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The Claudia Quintet – Super Petite – Cuneiform

The Claudia Quintet – Super Petite – Cuneiform

by | Sep 12, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

The Claudia Quartet shares musical sketches from life incorporating travel, song, news, movies and more. The Claudia Quintet – Super Petite [TrackList follows] – Cuneiform, Rune 427, 47:21 [6/24/16] ****: (John Hollenbeck – drums, percussion; Red Wierenga – accordion; Matt Moran – vibraphone; Drew Gress – acoustic bass; Chris Speed – clarinet/tenor saxophone) Some writers prefer the conciseness and tight structure of short stories to the length of novels. There’s a nebulousness to characters and pensive situations where the reader has to fill in some details. One of Raymond Carver’s short story collections was called Short Cuts, and that’s an apt analogy to drummer/composer John Hollenbeck’s 47-minute Super Petite, the eighth release with his long-standing Claudia Quintet. Whereas some jazz artists gravitate to making albums or musical projects prolonged and larger, Hollenbeck took the opposite approach and focused on penning shorter compositions (although one piece on Super Petite is over eight minutes). Hollenbeck states in his liner notes, “Many of these compositions came from studies or ideas that I wanted to practice or explore—and through further exploration, they organically evolved into musical portraits or musical shorts.” Hollenbeck’s work has been and continues to be modernistic, and spans contemporary jazz and […]

Twin Talk – Twin Talk – ears&eyes

Twin Talk – Twin Talk – ears&eyes

by | Jul 16, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

With Twin Talk, communication is key. Twin Talk – Twin Talk [TrackList follows] – ears&eyes ee: 16-043, 53:45 [4/29/16] ****: (Andrew Green – drums; Katie Ernst – bass, voice; Dustin Laurenzi – tenor saxophone) A little medical jargon is necessary to appreciate the moniker of this Chicago trio. Cryptophasia (or twin talk) is a language phenomenon developed by identical or fraternal twins and is based on elements only the two children can understand, often a mix of oral and non-spoken communication. The group, Twin Talk, puts that belief in communication to the forefront on the threesome’s eponymous sophomore album, which concentrates on the democratic dialogue of bassist Katie Ernst (who adds vocals to three tunes), drummer Andrew Green and tenor saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi. There’s no designated leader on the 53-minute record. The members’ creativity is threefold throughout the 11 cuts. Laurenzi penned the majority of the originals, while Ernst contributed three. Twin Talk began as Laurenzi/ Ernst/Green, and under that appellation issued their 2013 debut, Sightline. Last year the trio revised their name. Ernst states (tongue in cheek), “We didn’t want to be a jazz law-firm anymore.” With a new name also came a broader range in their material and […]