Colouring Hockets

This project began with a thoughtful email from Marcio Doctor, the exceptional percussionist from the NDR Bigband, sent on April 24, 2019, at 9:28:55 AM. He proposed a collaboration in which I would write music for the band, along with additional percussionists—a fusion of sorts, where a percussion ensemble meets a big band. He shared a range of percussion pieces and large ensemble works, including some of my own compositions from Claudia Quintet albums, which served as key inspirations for this particular project.

Although the global pandemic delayed our plans, Marcio, NDR Bigband producer Axel Durr, and I continued to meet over Zoom to brainstorm and refine ideas. By the time we were able to record, Axel had retired, and Michael Dreyer had taken over his role. It has been a pleasure getting to know Micha in this new capacity.

Marcio and I quickly agreed that Patricia Brennan and Matt Moran would be the perfect percussion duo to collaborate with the band. I’ve worked with both in various settings, and I knew they would bring the right combination of skill and creative energy. They are not only fantastic musicians but also incredibly easy to work with—something invaluable on a project of this scale. With all the complexity involved, I wanted to focus solely on my role as the drummer once we hit the stage, so a great conductor was a must. My first call was JC Sanford, who has led my own ensemble, JHLE, for as long as I can remember. JC’s deep musical ears, his comfort with complex rhythms and meters, and his ability to speak the horn players’ language made him the ideal choice for the task.

During the first phase of the project in the fall of 2022, we had the pleasure of rehearsing and performing several concerts. A year later, we returned to record the project with the amazing Adrian von Ripka at the helm as producer. The recording team—Manuel Glowczewski, Jan Henning Merget, and Adrian—was both efficient and warm, making the experience an absolute joy.

I’ve had the privilege of performing with the NDR Bigband for over 20 years, so I’ve witnessed their evolution firsthand. Several old friends, including Thorsten Benkenstein and Ingmar Heller, who joined the band around the time I started working with them, have contributed to its growth. The band was already exceptional, but recent additions like Percy Pursglove (yes, that is his real name—isn’t it cool?), Luigi Grasso, Florian Weber, Sandra Hempel, and Julius Gawlik have injected an even greater energy and vitality into the ensemble.

As the composer, it feels a bit awkward for me to write about the music, so I’ll pass that responsibility to Steve Smith, who generously wrote the liner notes:

Setting the stage is the opulent, cinematic “Opening,” which dates back to Hollenbeck’s earliest New York outfit, Refuseniks, and appeared on the Claudia Quintet’s 2004 sophomore release, I, Claudia. Two more Claudia pieces appear in new guises: “Entitlement” was on Evidence-based, the band’s socially distanced COVID-era collaboration with poet Eileen Myles, while “Pure Poem,” which jigs like a bodhrán reel on steroids, was on the quintet’s 2016 album, Super Petite. “Shaking Peace” originated as Gray Cottage Study #2 (“Getting Chilly”) played by Moran and violinist Todd Reynolds on Hollenbeck’s 2008 album, Rainbow Jimmies, and reappeared under its present name on the 2010 Orchestre National de Jazz album, Shut Up and Dance.

Then there’s the new original pieces. “Cool Code” is a pattern-based workout that’s easy on the ears but challenging for the players, with a treacherous trumpet part. “Owts Hgis” (”Two Sighs,” backward) is part of a family of related pieces in which Hollenbeck tasks the instrumentalists with vocalizing over a virtuosic prepared piano part.

As for the beautifully plainspoken closer, “sum” – like “lud,” the opener on his 2018 Large Ensemble album, All Can Work – Hollenbeck credits serendipity. “I listened to it and thought, I don’t know who wrote that—it just came out of the sky,” he said, laughing. “I do a lot of prep work for my pieces, and it is a slow-process. But once in a while in the middle of all that, something else just pops out and all I can say is…thank you!”

That leaves the two percussion showcases that helped to inspire the album’s title: “Marimba Hocket,” featuring Brennan and Moran, and “Drum Hocket,” for Doctor and Hollenbeck. The titles reflect a musical technique dating back to the medieval era, in which a melodic line is broken up among two or more performers. The album’s title extends the term to a new level: hocket referencing the conversation between Doctor’s bold idea and Hollenbeck’s abundant imagination, and colouring (spelled in the manner of Hollenbeck’s current Canadian home) evoking the brilliant, expanded palette provided by this most unorthodox assemblage.”

Thanks so much, Steve!

I am profoundly grateful to the entire NDR Bigband for bringing this music to life with such precision, dedication, and spirit.

Trumpets:
Thorsten Benkenstein
Ingolf Burkhardt
Christian Höhn
Percy Pursglove

Saxophones:
Fiete Felsch – Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute, Alto Flute
Peter Bolte – Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute
Julius Gawlik – Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet
Frank Delle – Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet
Luigi Grasso – Baritone Saxophone, Bass Clarinet

Trombones:
Dan Gottshall
Klaus Heidenreich
Stefan Lottermann
Ingo Lahme – Bass Trombone

Rhythm Section:
Sandra Hempel – Guitar
Ingmar Heller – Bass
Florian Weber – Piano, Rhodes

And, of course, the visionary who started it all:
Marcio Doctor – Percussion

With a project of this scope, there are innumerable people to thank…so I’m sorry if I missed some, but I do want to mention Matt Merewitz/Fully Altered Media. Matt has been in the game long enough to know the “players” and he works hard to get the music out there in an increasingly more difficult landscape to do this, so thanks to Matt for doing his part with vigor and tenacity! (Plus I recently found he is a jazz trivia champion!)

Lastly, since my first recording in 2000, I have had the privilege of working the great design team, karlssonwilker. They are so creative and fun to work with! Check them out!