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Michael Feinberg
Bandleader/Bassist of Elvin Jones Project and Humblebrag
About Me
The classic John Coltrane Quartet of the 1960s was one of the most
influential ensembles jazz has heard. The group’s influence has
continued to spread in the world of contemporary jazz, as new
generations of performers have trolled the Quartet’s catalog and those
of its illustrious sidemen.
Twenty five year old bassist/bandleader Michael Feinberg was
particularly inspired by the core of Coltrane’s rhythm section:
drummer Elvin Jones. While he perused his favorite drummer’s catalog,
Feinberg found himself drawn to the interplay the legendary
percussionist had with a multitude of bassists. Feinberg soon
discovered that his favorite bassists had had a significant musical
relationship with Jones. The study of these relationships became the
root of Feinberg’s project and subsequent recording: The Elvin Jones
Project.
Feinberg has been a part of the New York City jazz scene for only a
short while but has begun to make a name for himself as a composer,
bandleader and accompanist. The bassist was born and raised in
Atlanta, Georgia and received his bachelor of music degree at the
University of Miami followed by his master’s at New York University.
Since then, Feinberg has worked alongside legends and progressives
alike including Billy Hart, George Garzone, Jean-Michel Pilc, John
Scofield, Jim Black, Peter Evans, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Lee
Ritenour, with whom Feinberg recorded for his upcoming Concord release
Rhythm Sessions along with bass greats John Pattitucci and Christian
McBride.
Feinberg’s third recording as a leader, The Elvin Jones Project, was
inspired by the relationships that Jones established with bassists
Jimmy Garrison, Gene Perla, George Mraz, Richard Davis and Dave
Holland. Feinberg decided to create an ensemble that would tackle
compositions reflecting the link between these rhythmic pairings
without emulation. As Feinberg was set to channel the vibe of these
various bass players, he enlisted the great drummer Billy Hart to
substitute for the deceased Jones.
Two years younger than Jones, Hart had a close, brotherly relationship
with the drummer. The two had been good friends and Jones’s techniques
had rubbed off onto the younger player. Feinberg chose Hart for this
project because he felt that Hart played with a similar style as
Jones, with an emphasis on the 1 while most drummers focused on the 4.
Hart also possessed a certain “swagger” that Feinberg liked: “He can
bang the shit out of a drum.” Upon their first meeting, Hart remarked
to Feinberg: “Elvin would have liked playing with you!”
The other members of Feinberg’s ensemble include two of the most
inspiring musicians of the past few decades and a young lion.
Saxophonist George Garzone - who co-produced the record and who had
once played with Elvin - and trumpeter Tim Hagans are featured as a
well-seasoned frontline, while the up and coming Leo Genovese – a
member of Esperanza Spalding’s ensemble - holds down the keys.
Feinberg’s favorite bassist Jimmy Garrison was the first bass player
with whom Jones established a special rapport. Feinberg decided to
arrange two tunes associated with the Coltrane Quartet to play off
Garrison’s inspiration, Coltrane’s “Miles Mode” (Coltrane, Impulse!
1962) and Jimmy Van Heusen’s “Nancy with the Laughing Face” (Ballads,
Impulse! 1962).
The boisterous take on “Miles Mode” features an effervescent solo from
Garzone echoing the early blues drenched tone of Coltrane. Genovese’s
intense solo pushes the boundaries of jazz language into the avant-
garde while Feinberg closes it out with a nice solo exploration.
Feinberg’s intimately bowed bass introduces “Nancy with the Laughing
Face,” a lovely ballad highlighting the tight rhythm trio.
After he left the Coltrane Quartet, Jones led a number of ensembles
with a variety of bass players. He recruited Gene Perla because of the
bassist’s virtuosic solo capability and his advanced harmonic
approach. Perla was featured in a number of risk taking ensembles that
pushed the limits of jazz and fusion. The tracks Feinberg orchestrated
were outtakes from two 1970s sessions, Steve Grossman’s “Taurus
People” (Live at the Lighthouse Vol. 1, Blue Note 1972) and Frank
Foster’s “Unknighted Nations” (At the Point In Time, Blue Note 1972).
Feinberg begins “Taurus People” with a duet between his bass and
Hart’s drums. The off kilter composition finds a balance between group
interplay and solo expression, most notably that of Genovese and
Garzone. “Unknighted Nations” is a slightly funky grooving number that
provides expert solo spots for guest guitarist Alex Wintz and Mr.
Hart.
