PRESS
August 18 2009
Published in: http://www.jazzreview.com by
Dave Wayne
Musicians: John Hollenbeck (drums, piano, vibraphone), Todd Reynolds (violin), Matt Moran (vibraphone), Mark Stewart (guitar), Ted Reichman (accordion, organ), Drew Gress (bass), Chris Speed (tenor saxophone, clarinet), The Ethos Percussion Group, The Youngstown State Percussion Collective and Saxophone Quartet
Review: Percussionist and composer John Hollenbeck is a relentlessly multi-faceted musician who moves with ease between the worlds of classical, jazz, avant-garde, and progressive rock. Many know him as the creative leader of the Claudia Quintet, an innovative small ensemble whose music is as enjoyable as it is iconoclastic. In the past few years, besides leading his own big band project, Hollenbeck has also worked with artists as diverse as Bob Brookmeyer, avant garde vocalist Theo Bleckmann, Klezmer virtuosos David Krakauer and Frank London, avant-garde composer and performance artist Meredith Monk, and the unclassifiable pianist Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura (in their co-operative ‘Junk Box’ Trio). Rather than spreading himself too thin, this wide stylistic embrace seems to feed Hollenbeck’s creative fires.
August 18 2009
Published in: Eartrip Magazine by
(Review by Massimo Ricci, originally published at ‘Touching Extremes’ – http://spazioinwind.libero.it/extremes/touchinghome.htm)
In a way, this group’s material is built upon paradox; at a first glance, it could sound pretty “simple” to the ears of many obsessive new music aficionados who only live for endangered rhythmical species and finger contortions. Give it a coupla (make that three, or four) attentive tries and think again, as under the appearance of sheer “linear” themes or minimalist repetitions there’s a puzzling world of details and structures that, taken as a whole, furnish the compositions with the richness that’s typical of a great “progressive” band mixing contemporary jazz, Reich, Piazzolla and Bulgarian folk played with the same attitude of a technically hyper-advanced bionic busker.
June 26 2009
Published in: One final note by
Troy Collins
A unique and forward-thinking ensemble, John Hollenbeck’s Claudia Quintet explores the tenuous boundaries between jazz, classical, and rock. The group’s strengths lie in its inability to be easily categorized. An inventive amalgamation of Downtown compositional intricacies, post-minimalist classical technique, and a contemporary post-rock instrumental vibe, along with a healthy dose of non-Western concepts, the Claudia Quintet is truly an unclassifiable ensemble. As a schooled percussionist, Hollenbeck has toured, recorded, and collaborated with an astonishingly varied set of artists. From traditional jazz giants like trombonist Bob Brookmeyer to New Music visionary Meredith Monk and contemporaries like trumpeter Cuong Vu and clarinetist David Krakauer, Hollenbeck has amassed an intensely varied world of sound to draw from, and he never shies away from the opportunity to blend his experiences with the Claudia Quintet
June 26 2009
Published in: aboutjazz.com by
Mark Corroto
Composer John Hollenbeck is also a drummer. So you expect propulsion, and on his latest Claudia Quintet release you get plenty of drive and rush. But his force is mostly about vibe and the simpatico relationship between the odd instrumentation assembled for the date.
John Hollenbeck has worked with the likes of Cuong Vu, David Krakauer, Pablo Ziegler, and the Village Vanguard Orchestra. His signature music has been crafted in collaborations with Theo Bleckmann, Meredith Monk, and Bob Brookmeyer. He is a drummer who considers himself to be a lyrical player. In fact he ”plays” toys, tins and tubes—besides his drum kit.
June 26 2009
Published in: from Phoenix by
JON GARELICK
The appeal of the Claudia Quintet’s second CD comes in the sonorities conjured by drummer/composer John Hollenbeck: the deep woody tones of Chris Speed’s clarinet against the wheezing delicacy of Ted Reichman’s accordion and Matt Moran’s vibes. The opening “Just Like Him” sets up the template: Hollenbeck’s motoric drum ’n’ bass patter of snare, kick, and hi-hat, then Speed’s slow-moving, long-toned line, then a spare vibes line set against the clarinet, then yet another line, like spaced channel markers — big black things — in the transparent current, from bassist Drew Gress. It isn’t until a full minute into the six-and-a-half minute piece that Reichman offers that first aromatic wheez of harmony. It goes along like that, melodic counterlines weaving around each other in a kind of contrary motion. Then there’s a pause at the four-minute mark that leaves clarinet and accordion see-sawing on a dissonant interval before the whole thing starts up again, this time with Gress the first to leap in after Hollenbeck’s drums.
Those cyclical rhythms contribute to the music’s seductiveness, as they do in minimalists like Glass and Reich. (The stuttering out-of-sync rhythmic-melodic figure of “Opening” even suggests the Cure’s “Close to You.”) But, again like Glass and Reich, those “process” rhythms can drive you nuts. There is some relief in some beautiful out-of-tempo passages, but every once in a while you might wish the band would just give in to their jazz side, play a straight walking four, and blow. And on “Misty Hymen,” the most frantic, out-there, and jazzlike of the pieces, Speed does get off a ripping tenor solo.
