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Eric Hofbauer & The Infrared Band
"If there's a single overarching ethos to the band it would be 'tell your story,'" Hofbauer explains. "All my compositions have a back story or theme and I encourage each player to add their own take on those stories and to play from personal experience. When I decided to put together a permanent lineup for the band, I handpicked tenor saxophonist Kelly Roberge (who, like me, studied at Oberlin with Don Walden), bassist Michael Montgomery (who was recommended by a mutual friend) and drummer Miki Matsuki (who I worked with in Charlie Kohlhase's band). There's no role playing, I compose to each of their strengths, featuring everyone and challenging their limits."
"When musicians of this caliber explore their innermost selves," writes music journalist Ed Hazell in the Myth Understanding liner notes, "using Eric's composition as the starting point and improvisation as the methodology, you can bet profound things are discovered — always in a playful spirit, of course. But Eric has more to offer than his sense of humor. There's always a strong concept behind any of Eric's musical endeavors, whether it's a composition or a recording. On this album, the compositions fall into three general categories: compositions based on myths, compositions derived from sung phrases, and what Eric calls (with the inevitable pun) 'Puzzle Pieces.'"
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Eric Hofbauer & the Infrared Band: Myth Understanding
by Nic Jones
Guitarist Hofbauer is a working definition of what it means to be respectful of the nebulous thing that is the tradition without treating it as though it's worthy only of reverence. It shows with this group just as much as it does in his work as a member of the Blueprint Project.
The music here is shot through with quirks so skillfully played that they seem integral to the success of its realization. There is for example, nothing even remotely ...
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by Troy Collins
A fixture on the Boston jazz scene for the past decade, guitarist Eric Hofbauer has collaborated with a multitude of artists, from guitarist Garrison Fewell and multi-reedist Charlie Kohlhase to legendary Dutch drummer Han Bennink (in the international collective, The Blueprint Project).
As co-founder of Creative Nation Music (with trombonist Chris Allen), Hofbauer has released a handful of adventurous independent recordings since 2004. Myth Understanding documents his latest project, The Infrared Band, a close-knit group that features tenor ...
read moreEric Hofbauer & the Infrared Band's Myth Understanding Released Today
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Improvised Communications
A refreshingly original voice, Hofbauer reveals an affable yet mischievous sensibility in his writing and improvising. Aided by the superlative interpretive abilities of his sidemen, Eric Hofbauer and The Infrared Band make Myth Understanding a sterling debut. --Troy Collins, AllAboutJazz.com
Boston's Creative Nation Music is proud to announce the June 17th release of Myth Understanding (Creative Nation Music CNM 011), the debut release from guitarist/composer Eric Hofbauer's year- old working quartet, The Infrared Band. With the same signature ...
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—Michael Coyle, Cadence
...a lithe, smart quartet...It’s great stuff, and Hofbauer’s definitely found the
right voices for his brand of avant-postbop.
—Nathan Turk, Signal to Noise
Boston-based guitarist Eric Hofbauer is no hellacious chopsmeister, but his
edgy, outsider aesthetic informs this intriguingly original music. Utilizing
spiky lines, odd harmonies and dissonant chord clusters (Joe Morris meets
“Blood” Ulmer) while also making striking use of space and putting a premium
on swing and blues, Hofbauer stakes out fresh territory on tunes like “Jac Mac
Talkin’”, “A Drunk Monk” and “The Chump Killer”. Secret weapon Kelly
Roberge enlivens these tracks with rare abandon and blowtorch intensity on
tenor sax.
—Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes
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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson