PRESS QUOTES: THE CLAUDIA QUINTET - FOR - CUNEIFORM [RUNE 247] - 2007 “The ambidextrous title - this is the group's fourth album and each song is “for” someone - encapsulates the multileveled conceptualism of the contents. This is modern music that lives in the borderlands between jazz, art rock and chamber music - a state-of-the-art blend of the quirky instrumentation of Tin Hat, the circular melodies of The Penguin Café Orchestra and the explosive rhythm section of the Bad Plus. The heart of the band is the polyrhythmic drumming of founder/leader John Hollenbeck, who ensures that there is always some sort of complex texture to hold interest. The album contains mostly originals, with the exception of a “mash-up” incorporating a homeopathic dose of The Carpenters' sugary “Rainy Days and Mondays.” The arrangements are full of interestingly interwoven interactions for the first-rate band ...Hollenbeck's detailed intervention single-handedly stitches together the threadbare avant-garde cleverness. The production is pristine, polished and perhaps a bit subdued. [4 stars]” - Peter McElhinney, “Now Hear This,” Style Weekly, October 24, 2007, http://www.styleweekly.com/article.asp?idarticle=15478 “I can't conceive of calling this “post-jazz” or “post-rock”-two filing suggestions for John Hollenbeck's ensemble-but “post-minimalism” would make sense: The beats are similar, and the melodies emerge in soft tones, pixilated and dithered like the artwork. But the self-imposed limits have been discarded for real-world complexity: resonant acoustic instruments, shifting time, even passages where Matt Moran talks and Chris Speed squawks. Only a dead-ender wouldn't call it jazz. A MINUS” - Tom Hull, “Old Forms, Fresh Outlooks: Innovation reigns, from 36-CD retrospectives to the Hüsker Dü of free jazz,” Village Voice, February 05, 2008, http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-02-05/music/old-forms-fresh-outlooks/ “The Claudia Quintet, led (if such a conversational ensemble can be said to be led) by New York drum virtuoso John Hollenbeck, was one of the hit newcomers of the 2007 Cheltenham Jazz Festival. Hollenbeck's rough equivalent in the UK might be Seb Rochford, in terms of a seamlessly multi-idiomatic rhythmic flexibility allied to a composer's conception. Claudia plays plenty of tough postbop (saxist Chris Speed sees to that), but there are strong folk elements in both the melodies and in the big role for an accordion. The latter trait retains a taut logic through Hollenbeck's precision and the consistently strong composing. The opening track, shifting through free-jazz, polyphonic clamour and a klezmerish bounce, set against a hip-hop beat, is typical. Mat Moran's vibes are sometimes gently blended with clarinet and accordion, while lyrical pealing-bells cascades contrast with edgy free-swing. It's all far from just another exercise in eclecticism, and ushers in one of the most characterful small jazz groups of recent times. [4 stars]” - John Fordham , The Guardian, August 10 2007, http://music.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,,2145302,00.html “... Opening track I'm So Fickin' Cool (for Fritz Pauer, I assume it's the jazz-pianist whose work I don't know) is fast-paced and sounds a bit like Jaga Jazzist, but more elegant - grown-up if you will - even though it's all acoustic. It's probably that jazzy contemporary composition-thing with some other influences from far and near that makes you feel right at home, if you're into the music of related bands, that is. The conglomerate of mostly NY Downtown bands in which members of this band also play. Even though the group always maintains elegance, the energylevel can rise to exhilarating heights, like the eleven minute tour-de-force Be Happy. Just to be followed up with a the more pensive moment in the form of This Too Shall Pass. There's also a song for us, the listeners, called For You. It's rather moody and brooding (so, eh, guys, what do you mean by that?). The last piece, Three Odes - dedications to Peter Garland, Jan Garbarek and (Pity for) Mary Cheney - rolled into one suite, ends on a bit of slo-mo note. A bit of a sullen end maybe, but the album as a whole breathes good spirit and the joy of playing music together. The nice instrumentation of clarinet, accordion, acoustic bass and drums (and a little electronics) give For a warm feeling throughout… [5 Stars]” - Martijn Busink, Musique Machine, http://www.musiquemachine.com/reviews/reviews_template.php?id=1408 “Avant klezmer? That's the impression one gets when listening to the opening track on this disc, from a group that defies genre categorization. Clarinet, accordion and rhythm combine in a nearly circus-like mish-mash of music. The gears shift suddenly to Euro-Afro on the second track. This is chamber jazz at its most unique. The feel is almost Frank Zappa-esque at times (his classical period), a dizzying array of percussive motion and eclecticism. Irregular bouncy rhythms are in place on “Be Happy,” while drawn-out tones are all the rage on “This Too Shall Pass.” The Claudia Quintet is the defining aural child of percussionist/drummer John Hollenbeck, and his compositions definitely stray from the norm of jazz. There are wild drum solos, frenetic hard bop, thick textures, random squawks, East Asian percussive smashes, and infectious grooves, all within minutes of each other. It's not for everyone, but for those forward thinkers, Claudia is an impressive genre pusher. … [4 stars]” -Kyle O'Brien, Jazz Society of Oregon, October 2007, http://jsojazzscene.org/CDReviews/200710_CDReviews.htm “SQUEEZEBOX PATROL: One of the more pleasantly ear-tweaking new “jazz” releases of late goes by the deceptively simple title For and is by the hard-to-categorize N.Y.C. band known as The Claudia Quintet, on the blessedly fringe-tending Cuneiform label. There's fire, wit, and more in this group, which is more or less led by drummer John Hollenbeck and features saxist/clarinetist Chris Speed, vibist Matt Moran, bassist Drew Gress, and - squeezebox fans take note - Ted Reichman on accordion. Amidst the blustery, free-improv and street-meets-chamber music charmers like “I'm So Frickin' Cool” and “Rainy Days/Peanut Vendor Mash-up,” Reichman's accordion lends a distinctly colorful twist, proving once again that this mighty instrument deserves more love and better musical roles. Not quite jazz, not quite contemporary classical music, not quite artful noise, The Claudia Quintet has come up with a new mash-up aesthetic of their own.” - Josef Woodard, “Pickin', Grinnin', and Thinkin',” The Santa Barbara Independent, October 4, 2007, http://www.independent.com/news/2007/oct/04/pickin-grinnin-and-thinkin/ “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. ... Besides the well-known percussive bravura of leader's John Hollenbeck who - incidentally - penned all the pieces, lots of kudos should ideally go to Ted Reichman, whose accordion is the real protagonist of compelling situations ranging from the melancholia-tinged immateriality (“This too shall pass”) to the plain virtuosity (“Be happy”). These notations must not detract from the astounding musicianship and adroitness of the other Claudians...completing the line-up of an ensemble that acts as the perfect trait d'union between the necessity of something complex and the will of relaxing the nerves every once in a while, still without being able of actually lowering our guard, given that a circuitous construction can always be lurking behind the corner of a single-note melody. Don't worry if you can't find a definition for the Claudia Quintet; just rejoice for their newborn creature, as these guys are extremely serious in what they do. Furthermore, Kate accepted John's proposal.” - Massimo Ricci, Touching Extremes, October 2007, http://spazioinwind.libero.it/extremes/touchingAD.htm “Since their founding in the late 1990s, The Claudia Quintet has walked a unique path in contemporary jazz. Unlike most jazz ensembles where the particular musicians may come and go, drummer, composer and leader John Hollenbeck always wanted Claudia to be a 'band' with a sound not only determined by the compositions and the instrumentation, but with the actual players who perform the music. ... Since Cuneiform started working with Claudia on their second album in 2004, the band has met with tremendous and growing acclaim and success, both for their records and their live shows. They are pursuing a completely singular path in 'jazz' music and while they completely deserve to have an audience for their singular music, it was by no means assured. An astonishing band with a huge range of emotional depth and range and with appeal far beyond strictly 'jazz' listeners.” - The Vortex, http://www.vortexjazz.co.uk/cd-reviews/for.html “The brainchild of percussionist John Hollenbeck, the Claudia Quintet has navigated