Real music lovers can find the melody in everything. From the park to the concert hall, our friend Nelson Brill is always on the hunt for great sound. In this article, Nelson recounts a performance by artist Michael Feinberg at the Lilypad in Inman Square, Cambridge.

BASSIST MICHAEL FEINBERG AND HIS “HUMBLEBRAG” AT THE LILYPAD: CAUGHT IN GLORIOUS FLIGHT

by Nelson Brill      May 26, 2014

Birding – a music lover/audiophile pursuit? Yes, indeed. In these early months of spring in Boston, birding is at its best: all sorts of migrations are occurring and you never know what surprise you may encounter around that next hedge. Birding opens the ears and the mind. If you bring a good pair of binoculars to your favorite park, pond or glen in an early morning or late afternoon, you will notice how your ears do not pick up many bird calls at first. Moving slowly and deliberately and keeping your ears focused on every nuance of sound, you will begin to hear things you did not before. After some time, you will be hearing new sounds coming from all directions and be able to pinpoint the call of that young yellow-throated warbler hidden in the thickets under your feet. Sit or stand quietly and the more you listen, the more you will hear and see: catch that rose breasted grosbeak just alighting on that pine branch at about 12 o’clock? See that flash of orange as that Baltimore Oriole streaks towards its hanging nest at 3 o’clock? Your ears are now truly open and your senses bring forth an astonishing new array of visual and sonic treats to behold.

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Bringing birding skills to the Lilypad in Inman Square, Cambridge, on May 8, 2014 brought many sonic rewards, especially when listening to the band assembled that evening under the keen eyes and ears of bassist Michael Feinberg. Feinberg has been on the radar for some time, after seeing him perform several years ago at the Beehive Restaurant in the South End, Boston and hearing his superb 2012 recording, The Elvin Jones Project [Sunnyside].

On that recording, Feinberg collaborated with some great talent, including drummer Billy Hart, local sax great George Garzone, trumpeter Tim Hagans and pianist Leo Genovese (also a local Berklee grad) for some funky and deeply meditative explorations. The recording is excellent, with an up-front perspective on all the action and a nicely layered soundstage. Using those birding ears, you can easily pick up every punctuated deep note from Feinberg on his bass pile driving the swing of “Miles Mode” (with a swashbuckling piano solo from Genovese) or the funky bop of “Taurus People” (with Billy Hart ratta-tatting away on his beautiful snare and Garzone’s sax big and full).  There are shifts to deep pools of sounds here too, on Elvin Jones’ “Earth Jones” and “It Is Written”: a slow revolving piece bending and swaying to Alex Wintz’s curling guitar motifs and Hagan’s soft cushioned tones from his horn.

At his Lilypad performance, Feinberg was showcasing a new formation in support of his just-released album, Humblebrag-Live at 800 East [Behip Records] and his tour in support of this new recording (check out Feinberg’s website for all details: www.michaelfeinbergmusic.com).

Feinberg’s Humblebrag band is once again chock full of great young musicians just itching to fly from the nest and spread their wings. Joining Feinberg at the Lilypad were pianist Julian Shore, drummer Dana Hawkins, trumpeter Jason Palmer and Godwin Louis on alto sax. This is a band made in hipster heaven! Shore is a superb pianist; he brings meticulous technique and an emotional depth to his piano playing that is fascinating to hear evolve. Hawkins brought his own snare to the Lilypad, and once set up, was on fire. He is a young drummer to watch out for-bringing great nervy urgency and roving meter shifts to his kit. Young Jason Palmer almost stole the show a few years ago at the Newport Jazz Festival when he was spied playing in Jack DeJohnette’s band. The guy has got soul all over his trumpet playing. Palmer can cascade sounds in a gleeful rush or burn slowly – never losing track of his melodic, soulful  grace. Finally, there is that firecracker Godwin Louis on alto sax. Louis brings more funk and glee to the proceedings as he amply demonstrated this evening at the Lilypad: big, brawny sound with volcanic technical skill.

