The Claudia Quintet:

Chris Speed, saxophones
Ted Reichman, accordian
Matt Moran, vibes
Drew Gress, bass
John Hollenbeck, drums

Thursday, April 10, 2008 at Trunk Space
1506 NW Grand Ave., downtown Phoenix, AZ

Show starts at 8 PM - $10

www.myspace.com/theclaudiaquintet

info: 480-204-0101

The Claudia Quintet - The Quotes

"…seasoned jazz musicians who venture beyond genre borders with a light-hearted curiosity that keeps the music from devolving into avant-garde noisemaking." – The Washington Post

"… rhythmic propulsion, bursts of blues feeling and first-rate soloing should make it attractive to swing purists who may think it's not 'for' them." – Downbeat Magazine

"… [The] 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." – Mark Corroto, All About Jazz

"…a fresh, distinctive sound…obliterates barriers between jazz, classical and progressive rock. This unusually configured quintet challenges listeners with layered arrangements that undergo almost continuous transformations." – Downbeat Magazine

Hailing from New York City, members of The Claudia Quintet have performed, recorded or toured with Ravi Coltrane, Ralph Alessi, Fred Hersch, John Zorn, Uri Caine, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Paul Simon, Lionel Hampton, John Abercrombie, Dave Douglas and Arizona’s own Tony Malaby.

The Claudia Quintet - Spring 2008 Tour

Composer John Hollenbeck's band The Claudia Quintet has just returned from a tour of Europe. Their tour of the Southwestern United States begins April 3, 2008 with a stop at the Dazzle Jazz Club in Denver, CO. They will visit New Mexico, California, Texas and will perform in Phoenix at the Trunk Space on April 10. The tour features music from their newest release "For" as well as new music for Ralph Steiner's silent film entitled H2O.

The Claudia Quintet - "For"

"For" is the new CD by the Claudia Quintet, the genre-defying band led by Grammy-nominated composer John Hollenbeck. "For" is a positive message. "For" is driving rhythms, beautiful melodies, and passionate virtuosity. "For" is for all music lovers. "For" is also their fourth CD.

Since Hollenbeck first presented the band in an internet cafe on Avenue A in Manhattan in 1997, the Claudia Quintet has amazed audiences from Alabama to the Amazon. Their unique sound has inspired dancing hippie girls at a New Mexico noise festival, the avant-garde cognoscenti in the concert halls of Vienna and Sao Paolo, and a generation of young musicians worldwide. In the course of the thousands of miles they have traveled together and hundreds of concerts they've played, the Claudia Quintet has evolved and grown, developing a dynamic live sound based on trust and spontaneity. They bring this powerful energy into the studio, where they record the old-fashioned way, live, playing as a band. The legions of people who have been won over by the music of the Claudia Quintet live and on CD attest to the fact that genre-defying new music need not be "inaccessible." "For" is for everyone.

The Claudia Quintet - Member Bios

JOHN HOLLENBECK - drums/composition [see also: www.johnhollenbeck.com ] John Hollenbeck's journey has been one of the most remarkable in contemporary music. Building on a wealth of experience in jazz and world styles as well as a deep interest in contemporary composition and spiritual practice, he has forged a lyrical new musical language, as accessible and expressive as it is advanced. After receiving degrees in percussion (B.M.) and jazz composition (M.M.) from the Eastman School of Music, Hollenbeck moved to New York City in the early 1990's. He has worked with many of the world's leading musicians in jazz (Bob Brookmeyer, Fred Hersch, Tony Malaby, the Village Vanguard Orchestra, Kenny Wheeler), world music (Pablo Ziegler), and new music (Meredith Monk).