the boundary lines between free jazz, contemporary composition, progressive rock and electronica so successfully that its output is virtually uncategorizable. ... ... Less conceptually arranged, this album is comprised of a varied selection of tributes, with Hollenbeck dedicating each tune to a personal inspiration. ... Alternating jovial melodies and captivating rhythms with bittersweet lyricism and somber reflection, the acoustic quintet spins otherworldly sonic tapestries that occasionally mimic electronic effects. A Claudia first, “For You,” uses prepared electronic tape and sporadic spoken word to paint a minimally atmospheric tone poem unlike their previous work. Conceptually isolated, it contrasts with the album's inspired hybrid of complex rhythms and intricate harmonic counterpoint. Such elaborate ebullience can be heard immediately on the opener, “I'm So Fickin' Cool.” Relentlessly upbeat, the tune seamlessly escalates from modish post-rock funk to Klezmer-inspired celebration. Gress' subterranean bass line is accented by Moran's scintillating vibraphone accents as Hollenbeck's accelerating tempo whips Speed and Reichman into a polyphonic frenzy of caterwauling clarinet and pneumatic accordion. “Be Happy” is a dense mosaic of symmetrical polyrhythmic drive and interlocking harmonic counterpoint. Cerebral but not stuffy, the tune builds to a rousing anthem delivered with a zeal worthy of its title. The propulsive, roiling free jazz of “Rug Boy” is balanced by the languorous bluesy lilt of “This Too Shall Pass” and the spirited, minimalist chamber excursion “August 5th, 2006.” With mercurial irreverence, Hollenbeck fuses The Carpenters' bittersweet melody “Rainy Days and Mondays” to Stan Kenton's bouncy arrangement of “The Peanut Vendor.” ... A fertile blend of infectious grooves, euphonious melodies, rich harmonies, adventurous improvisation and cinematic ambience, For is another winning chapter in the saga of the peerless Claudia Quintet.” - Troy Collins, All About Jazz, July 01, 2007, http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=26050 “While it's invariably the intention of any group to make each new record an improvement or, at least, an evolution over the last one, it's rare that it actually happens with inevitable consistency. Bucking the trend since its eponymous 2001 CRI debut, percussionist/composer John Hollenbeck's Claudia Quintet has managed to make each successive release somehow different than its predecessor while not losing site of the markers that define this eclectic and stylistically defiant chamber ensemble. In many ways one wants to avoid saying that For-The Claudia Quintet's fourth release and third for the equally unclassifiable Cuneiform Records-is its best yet, but it's simply an undeniable statement of fact. ... For finds Claudia largely reduced again to its core textures, but Hollenbeck's writing, and the way he orchestrates his pieces in addition to the open-mindedness of his band mates, keeps the group's aural landscape as expansive as ever. Traditional instrumental roles are often dispensed with or radically repositioned, leaving everyone the freedom to carve out unexpected territory... They assimilate the improvisational freedom of jazz with the minimalist pulses and harmonic/contrapuntal complexities of contemporary classical music, the spare and ethereal atmospherics of ambient music, the assertiveness of progressive rock and more. All of which can take place in the course of a single composition. The episodic “Be Happy” blends an irregular-metered but groove-happy rhythm with a winding accordion/tenor saxophone theme, all anchored by a repetitive vibraphone phrase and spare bass line that taken individually seem incomplete but, when heard together, create a far greater whole. ... Other tracks are more straightforward, despite continuing to defy convention. “This Too Shall Pass” begins in chamber music territory... The explosive “Rug Boy” feels the closest Claudia has come to complete spontaneity, but there's still an underlying concept around which it rallies. Semi-Formal made it onto more than a few critics' lists for best albums of 2005. With a winning streak that's showing no signs of letting up, the challenging yet compelling For will undoubtedly find its way onto similar lists for 2007.” - John Kelman, All About Jazz, August 11, 2007, http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=26593 “It's a challenge