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The band played “Duckface” (which appears on the new Humblebrag recording with Terreon Gully on drums and Billy Buss on trumpet) with tumultuous force, all funk and brawn. Like on the recording, Shore took off into a beautiful, interwoven piano solo, with leaps and bounds from sparkling high notes to low blustering bass chords. His unerring touch on the piano was extraordinary. Sparks flew (like the sights of those bright orange orioles in the trees around town) in Palmer and Louis’ takes – full of furious scaling that always led back to the nest of first melodic ideas. As on his latest album, Feinberg here laid into a funky, soulful bass solo. The sound of his bass at the Lilypad was not bad- especially given the intimate confines of this listening room. (The management has now put in some good dampening materials along the walls of the room that have made for some improvement in these areas of bass bloat and drum overpowering sound in this small, inviting space). The Humblebrag recording (recorded live in a small Atlanta studio which Feinberg speaks of with gratitude for its cooperative structure for artists) captures beautifully all of the sass and funk of “Duckface,” with a warm and spacious soundstage and a nice up-front perspective to Louis’ funky sprawls on his alto sax.

The band also stretched out on “The Hard Stuff,” a rough and tumble outing with a big rock rhythm foundation and off-kilter solos bouncing off  Feinberg’s bass backbone. Hawkins brought a huge sound to the proceedings (like a hawk brushing away all crows chasing him into the trees). His furious stick work was rock solid and cataclysmic, always with an ear to bringing the funk and heady bass drum to the fore. Palmer also added a sassy solo with that special way he has on the trumpet with seeking a soulful tone amidst the launch of prickly runs.

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This piece reminded of the bright and shining title track that closes Feinberg’s Humblebrag recording. Here is a intriguing original composition from Feinberg that melds together a stream of influences (rock, soul and swing) into an exhilarating confection. The piece fires away with the front line punctuating forth in metallic flare, leading into a curvaceous solo by Louis, all nimble and spry. Gully and Feinberg maintain a heady rock foundation while Buss’s trumpet pushes the envelope with piercing hits and elasticity up and down his instrument. The recording captures this solo with all of its clarity and blaring metallic energy. Shore brings it down to a quiet, contemplative moment with his laconic, resonant touch until the buoyant melody erupts again.

There’s a celebration, a funk and a love in everything that Feinberg composes. He’s a guy to keep a pair of binoculars on. Ample rewards await for those (with ears open!) who scope Feinberg and his bandmates out through the trees.

If you would like to read more reviews like this one, visit Nelson’s blog at www.bostonconcertreviews.com.

At Nordost, first and foremost, we are all music lovers. Seeing a great live performance can be one of the most rewarding and affective experiences. In the end, this is what drives us to manufacture products that create the truest reproduction of sound possible. Nelson Brill, a friend of ours, recently visited one of our local haunts, Sculler’s Jazz club, to see drum master Roy Haynes play. We loved reading Nelson’s account of the performance, and thought we would share it with you.

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH – ROY HAYNES AT SCULLERS JAZZ CLUB

By Nelson Brill

The 88-year old maestro, Roy Haynes, took the bandstand at a packed Scullers Jazz Club in Cambridge, MA. clad in a dapper green and white paisley vest floating over a bright orange shirt with a black tie. His smile lit up his face and spanned from one dimple to another. Everyone in the audience stood to applaud Haynes even before he took out his sticks to test his surroundings. Like a surgeon carefully evaluating his patient, Haynes surveyed his drum kit: tightening a snare surface here; adjusting a high hat there. As he did this, he chatted about growing up in Boston and how he disobeyed his mother’s directive to “not play that jazz on Sundays.” But Sundays were THE day of the week when the guys would get together to jam in the local haunts and Haynes would always sneak away from home to these jam sessions to listen and take it all in.

Following this little confession (accompanied by a sly grin), Haynes flicked his supple wrist and flung a huge cymbal crash into the room to commence the proceedings. First up was Sonny Rollins’ “Grand Street,” a tune that is also the opening rollicking cut to Haynes and his Fountain of Youth Band’s latest release, Roy-alty  [on Dreyfus Jazz]. At Scullers, the full compliment of the Fountain of Youth Band was present, including Jaleel Shaw on sax, David Wong on bass and Martin Bejerano on piano. From their very first notes, these gifted musicians exhibited a special kinetic connection to Haynes, who, as their band leader, directed their locomotion with a bright, shining presence. “Grand Street,” was a spirited opener, where Haynes’ percussive energy propelled Shaw and Berjerano in their brawny solos. In Berjerano’s case, as he delivered a bevy of crisp piano runs in an extended solo, Haynes threw him a curve ball: Haynes hit a huge bass drum blast amidst his softly churning snare. This sudden eruption sent Berjerano in a new direction as he blasted a thunderous roll with his left hand into his piano’s deepest registers. Like a sailboat making a quick turnabout (to catch a new breeze of inspiration), Berjerano followed this percussive course set (on the fly) by the infectious Haynes.

