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Claudia Quintet

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Claudia Quintet
OriginNew York City, New York, United States
Years active1997 (1997)–present
MembersJohn Hollenbeck
Drew Gress
Matt Moran
Ted Reichman
Chris Speed

The Claudia Quintet are an American jazz ensemble formed in 1997 by drummer and composer John Hollenbeck. The ensemble was formed as successor to an ensemble called "the Refuseniks" with Hollenbeck and Quintet member Ted Reichman, and the quintet gets its name from a woman named Claudia who interacted with the Refuseniks. Claudia became an inside joke with the Refuseniks after she praised the performance and promised to return, but disappeared thereafter.

Personnel

As of 2010, the lineup is:[1]

The Claudia Quintet have not featured anyone named "Claudia" in the ensemble, nor any women at all.[1][2]

History

Formation and naming

In the mid 1990s, John Hollenbeck, Ted Reichman, and bassist Reuben Redding had a weekly gig at an internet café known as "alt.coffee" in East Village of New York City, playing as the "Refuseniks". One night, a woman named Claudia approached the three, expressing significant enthusiasm for the band's work and promising to tell her friends about the Refuseniks and return for future performances. After she left, Redding whispered to Hollenbeck, "She's never coming back".[3]

Redding was proven correct — the three never saw Claudia again. The incident, and Claudia herself, became a running joke between the bandmates; the three quipped continually about how they "saw Claudia on the street" or received a message that she was definitely coming to see the band that week. Reuben Redding later left the trio to go to college.[3]

Hollenbeck soon enlisted three new people in 1997[2] to form a quintet to play at alt.coffee, inviting saxophonist and clarinetist Chris Speed, bassist Drew Gress, and then-unknown vibraphonist Matt Moran. The group was named the "Claudia Quintet", after the woman who approached them. Hollenbeck explained that the decision served as a tribute to Reuben, a "feminine quality" to define the group, and a decentralization of himself as the quintet's leader.[3]

Early work

The Claudia Quintet continued playing at alt.coffee after formation, where they were reviewed by Ben Ratliff of The New York Times. Ratliff complimented Hollenbeck's ability to write for a quintet, and noted how Moran and Speed's parts as vibraphonist and clarinetist, which he says are related instruments, sometimes diverged from their unison. Ratliff noted how Gress, a bassist, sometimes keeps time instead of Hollenbeck, the quintet's drummer. However, he also refers to the performance as a "drummer's project", pointing out the constant and strong rhythm.[4]

Ratliff again critiqued the Claudia Quintet in a 2003 performance at the Jazz Standard. He theorized that the high-brow style of the music, complete with clashing tones and Hollenbeck's "heap of little percussion toys", gave the group a charm that simultaneously prevented it from reaching more people. Ratliff also quipped that "if the music were a little bit dumber, it would resemble the music of the rock band Tortoise. No disrespect to Tortoise".[5]

Discography

  • John Hollenbeck/The Claudia Quintet (CRI, 2001)
  • I, Claudia (Cuneiform, 2004)
  • Semi-Formal (Cuneiform, 2005)
  • For (Cuneiform, 2007)
  • Royal Toast (Cuneiform, 2010)
  • What Is the Beautiful? (Cuneiform, 2011)
  • September (Cuneiform, 2013)
  • Super Petite (Cuneiform, 2016)[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Jarenwattananon, Patrick (May 9, 2010). "First Listen: The Claudia Quintet, 'Royal Toast'". NPR. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Lynch, Dave. "The Claudia Quintet". Allmusic. Archived from the original on 2022-01-23. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c University of Michigan School of Music (2001). School of Music Programs. Rowman & Littlefield Education. ISBN 9781565450394.
  4. ^ Ratliff, Ben (December 24, 1997). "Jazz Review: No Matter the Sounds, It's a Drummer's World". The New York Times. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  5. ^ Ratliff, Ben (August 4, 2003). "Jazz Review: A Joking Drummer Constructs Innovation". The New York Times. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  6. ^ "The Claudia Quintet discography". Allmusic. Archived from the original on 2022-01-23. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
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