to describe the Claudia Quintet's sound: there are patent references, but distinct departures from these references as well. ... Hollenbeck's nuanced part-writing fully exploits the tonal similarities of the frontline (clarinet, vibes & accordion); tracks like “Be Happy,” “This Too Shall Pass,” “Rug Boy” and “Peanut Vendor Mash-up” are replete with seamless blends and subtle variations that oblige close listening to determine who's playing what. Elsewhere, these voices interweave with the democratic freedom of a Beethoven string quartet; the interplay on “Peanut Vendor” and “August 5th, 2006” is less like a typical parade of solos, more like a circle of hacky-sack players working together to keep the bag aloft; the beginning of “Rug Boy” is free improvisation, but the result is much the same. There is also a nod to the minimalist figurations of Philip Glass and others; “August” and “Be Happy” have concentric looping themes that twist and turn in on themselves like musical möbius strips. The drummer-composer's hand is felt in the preponderance of odd time signatures and asymmetrical phrase lengths that, for all their mathematical complexity-and to Hollenbeck's credit-seem to roll effortlessly off the snare drum. In a slight departure, “For You” adds a series of concept words (“Tree…True…Blue…Reach…”) spoken erratically over a prepared electronic tape, metallic percussion, a deep bass drone, and single droplets of vibraphone. In sum, the Claudia Quintet seems to champion process over product, its collective individuality stemming not so much from what is played, but because of how it's played.” - Tom Greenland, All About Jazz , September 11, 2007, http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=2665 “The Claudia Quintet has been evolving and shaping its music, creating a potent and forceful presence. They do it with graceful finesse; working the elements to let melody get its due and improvisation mark its presence. Think of the quintet as a minstrel of joy and the charm of their music becomes apparent. Theirs is a sound that flows like a river of shimmering beauty that glimmers, glows and most importantly, runs deep. The music challenges norms. What starts out as a bouncy ode, may slip into chamber music and out again, without a grain of emotion sacrificed. Then again the intuitive interplay may find another sound to ferment. Context is never capsized by content. The evolution of these elements and their framing comes to life on “Be Happy.” John Hollenbeck sets up a percussive dance on the drums that is answered by Matt Moran (vibraphone) and Chris Speed (tenor saxophone). The fluidity of the instruments changes course and shape. Speed twists and thrusts the melody, his groove flinty, quite the contrast to the sweet interspersions of Moran and the accordion of Ted Reichman. The cadence of the middle section comes from the interlocking bass of Drew Gress and the whirlpool of Moran's vibraphone until it gets back into ensemble lines. ”Rug Boy” erupts on Hollenbeck's drumming, a foretaste of the sense of urgency, fragmented lines, and free form that the group unleashes. But key surprise is their movement and it comes in the orchestration of the melody as the players weave the tapestry in unison. ”I'm So Fickin' Cool” is another marvel of concept and execution. The giddy rhythm of bass and drums pulses afar from the crystalline tones of the accordion, the clarinet jumps in on darting lines, for a kaleidoscope that keeps the melody upfront and the inventions colorful. This is a bright, expressive recording that should grab the listener with immediacy.” - Jerry D'Souza, All About Jazz, January 03, 2008, http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=27999 “Drummer John Hollenbeck's Claudia Quintet has created a sound. Let's not call it jazz, or chamber music, or rock for that matter. It is the Claudia sound, period. The trouble, of course with being original, is that the pigeon-holers cannot pigeonhole you and the radio folks won't play you. But then, everyone with an ear for the edge can hip their friends to this Claudia sound. Not that Hollenbeck and company make it easy for you. Their fourth album, For, draws from a unique cast of musicians playing a slightly skewed instrumental combination, with the players come from seemingly disparate backgrounds... ...it is the combination of players that sparks Hollenbeck's writing here. ... The repetitive chamber feel