John Hollenbeck is an American jazz drummer and composer known for his work with The Claudia Quintet and

Bob Brookmeyer Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer (December 19, 1929 – December 15, 2011) was an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of G ...

Early life and education

Hollenbeck was born in Binghamton, New York. He earned degrees in percussion and jazz composition from the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music ...

Career

Hollenbeck moved to New York City in the early-1990s. He has worked with

, Fred Hersch,

Tony Malaby Tony Malaby (born January 12, 1964) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Malaby was born in Tucson, Arizona. He moved to New York City in 1995 and played with several notable jazz groups, including Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, ...

, the Village Vanguard Orchestra,

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active i ...

Pablo Ziegler Pablo Ziegler (born September 2, 1944) is an Argentine composer, pianist, arranger based in New York City.Oteri, Frank J"Pablo Ziegler: Making the Music Dance" NewMusicBox, July 1, 2014; accessed July 9, 2014. He is currently the leading exponent ...

, and

Meredith Monk Meredith Jane Monk (born November 20, 1942) is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. From the 1960s onwards, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recordin ...

. In 1998, he composed ''The Shape of Spirit'', a piece for wind ensemble on Mons Records, and in 1999 composed ''Processional and Desiderata'' for wind ensemble and orator. This composition, written for and featuring the voice and trombone of Bob Brookmeyer, was released on Challenge Records in 2001. ''The Cloud of Unknowing'', commissioned by the Bamberg Choir in Germany was released in 2001 on the Edel Classics label with works by

J. S. Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

, Igor Stravinsky, and

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...

. In 2002, his IAJE Gil Evans Fellowship Commission piece, ''A Blessing'', featuring vocalist Theo Bleckmann, was performed to critical acclaim at the IAJE Conference; and in 2003 his IAJE/ASCAP Commission, ''Folkmoot'', was premiered in Toronto, Canada. In addition, he composed and performed the percussion score to the following

works: ''Magic Frequencies''; ''Mercy'' ( ECM, 2002); and ''The Impermanence Project'' (ECM, 2008). Hollenbeck's chamber piece, ''Demütig Bitten'', was commissioned by the Windsbacher Knabenchor (Germany) and released in 2004 on the Rondeau label with works by

Giovanni Gabrieli Giovanni Gabrieli (c. 1554/1557 – 12 August 1612) was an Italian composer and organist. He was one of the most influential musicians of his time, and represents the culmination of the style of the Venetian School, at the time of the shift f ...

, Josquin des Prez, and

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

. His commission through Bang on a Can and the People's Commissioning Fund was performed by the Bang on a Can All-Stars at

Merkin Concert Hall Merkin Hall is a 449-seat concert hall in Manhattan, New York City. The hall, named in honor of Hermann and Ursula Merkin, is part of the Kaufman Music Center, a complex that includes the Lucy Moses School, a community arts school, and the Speci ...

in New York City in February 2006. His commissions, funded by the Jerome Foundation and

Youngstown State University Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges a ...

, were premiered at the

Whitney Museum The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–194 ...

in October 2007. Hollenbeck's recording career as a leader began in the winter of 2001 with: ''no images'', which Gary Giddins included in his Village Voice 2001 top ten list, Quartet Lucy, and the Claudia Quintet. His second Claudia Quintet recording, ''I, Claudia,'' appeared on

Cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sh ...

in 2004, followed by ''Semi-Formal'' in 2005. His second large ensemble recording, ''Joys and Desires'', featuring Jazz Big Band Graz and Theo Bleckmann, was released by Intuition in 2006 to critical acclaim. The Claudia Quintet received four-star reviews from ''DownBeat'' and ''The Guardian'' for its fourth recording, ''For'' (Cuneiform, 2007), and was named "Rising Star Acoustic Jazz Group" in ''DownBeat's'' 2008 Critics Poll. Hollenbeck was a professor of jazz drums and improvisation at the Jazz Institute Berlin from 2005 to 2016. In 2015, he joined the faculty of

Schulich School of Music The Schulich School of Music (also known as Schulich) is one of the constituent faculties of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 555, rue Sherbrooke Ouest (555, Sherbrooke Street West). The faculty was named after benef ...

Discography

As leader

* ''Static Still'' with Theo Bleckmann (GPE, 2000) * ''John Hollenbeck/Claudia Quintet'' (CRI, 2001) * ''No Images'' (CRI, 2001) * ''Quartet Lucy'' (CRI, 2002) * ''Joys & Desires'' (Intuition, 2005) * ''Rainbow Jimmies'' (GPE, 2008) * ''Songs We Like a Lot'' (Sunnyside, 2015) * ''

All Can Work ''All Can Work'' is an album by the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, released on January 26, 2018. The album's tracks were recorded on June 15–16, 2017. Track listing # "Iud" # "All Can Work" # "Elf" # "Heyoke" # "This Kiss" # "From Trees" # "L ...

'' (2018)

As guest

With

and

*''

Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

'' (Artists House, 2003) With Samo Salamon and

Julian Arguelles Julian may refer to: People * Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363 * Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots * Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints * Julian (giv ...

* ''Unity'' (Samo Records, 2016)

References

External links

John Hollenbeck's websiteThe Claudia Quintet's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hollenbeck, John Avant-garde jazz musicians American jazz drummers Musicians from New York City American jazz composers American male jazz composers 1968 births Living people 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Jazz musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American male musicians Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin faculty