PRESS
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.