of “August 5th, 2006” flows with an ease, and simple clarinet, accordion, and twinkling vibraphone wash, that is like a gentler Philip Glass. Then zap, “Rug Boy” slams a bit of hardcore free jazz... Elsewhere, deep space ambient music is probed on “For You,” with all kinds of electronic tape preparations and some spoken word. Just when you think Hollenbeck will zig, he zags. The band combines the Carpenters' (that's right the whacky 1970s pop unit) hit 'Rainy Days” with Stan Kenton's arrangement of “The Peanut Vendor.” Now, you're wondering, does Hollennbeck have big ears or is he the Raymond Scott of this new millennium? The answer is yes and, hopefully, yes.” - Mark Corroto, All About Jazz, September 21, 2007, http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=27002 “This band has managed to become one of the darlings of the progressive jazz stratum. With its fourth release, the unit's mark of distinction moves forward, where strong compositions amid the customary trimmings set forth an engagingly quixotic listening experience. ...the musicians' trademark sound consisting of thumping bass grooves, perky back-beats and complex ostinatos remain intact. As they intermix that sometimes opaque area of tight-knit unity and loose groove improvisation, often firmed up by Ted Reichmann's zinging accordion lines. Even the off-kilter, free-form passages provide a sense of endearment. ...master musical mind and drummer John Hollenbeck's musicality shines via his artful use of electronics and small percussion-based accents. ...the band employs punch, zip and buoyantly forceful thematic forays. On “Rug Boy (for Debbie Clapper),” Reichmann and Hollenbeck engage in free-jazz dialogues, but help alter the flow during “For You,” which is an avant, world-groove motif. As with their previous albums, they occasionally delve into spacey and subtly executed dream themes. ...the mood is revved up on the peppery calypso “Rainy Days/Peanut Vendor Mash-up (for all music teachers),” signaling in the ensemble's catchy and irrefutably jubilant melody line, that is nicely softened by Speed's feathery phrasings. With dabs of wit and whimsy, the quintet fuses a sense of intrigue into many of these works. In sum, their deceptively complex modus operandi reminds me of The Beatles large-scale productions; take Sgt Pepper's... for example. And while this album is not produced in such a manner, core similarities parallel the making of great music, regardless of genre. To that end, the sum of the many parts and layers, translate into a product that aims to please - in rather grand and attainable fashion I might add.” - Glenn Astarita, JazzReview.com, http://www.jazzreview.com/cd/review-19056.html “The Claudia Quintet is a jazz group with a seriously hybrid ancestry-the group combines the shimmering clarity of the George Shearing Quintet with the ADHD adventurousness of John Zorn, the structured dorkiness of a string quartet with the shrieking madness of Albert Ayler. The Claudia Quintet, led by drummer John Hollenbeck, is one of the most exciting groups in contemporary jazz... For is the latest of three discs on Cuneiform in the last four years-a significant body of work from the same five guys... The shimmer of the Shearing group comes through in the clean blend of vibes, accordion, and clarinet, but the creative bustle of Zorn emerges in the busy, almost mathematical compositions and structured improvising environments. Each of the discs comes at you with the force of a manifesto: this band knows exactly what it is about, and the compositions charge forward with inevitability. Hollenbeck's compositions are both surprising and logical. ...Claudia's music uses the liberties of “free jazz” in the context of extremely ordered writing. The order, however, is new. Songs rarely consist of easily remembered melodies in 12 or 32 bars; instead they are evolving patterns that take your ear on a journey. The solos are not just “blowing” over the tunes changes, but are improvised elements of the larger design. On “August 5th, 2006”, for example, Gress's bass solo takes place on top of (or, really, beneath) a winding pattern of lines played by the other musicians... In fact, the solo appears to be written rather than improvised... the whole piece...unfolds like the plot of a short story. There is no real repetition, but rather the playing out of a series of motifs across almost ten minutes of fascination. This is not