June 25 2009
Published in: jazzreview.com by
Glenn Astarita
Whether in a supporting role or as a leader, John Hollenbeck’s method of jazz drumming is unequal parts exactitude, and wit, enhanced by a polyrhythmic composure. However, he supplants these attributes with a spunky and rather spirited compositionally minded disposition. On this truly wonderful outing, the drummer’s cleverly performed grooves provide a clearly definable spark for the soloists’ various maneuvers. On the opener “Just Like Him,” Hollenbeck and bassist Drew Grass lay down a perky ostinato motif. Here, Chris Speed’s lilting clarinet lines and Matt Moran’s soft vibes offer flotation-like qualities as the band subtly shifts the pulse amid airy dreamscapes.
Ted Reichman’s oscillating accordion work on the piece titled “Opening,” tenders a semblance of an electronic element, whereas the band often conjures up an aura, befitting children at play. The musicians’ inject charm and wit into these cyclically generated works. It’s like clockwork! As a portion of these semi-structured themes ring up notions of ethereal vistas and cautiously enacted sojourns. Ultimately, Hollenbeck’s lighthearted compositional style suggests a trance-like state that moves through an aggregation of linearly devised ebbs and flows. However, the one constant during this production is how the music proceeds in such a delicate, and largely inauspicious manner. One of the year’s very best! (Feverishly recommended…)
June 25 2009
Published in: JazzTimes by
Bill Milkowski
On the Claudia Quintet’s 2nd latest, I claudia drummer and bandleader JH incorporates James Brown-influenced “Funky Drummer” backbeats and invigorating 2nd-line grooves into the fabric of his not-easily-categorizable compositions. Is it ambient? Is it avant-garde? Is it mimimalist? Is it Downtown? What the hell is it?
Hollenbeck’s got such downtown ringers as bassist DG, CS, TR and MM on board, so it’s a safe bet that this provocative material will not have precious value above 14th Street in NYC-or virtually anywhere else in America, though they’ll no doubt eat it up in Europe. Granted, Hollenbeck is an adventurous new-music composer and conceptualist who follows the courage of his convictions. But jazz fans looking for
anything remotely swinging may want to bypass this heady-post Steve Reich stuff.
June 25 2009
Published in: Dusted Magazine by
Jason Bivins
A few years ago percussionist/composer John Hollenbeck seemed to spring from nowhere to release a spate of discs for CRI: No Images, Quartet Lucy and The Claudia Quintet, after which his working band is now named. This sophomore release builds on the strengths of its predecessor with the same richly varied instrumental lineup – vibraphonist Matt Moran, accordionist Ted Reichman, tenor/clarinet player Chris Speed, and bassist Drew Gress, in addition to the leader. The music itself still works the furrow between “downtown” improvising, post-rock propulsion, and New Music minimalism (in the Glass/Reich sense). The minimalist influence is no joke, and Hollenbeck has even performed with Meredith Monk. But it certainly doesn’t constrain the relaxed enthusiasm of these intricately woven pieces, in which Hollenbeck is as likely to join the vibraphone on his marimba as he is to kick out the jams.
Quirky polymeters and syncopations abound, and though Hollenbeck likes to bring the funk, there’s plenty to stimulate the ol’ noggin here as well. His composer’s knack for structure generally leads him to set up ear-catching ideas – “accessible,” in other words – but which reveal considerable nuance during performance. Hollenbeck and Gress create an ever-changing rhythmic polymorphousness, shifting accents, playing with phrasing, and gleefully reshaping the general bounce. Speed, Moran, and/or Reichman perform dense counterlines amid a forest of textural and atmospheric effects.
June 25 2009
by
Ken Micallef
A gifted drummer with a clear style, a pungent sound, and compositions that draw on influences from funk to the avant-classical of Frank Zappa, on I, Claudia JOHN HOLLENBECK leads The Claudia Quintet through a surreally charged world. Equally delicate and dynamic, the Quintet spends as much time fixated on atonal changes as slipping and sliding over Hollenbeck’s elastically sharp grooves. Hollenbeck is quick-witted throughout, rolling on the unexpected tom or developing a surprise beat that seems equal parts Steve Gadd and some mad dumbek player. If you can wade through the murky bits, you’ll be rewarded with highly original improv.
May 28 2004
by
Jay Collins
Drummer/percussionist John Hollenbeck is an ambitious person. Not only does he play with a host of others like the Vanguard Orchestra (Thad Jones & Mel Lewis’ band), Meredith Monk, Bob Brookmeyer, Cuong Vu and others, he also leads several of his own groups. This wide variety of opportunities affects his music considerably, making its mark on ensembles like the Claudia Quintet, Quartet Lucy, his duo with vocalist Theo Bleckmann, and other collectives to which he contributes.
As for the Claudia Quintet specifically, a great deal of time has been spent by listeners, writers, etc., trying to accurately define The Claudia Quintet. The task is, however, for the most part, futile. Sure, the group sound and compositions are a unique combination—a dash of jazz, a smidgen of rock, some improv, a touch of non-western sources, or a little chamber. Ultimately, though, all that matters in the end is that this combination simply works. For those unaware of its membership, the group consists of Hollenbeck and bassist Drew Gress, vibraphonist Matt Moran, accordionist Ted Reichman and reedist Chris Speed. The five craftsmen forge a sound that shifts constantly in an unpredictable fashion, perhaps evoking a groove at one moment, soaring into the heights at another, exploring forlorn introspection the next or tackling a swirling sound collage of both prickly and boisterous terrains—sometimes using all of these elements within the context of one composition.