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John Hollenbeck: Rainbow Jimmies
by Troy Collins
Percussionist and composer John Hollenbeck has led a diverse and multifaceted career since his early studies with legendary trombonist/composer Bob Brookmeyer. As a sideman, Hollenbeck has served alongside Brookmeyer, Satoko Fujii, Fred Hersch, Jim McNeely, Patrick Zimmerli, and others in addition to leading his own group, the unclassifiable Claudia Quintet. On a larger scale, he has written for big band, collaborated with new music composer Meredith Monk, and received numerous commissions from wind and percussion ensembles.
Whether writing ...
Continue ReadingJohn Hollenbeck: Rainbow Jimmies
by Mark Corroto
When encountering drummer John Hollenbeck in a traditional jazz setting, there's usually the distinct feeling that he is something other than a jazz drummer. Where some drummers muscle their way through a set, he prefers to finesse the music, accenting the songs in always new and creative ways. Maybe it is his past experience in other formats such as klezmer, Latin, classical and especially world music, that affords him the freedom to dream beyond the parochial nature of jazz.
Continue ReadingThe Claudia Quintet: For
by Jerry D'Souza
The Claudia Quintet has been evolving and shaping its music, creating a potent and forceful presence. They do it with graceful finesse; working the elements to let melody get its due and improvisation mark its presence. Think of the quintet as a minstrel of joy and the charm of their music becomes apparent. Theirs is a sound that flows like a river of shimmering beauty that glimmers, glows and most importantly, runs deep.
The music challenges norms. What ...
Continue ReadingJohn Hollenbeck's Claudia Quintet and Large Ensemble at Two NYC Venues
by Martin Longley
The Claudia QuintetCornelia Street CaféNew York, NYOctober 13, 2007 The John Hollenbeck Large EnsembleJazz StandardNew York, NYNovember 5, 2007 Drummer and composer John Hollenbeck comes across as a combination of benign control freak and supremely modest humorist. He's very much the director of his (and his bandmates') pieces, applying some beautifully precise drum-patterns that also have a slippery funkiness sitting alongside their new-music accuracy. He's ...
Continue ReadingThe Claudia Quintet: For
by Mark Corroto
Drummer John Hollenbeck's Claudia Quintet has created a sound. Let's not call it jazz, or chamber music, or rock for that matter. It is the Claudia sound, period. The trouble, of course with being original, is that the pigeon-holers cannot pigeonhole you and the radio folks won't play you. But then, everyone with an ear for the edge can hip their friends to this Claudia sound.
Not that Hollenbeck and company make it easy for you. Their fourth ...
Continue ReadingThe Claudia Quintet: For
by John Kelman
While it's invariably the intention of any group to make each new record an improvement or, at least, an evolution over the last one, it's rare that it actually happens with inevitable consistency. Bucking the trend since its eponymous 2001 CRI debut, percussionist/composer John Hollenbeck's Claudia Quintet has managed to make each successive release somehow different than its predecessor while not losing site of the markers that define this eclectic and stylistically defiant chamber ensemble. In many ways one wants ...
Continue ReadingClaudia Quintet: For
by Troy Collins
The brainchild of percussionist John Hollenbeck, the Claudia Quintet has navigated the boundary lines between free jazz, contemporary composition, progressive rock and electronica so successfully that its output is virtually uncategorizable. For, the aptly titled fourth album from the ceaselessly inventive group, offers a slight departure from its last record.
Semi-Formal (Cuneiform, 2005), used brief minimalist interludes to segue from one tune to another, much like a suite. Less conceptually arranged, this album is comprised of a varied ...
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