to say that there are not moments of more unreserved wailing. ...the articulation is precise-and it's all arrayed over an accompaniment that sounds as much like Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians as it does like jazz. When Gress follows this with a sliding-note statement that could be from a Mingus record, the background shifts to an eerie, otherworldly blend of clarinet and accordion. That all this orchestration comes from the pen of a drummer should not be surprising. After all, drummers are musicians who regularly deal with more than one instrument under their own command (toms, cymbals, cowbells, and so on), and Hollenbeck controls his kit with grace and excitement. “Rug Boy” starts with a pure “out” drum solo, which is then fused with an accordion statement during which Reichman channels Cecil Taylor. ... Again: it's almost like a kind of chamber music that emerges from a free jazz sensibility. ... Most clever and most fun, surely, is “Rainy Days/Peanut Vendor”, which is-I swear on my mother-a brilliant conjoining of the song by the Carpenters ("Rainy days and Sundays always get me down") and the classic Cuban rumba. You barely recognize either melody until you utterly recognize them... Speed runs a lovely clarinet solo over a short progression from “Rainy Days”, and it all seems inevitable when the main motif of that melody is-of course!-set over a Cuban groove. Which is as good a word for the music of the Claudia Quintet as any. Though this combination of instruments and this blend of styles are hardly obvious, the band now sounds so thoroughly integrated and seamless that you'd think it was a tenor-trumpet quintet or a 16-piece big band. You can almost imagine other clarinet/vibes/accordion groups springing up in its wake. Yet how many would have jazz soloists as imposing and inventive as Speed and Gress, or a composer as fiendish, playful, and patient as Hollenbeck? Few. Or, actually, none. Though I encourage folks to give it a go. The Claudia Quintet, inimitable, deserves to inspire. … RATING: [7]” - Will Layman, PopMatters, October 1, 2007, http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/48710/the-claudia-quintet-for/print/ ... Is it rock? Is it Jazz? Is it post-rock? Is it contemporary easy listening? Who cares. All I know is that it has an accordion, vibes, and clarinet among drums and bass. What a powerful combination. ... First of all, it starts out really rockin'. The bass drives hard and the dueling/unison accordion and clarinet give it a prog-rock type of feel although it is unmistakably jazzy, with its altering time signatures and jazz drumming. The playing is of the finest technicality, and the melodies add interest to the fast paced stream of notes and rhythms... A song of rather mellow and - quite frankly - lovely melodies is followed by a blast from the more eccentric side of jazz. A saxophone of the classic modern jazz bar tearing-it-up-style goes through scales, loops, and seeming nonsense to lead to a repeating accordion/clarinet line that is quite stunning in its counterpoint and release of tension as well as its ability to build suspense for the upcoming explosion that you know is certain. ... The tracks maintain an element of improvisation; however, they do not lose themselves in self indulgent improvisation sessions ... they keep the improvisation interesting and subtle. They don't hit you over the head with an “I'm so awesome at playing 50 notes in 30 seconds,” type of style. They have a unique structural backbone that is both musically interesting and non-boring, while improvisation fills out the atmosphere. Well, to be fair, there are some really ripping drum solos and in there with likewise ripping accordion and sax, but I still hold that it is done rather tastefully. ... This is an album that is not for jazz lovers, or rock lovers; it is for those who like music. I think the time is at hand when kids can't get by with calling something jazz or post-rock anymore. Time has caused such an intermingling of styles that we either need an advanced lexicon full of very specific terminology for each style of music based on any number of criteria, or we need to just do our best to write about/speak about music in a manner that evokes images over labels. Enjoy. [Score 7.5/10]” -Greg Norte, The Silent Ballet, 5/15/2008, http://www.thesilentballet.com/dnn/Reviews/2008/tabid/119/ctl/Details/mid/529/ItemID/1431/Default.aspx