Preaching to the Choir

Vincent Herring battles back from a bout with Covid-19 and career-threatening side effects with a defiant and joyful album, Preaching to the Choir, with swinging help from Cyrus Chestnut, Yasushi Nakamura and Johnathan Blake.

Preaching to the Choir, a paean to Herring’s fans and supporters, celebrates real triumph over hardship and challenge with soulful jazz. Herring is speaking for nearly all of us when says, “2020 into 2021 was a morbid nightmare.” But, he also experienced the pandemic firsthand, contracting Covid-19 while suffering the same loss of performance opportunities befalling every musician during the past year. That’s only meant more time spent at home, watching the turbulent presidential election and its violent aftermath.

Despite the prevailing darkness, Preaching to the Choir delivers a sermon of optimism and hope to the jazz faithful, aided by as fervent a congregation as a swing disciple could pray for: pianist Cyrus Chestnut, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, and drummer Johnathan Blake.

“We have to have hope for the future,” Herring insists. “I’ve been in a constant state of disbelief with so much going on that is negative in the world, but I try to look at the positive side of everything. Fate is written with all kinds of twists and turns, and in the end the only thing you can do is realize that as bad as things are – and they are bad –the promise of tomorrow is going to be special.”