Hollenbeck's recording career as a leader began in the winter of 2001 with the audacious simultaneous release of three critically acclaimed CDs on CRI/Blueshift: "no images," an ambitious composer's statement that 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 in 2004, followed by "Semi-Formal" in 2005. Also in 2005, Hollenbeck was nominated for a Grammy for his Large Ensemble's debut, "A Blessing" (Omnitone) in the category of Best Jazz Big Band CD. His next large ensemble recording, "Joys and Desires, featuring Jazz Big Band Graz and Theo Bleckmann, was released by Intuition in 2006 to critical acclaim. Hollenbeck's numerous commissions include the IAJE Gil Evans Fellowship and the IAJE/ASCAP Commission. He has also received commissions from the Bamberg Symphony Choir, the Windsbacher Knabenchor, Studio Percussion (Graz), the Ethos Percussion Group, and the Bang On a Can All-Stars. In 2004 and 2006, Hollenbeck was nominated for "Up and Coming Jazz Musician of the Year" by the Jazz Journalists Association. In 2006, he was also nominated for "Composer of the Year." Down Beat magazine has recognized him as a "Rising Star" in the Composer, Jazz Artist, Arranger, Big Band, and Jazz Group (Claudia Quintet) categories. In 2007, John won the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship. Hollenbeck is currently a professor of drumset and improvisation at Jazz Institute Berlin (Germany).

CHRIS SPEED- clarinet/tenor saxophone [see also: www.chrisspeed.com ] One of the leading saxophonists and clarinetists of his generation, Chris Speed has appeared on over ninety records and has been voted rising star clarinetist for by Down Beat three years in a row. The legions of artists he has worked with include Jim Black, Tim Berne (Bloodcount), Uri Caine, Ben Perowsky, and John Zorn. Speed is a member of Alas No Axis, The Clarinets, and the recently reunited Human Feel (with Jim Black, Andrew D'Angelo, and Kurt Rosenwinkel). In 2006, Speed founded Skirl Records, a new record label focusing on Brooklyn music.

TED REICHMAN - accordion [see also: www.tedreichman.com] Born in Aroostook County, Maine, Reichman's musical explorations started on an upright piano on a bean farm. At Wesleyan University, he studied with Alvin Lucier and Anthony Braxton, who hired Reichman to play accordion when he was nineteen. Reichman went on to record eight albums with Braxton, including "Duo (Leipzig) 1992" and the early documents of Ghost Trance Music. After moving to New York, Reichman became involved in free improvisation (with Marc Ribot, Anthony Coleman, Eugene Chadbourne), Jewish music (David Krakauer, Roberto Rodriguez), alternative country (Sue Garner, Laura Cantrell), and rock and roll (Paul Simon, Sam Phillips, Shivaree). In the process he founded a concert series at alt.coffee and became the original curator of Tonic. Reichman's work as a composer includes the critically acclaimed albums Emigré (Tzadik 2003), "My Ears are Bent" (Skirl 2006) and the original scores to the films "Rick," "René and I," "States of Unbelonging," and "The Memory Thief."

MATT MORAN - vibraphone/percussion [see also: www.mattmoran.com]

Vibraphonist Matt Moran has a revolutionary approach to the instrument, creating new sounds and techniques, expanding the vibraphone's sonic palette. He has performed and recorded with a diverse range of artists including Joe Maneri, Theo Bleckmann, Mat Maneri, Nate Wooley, Saban Bajramovic, Merita Halili, Combustible Edison, and Lionel Hampton. Also a percussionist, he leads the brass band Slavic Soul Party!, playing new music inspired by Balkan and American brass traditions. He has released five albums, including Sideshow (songs of Charles Ives) on the CRI label, and three Slavic Soul Party! albums on the Knitting Factory and Barbès Records labels. In 2006 Moran placed in the "Rising Star" category for vibraphone in the Downbeat Critic's Poll.

DREW GRESS - acoustic bass [see also: www.drewgress.com] Drew Gress is one of the world's most in-demand bassists, currently working with John Abercrombie, Tim Berne, Uri Caine, Ravi Coltrane, Fred Hersch, Ralph Alessi, Marc Copland, and many others. He has also played and/or recorded with Don Byron, Dave Douglas, Ray Anderson, Erik Friedlander, Ellery Eskelin, and many more. As a composer, Gress has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer, and Chamber Music America. He has released three albums as a leader: "Spin and Drift" (Premonition), "Heyday" (Soul Note), and the recent, critically acclaimed "7 Black Butterflies" (Premonition).

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