John Hollenbeck’s Claudia Quintet

Grammy-nominated composer–percussionist, John Hollenbeck received music degrees from the Eastman School of Music before moving to New York City in the early 1990’s where he has worked with many of the world’s leading musicians in jazz, world and new music including Bob Brookmeyer, Fred Hersch, Tony Malaby, the Village Vanguard Orchestra, Kenny Wheeler, Pablo Ziegler and Meredith Monk. Hollenbeck leads several varied ensembles of his own and has won numerous composition awards, commissions and fellowships including a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in 2007. Hollenbeck’s Claudia Quintet is a genre-defying ensemble that demonstrates that “innovative jazz does not have to be harsh, angry, loud, shrill or grating; it can be delicate, witty, ethereal and radiantly lyric …” (Chicago Tribune). First presented in 1997 at an internet cafe on Avenue A in NYC, Hollenbeck always wanted the group to be a band with a sound determined not only by the compositions and instrumentation, but by the actual players. As their press materials point out, “the Quintet has amazed audiences from Alabama to the Amazon … inspiring dancing hippie girls at a New Mexico noise festival (Yay! High Mayhem— editor’s note) the avant-garde cognoscenti in the concert halls of Vienna and Sao Paolo, and a generation of young musicians worldwide.” Since signing with Cuneiform Records in 2004, the band has met with growing acclaim for both their records and live shows. They released their fourth critically acclaimed CD, FOR in 2007 and were recently named the Rising Star Jazz Group by Downbeat’s 56th Annual International Critics poll. Besides John Hollenbeck on percussion, the Claudia Quintet features Drew Gress, bass; Matt Moran, vibraphone; Ted Reichman, accordion; and Chris Speed, clarinet and tenor saxophone. “This is a true ensemble from top to bottom, a sonic equivalent to a hand-woven tapestry... Impressive.” (Downbeat)

$17/$12 Members & Students. Available in advance, by phone or in person, at the Outpost Performance Space (268-0044)