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Jazz Articles about John Hollenbeck
The Claudia Quintet with Gary Versace: Royal Toast
by Troy Collins
The humorously titled Royal Toast is the fifth album from the Claudia Quintet, percussionist and composer John Hollenbeck's longstanding five-piece that is--in the eternal words of Duke Ellington--a band “beyond category." Eradicating the tenuous boundary lines between idioms, Hollenbeck and company draw on ethnic traditions, free jazz, contemporary composition and progressive rock in their multifaceted explorations.
A former pupil of legendary jazz composer Bob Brookmeyer and an avowed student of the minimalists, Hollenbeck's compositions are imbued with both ...
Continue ReadingJohn Hollenbeck: Eternal Interlude
by AAJ Italy Staff
Sono passati i tempi nei quali il batterista era considerato una sorta di parente povero all'interno della grande famiglia musicale. Le barzellette su Ringo ormai fanno ridere solo Paul e quando ci troviamo al cospetto di un musicista a tutto tondo come John Hollenbeck non possiamo lasciarci condizionare dal fatto che il suo strumento elettivo sia per l'appunto la batteria. Hollenbeck è un fine compositore e sa condurre con bella energia e grandi doti di leadership una formazione allargata che ...
Continue ReadingJohn Hollenbeck Large Ensemble: Eternal Interlude
by Raul d'Gama Rose
John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble Eternal Interlude Sunnyside Records 2009
The music on Eternal Interlude by drummer John Hollenbeck cannot be described in one word, but if it could that word would be “poignant." But of course, one word is not enough, so in settling for two, those would be “poignant" and “challenging." But then two words appear so insufficient, and the search widens and reveals, perhaps, an additional word to go with ...
Continue ReadingJohn Hollenbeck Large Ensemble: Eternal Interlude
by Troy Collins
In addition to leading the unclassifiable Claudia Quintet and performing numerous sideman duties, composer and percussionist John Hollenbeck is renowned for his inimitable multi-layered writing. Hollenbeck studied under composer Bob Brookmeyer before charting a unique path in creative improvised music, incorporating elements of minimalism, post-rock and indigenous folk music into his eclectic compositions. As leader of a twenty piece Large Ensemble, he expands the sonic palette of traditional big band writing with his unorthodox approach.
Featuring a series ...
Continue ReadingJohn Hollenbeck Large Ensemble: Eternal Interlude
by Mark F. Turner
Like fragments of crystal, John Hollenbeck's large ensemble casts angular lines, unusual shapes and refracts music (rather than light) differently than typical jazz big bands. The prolific drummer/composer's progressive slant has been at the core of The Claudia Quintet's For (Cuneiform, 2007) and Semi-Formal (Cuneiform, 2006); music marked by enigmatic ideas of swing, modern chamber music and wider influences. Like his first large ensemble recording A Blessing (Omnitone, 2005), Eternal Interlude documents Hollenbeck's inventions on grander scale ...
Continue ReadingJohn Hollenbeck: Rainbow Jimmies
by AAJ Italy Staff
Rainbows Jimmies (The Music of John Hollenbeck) - sottotitolo forse un po' pomposo ma esplicativo - è la documentazione più attuale ed esauriente dello stato dell'arte del John Hollenbeck compositore piuttosto che del valente batterista o leader del Claudia Quintet. Vi è in Rainbows Jimmies la visione aperta sul mondo, futurista, ricca di suggestioni e di qualche piccola contraddizione, allergica alle convenzioni, di una testa pensante che ama esplorare i territori in(de)finiti della composizione, della forma, della libera improvvisazione, della ...
Continue ReadingJohn Hollenbeck: Rainbow Jimmies
by Lyn Horton
In 2007, percussionist and composer John Hollenbeck won a Guggenheim Fellowship he used to study the extent to which the violin can be pushed instrumentally. To do this, he worked with consummate violinist Todd Reynolds and vibraphonist Matt Moran and created “The Gray Cottage Studies," which provide the majority of pieces for Rainbow Jimmies (the remaining four tracks of the recording spotlight other musical groups). Hollenbeck's muses are his direct experiences with his work surroundings. Generally, he ...
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