George Mraz frequently took the reins as Jones’s bass player during
the 1980s and 1990s. Similar to Perla, Mraz was a harmonically
advanced player with a tremendous solo vocabulary. Feinberg took two
Jones originals from the 1982 album Earth Jones (Palo Alto Jazz, 1982)
to highlight this grouping, “Earth Jones” and “Three Card Molly.”
“Earth Jones” opens the album with a hazy, electric vibe, prodded by
Genovese’s Rhodes and Feinberg’s insistent bass pulse, while the
uptempo “Three Card Molly” is a spritely workout for the ensemble.
Garzone’s mysterious tenor highlights the former, while Hagans’s
dazzling trumpet sparks the finale.
Though there wasn’t a long term track record, Feinberg found the
collaboration between Dave Holland and Jones on guitarist Bill
Frisell’s Bill Frisell with Dave Holland and Elvin Jones (Nonesuch,
2001) particularly noteworthy. Feinberg’s original composition “It Is
Written” inspired by the music presented there is a hazy, warm
composition swaying at its own pace with the help of Wintz’s guitar
and the nudge of Feinberg’s steady bass.
Feinberg began this project as a means to explore his favorite
bassists and, in the process, discovered a love for the music and
legacy of drummer Elvin Jones. As Feinberg continues to explore this
catalogue we can expect many more great recordings to come. --
Sunnyside Records
-Michael has performed or recorded with: Billy Hart, George Garzone,
Lee Ritenour, Slide Hampton, Kenny Werner, Ralph Alessi,Russell Gunn,
Dave Samuels, Nir Felder, Ian Froman, Dave Pietro, JD Allen, Ira
Sullivan, Greg Gisbert, Ted Nash, Tim Hagans, Orrin Evans, Tony
Moreno, Jonathan Kreisberg, Jim Black, Shane Endsley, Andrew D’angelo,
Phillip Harper, Shelly Berg, Jonathan Batiste, Jim Rotondi, Peter
Evans, Ralph Lalama, Dr. Alex Norris, Ambrose Akinmusire, Yotam
Silberstein, Sam Barsh, Noah Preminger, Ralph Lalama, Bobby Broom,
Brian Hogans, Logan Richardson, Dan Tepfer, Tommy Crane, Jason Palmer,
Chris Sands, Dayna Stephens, Sam Harris, Leo Genovese, and DMC among
others.
-Recognitions:
Winner of the Six String Theory Rhythm Section Contest 2012; Recipient
of 2010 Downbeat Student Music Award; Resident at 2008 Betty Carter
Jazz Ahead; Semi Finalist in 2007 International Songwriting
Competition for performance and jazz composition; Recipient of
performance based scholarships at University of Miami and New York
University; Official Artist of the 2010 sxsw festival.
-Notable venues and festivals include: The Blue Note, Lincoln Center's
Alice Tully Hall, Smalls Jazz Club, Cornelia St. Cafe, Barbes,
Brooklyn bowl, The Falcon, 55 bar, Rockwood Music Hall (1 and 2),
Bowery Ballroom, Southpaw, The Greene Space, The Living Room, Fat Cat,
Gremarcy Theater (Blender Theater), American Folk Art Museum, Mercury
Lounge, Laurie Beechman Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), CMJ
Festival, The Kennedy Center, Knitting Factory, Twins Jazz, Atlanta
Symphony Hall, Trumpets Jazz, The Rialto Center, King Plow Arts
Center, Churchill Grounds, South by Southwest Festival (SXSW), Dans
Silver Leaf, The Elephant Room, The Beehive, Ryles Jazz Club, Berklee
Performance Center, Northeaster University, Chris Jazz Cafe, Berks
Festival, Launch Festival, Princeton University, Clifford Brown Jazz
Festival, Wilmington Opera House, Jazid, Van Dyke, Gusman Hall,
Fischer Island, the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Belmont University,
and The Jazz Workshop among many others.
-Michael is also an active Clinician and educator having given master
classes and clinics at Belmont University, The University of Miami,
Indaba Music, The Paideia School, Band Leader Interviews.com, New York
Jazz Academy (where he is also an active faculty member), and New York
University.Michael endorses Aguilar Amps.
-Feinberg is also an active session bassist/arranger and has played in
the pit for several musical theater and cabaret productions across the
U.S. and has recorded on several independent films. He also performs
regularly with Reina Williams, My Cousin The Emperor, Tatiana
Kochkareva, FL Jones, Deb Oh, Dexter Scott, and Frederick Lavore.
My Jazz Story
It's like an act of murder; you play with intent to commit something. -Duke Ellington