Hard Times
Studio album by Vincent Herring
Released	November 3, 2017
Recorded	May 30, 2017
Studio	Sear Sound, Studio C, New York City
Genre	Jazz
Length	69:35
Label	Smoke Sessions
Producer	Paul Stache, Damon Smith
Vincent Herring chronology
Night and Day (2015) Hard Times (2017) Bird at 100 (2019)

Hard Times is an album by saxophonist Vincent Herring, which was recorded in 2017 and released on the Smoke Sessions label. ^[1]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
DownBeat	[2]

DownBeat reviewed the album stating,

Hard Times is easy to take. The tempos bob along in a relaxed sway but don’t inhibit Herring’s splashy whirlpools of elegant double-time embroideries. In different ways, he walks in the footsteps of Cannonball Adderley—figuratively in the stylistic sense, and literally as part of the Nat Adderley group in the ’90s ... Like many of Herring’s past projects, this one welcomes us with a few familiar handshakes we all know. ^[2]

1. "Hard Work" ( John Handy) – 4:43
2. " Use Me" ( Bill Withers) – 5:47
3. " Summertime" ( George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 4:36
4. "Hard Times" (Paul Mitchell) – 5:07
5. " Embraceable You" ( George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 5:26
6. "Eastern Joy Dance" ( Mulgrew Miller) – 7:54
7. "The Sun Will Rise Again" (Vincent Herring) – 6:49
8. "Picadilly Square" ( Carl Allen) – 4:59
9. " Good Morning Heartache" ( Irene Higginbotham, Ervin Drake, Dan Fisher) – 7:27
10. "Amsterdam After Dark" ( George Coleman) – 7:32
11. "Phineas" ( Donald Brown) – 9:15

• Vincent Herring – alto saxophone
• Cyrus Chestnut – piano
• Yasushi Nakamura – bass
• Carl Allen – drums
• Nicolas Bearde – vocals (tracks 2, 3 & 5)
• Russell Malone – guitar (tracks 1, 2 & 7)
• Steve Turre – trombone (tracks 1-4 & 8–11)
• Brad Mason – trumpet (tracks 1–4, 8 & 9)
• Sam Dillon – tenor saxophone (tracks 1–4, 8 & 9)