Watts in mind. Watts built his reputation on nuanced drumming, moving from the dynamic to the restrained in just a blink. This kind of dichotomy is at the heart of the album which centers on dualities and apparent contradictions, delivered by these musicians dramatically as they build tension and then cathartically release it. As we all found the pandemic a time of intense reflection through time spent alone, Feinberg conveys this through his music. He describes the opening textured “Introduction” this way in the liners, speaking of Pei-Shen Qian and Rudy Kurniawan – “PSQ and Rudy Kurniawan are master forgers, one of art and one of wine. They each convinced the movers and shakers of their industry that their product was legit which begs the question of the intrinsic value of art. Is the painting good because it moves you or is good because someone famous painted it?”
His arrangement of Miles Davis’ “Nardis,” nods to Feinberg’s apprenticeship gig with Russell Gunn when the bassist was coming up in Atlanta. Propelled by Billy Buss’s searing trumpet, there are undulating grooves that faintly hearken to the kind of hip hop and R&B grooves that Atlanta musicians would play in Gunn’s band. “Husafell Stone” hits hard as it is a reference to the Icelandic legend of lifting a 409 lb. stone, an idea with Watts forceful drumming in mind. Taking the first solo, pianist Evans accentuates the composition’s syncopated melody before Buss delivers his own swinging response.
The two McCoy Tyner tracks “Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit” and “Three Flowers” pay tribute to a recently departed hero of Feinberg’s, the latter piece featuring a dualism is his bass solo characteristic of the entire record: strength in sensitivity. Obviously, these are features for the two pianists with Evans taking the first and Genovese playing beautifully on the latter. We hear strong ensemble work from the three-horn front line in the former while “Three Flowers” is rendered as a trio. “Janky in the Middle” spotlights Louis and Buss who have been on Feinberg’s front line for over a decade. The shifting meters in the contemporary New Orleans tune is conducive to a vigorous dialogue between the two.
The solemn and anguished tones of “Every. Damn. Day. (Burn it down blues)” acknowledge the long line of trauma inflicted on the Black community because of racism, police brutality and gun violence, which came to head with the killings of George Floyd and Brionna Taylor during the pandemic period. There are no real solos but mournful cries from the horn players while Watts beats in agitated fashion and Evans hits dissonant chords.
“Lauren’s Song” is just the opposite, featuring beautiful and tender melodies as Feinberg nods to his wife, inserting a lyrical bass solo mid-piece followed by Genovese in a Fender Rhodes solo and Louis and Buss in turn while Watts impresses with his cymbal work. In keeping with the theme of opposites, the jagged follows the smooth with “Monkeys Never Cramp,” imbued by Genovese’s synth, the distinctive, high flying Randy Brecker on trumpet, and a funky groove laid down by Watts and the leader. Naturally, the smooth follows with the title track as an uplifting, gospel kind of piece underpinned by Genovese on organ. Fittingly, it’s a healing message, played gorgeously by Buss and Louis while resonating walk and Watts’ timekeeping provide the solid bottom.
Feinberg creates some different moods and finds that special balance between scripted music and improvisation with his talented collaborators in this well-conceived contemporary presentation.