Listening to the band’s recorded version of “Grand Street” on Roy-alty brings other rewards as guest trumpeter Roy Hargrove rides Haynes’ big strokes of snare and cymbal with a punctuated effervescence that climbs steadily into the highest registers of his instrument. Here, “Grand Street” is all sparkling celebration with fireworks galore from Hargrove’s piercing reaches, Shaw’s muscular sax twists and Haynes’ light, (yet always punctual), percussion.

Another highlight from the Scullers concert was the band’s take on “These Foolish Things,” a buoyant ballad that also appears on Roy-alty. On this number, Haynes displayed his mastery of his brushes: soft as a summer rain but also with a special articulation to each swipe and caress on either tom or snare. How Haynes achieves this combination of soft yet punctual with his simple brushing motions is part of the Haynes’ magic. At one point, (while Wong delved deep into resonant bass plucks), Haynes used his brushes on both the outer edges and inner center of his cymbals. This created an eerie decaying sheen of metallic mist that suffused the bassist’s woody notes. On Roy-alty, this same ballad is a showcase for Hargrove and Haynes to display their beautiful synergy together as Hargrove’s trumpet softly pierces and flits in and around the circular motion of Haynes’ delicate brushes.

Those distinct swipes of brushes can turn into a maelstrom of shimmering energy once Haynes turns his attention to his mallet set. During one of his extended solos at the Scullers concert, Haynes put on a mallet clinic: using every surface of his toms with ferocious energy to create a volcanic thunder with the heads of his mallets or gently tapping his high-hat with the end of the mallet stick to create a distinct ring of metallic energy. On Roy-alty, such radiant inventiveness is heard on Haynes’ solos taken at the conclusion of the band’s version of Miles Davis’ “Milestones,” (where Haynes duels with Wong’s bass in a dazzling display of ricochet stick work upon shifting drum surfaces) and on “Tin Tin Deo”, (where Haynes’ percussion erupts on a buoyant rumba that propels great solos from Hargrove, Shaw and Berjerano. “Tin Tin Deo” also features conga player Roberto Quintero who resonantly calls to Haynes from a distant off-stage position with his congas while Haynes unleashes a barrage of percussion.

One final (and lasting) impression taken from the excellent Scullers show was how Haynes and his Fountain of Youth Band were clearly sharing a special synergy and how Haynes remains a master listener. No matter what the percussive line and no matter how spontaneous, Haynes always seemed to be thinking ahead to create a wholeness, an intelligible melodic direction, to whatever he played. Similarly, on Roy-alty, you get this sense of Haynes’ great gift for listening to his band mates and creating a melodic structure to each of his drum creations. This is particularly apparent when Haynes performs in a stripped-down duet format with pianist Chick Correa on two cuts. Although these duets are less successful than others on the album, (in that they are a bit impenetrable in form and somewhat less dynamic in musical flow), they still reward in how Haynes weaves a beautiful interaction with his duet partner. Corea’s loquacious wit on piano is echoed by Haynes’ mellifluous pitter patter on his snare. Similarly, Corea’s deep purple chords are reflected and refracted by Hayes’ soft bass drum hits.

The recording makes all of this telepathic communication between Haynes and his compatriots on Roy-alty easy to follow. It delivers an upfront perspective on the musical action; good dynamic headroom and lends a crispness to instruments and image dimensionality that makes it easy to follow Haynes’ magnetic presence on his drum kit. The Fountain of Youth certainly continues to flow forth for the ebullient 88- year old Maestro. Catch him and his Fountain of Youth Band while you can- even on a Sunday!

Like us, Nelson Brill is an avid music lover who brings an audiophile perspective and a passion for the Arts to his reviews of live and recorded music. He has reviewed concerts and recordings (spanning all musical styles) for several online publications, including The Stereo Times and Harry Pearson’s HPSoundings. He has also been a contributing reviewer for several other publications, including JAZZIZ magazine. If you would like to read reviews like this one on Roy Haynes, visit his new blog at www.bostonconcertreviews.com.