jacques j. swartz

I know (or knew) Mike Daisey (well, not well).  He performed a number of times (once or twice, quite possibly three times, certainly a number) at a restaurant/performance space I used to own in Brooklyn.

He has also performed at a restaurant/performance space I still own (or co-own), and have co-owned for almost 35 years, in Greenwich Village, called the Cornelia Street Café: the number here is harder to ascertain since we do 700 performances a year (more or less, two more than more or less if it’s a leap year) and if you search our website (http://www.corneliastreetcafe.com–go ahead, don’t be shy) his name comes up more than fifty times, mostly as Mike Daisey but at least once as Mark Daisey.  The “more than fifty” number is because Sherry Weaver who ran a series here for five or six years (the website can’t properly corroborate the first year) inserted it into the copy for her show, which was called SpeakEasy, and which had “a dynamic and constantly changing cast of storytellers that include such greats as Mike Daisey, Jonathan Ames, and Reno, along with homemakers, lawyers, dog walkers, street magicians and writers.”

Last Saturday I was in Colorado.  I took my younger son to the airport in Eagle after a week of skiing and drove back to Edwards with the intention of sitting at a café/bookstore called Bookworm (or possibly The Bookworm) to catch up on e-mail and contemplate the arduous business of finishing a memoir.

Did I say “memoir?”

Yes, I too commit “memoir.”  The memoir I am trying to finish is a book of café stories—write what you know—which, in some weird way, is a follow up to a, believe it or not, Holocaust-related memoir, which was published some fifteen years ago (actually seventeen, but I would like it to have been less).

Just as I pull into the mall in Edwards, Ira Glass pops up on NPR and devotes an entire program to deconstructing a previous program in which Mike Daisey had not lived up to a journalistic standard of the truth.  He had misled Mr. Glass, his producer, and the whole production team.  He had even, according to Mr. Glass, lied.  I sat in the car for a full hour, enthralled.

I was no clearer after it was over than I had been when it began whether journalistic truth trumps dramatic truth.  I have a hard time with “the truth” anyhow.  I sat down at an outside table—it was quite balmy—with a large coffee ($2.25).  Somebody at a neighboring table told his companion that Mike Daisey was a liar.  I had the temerity to interject and say I knew Mike Daisey (not well).  Did he really think Mike Daisey was lying?  Yes, he did, he had turned off after just a few minutes because it was clear that Daisey was a liar (he used the noun, never, I think, the verb).  Was there no latitude, I asked, in telling a story?  What about the history plays of Shakespeare?  How closely do they hew to Holinshed?  How closely did Holinshed hew to history?  That’s different, he said.

We smiled at each other; he returned to his conversation, I to my laptop.

On it I was wrestling with a story I should have written thirty years ago (maybe more) when it was fresher in my mind.  In the doorway one morning when I arrived at the café was a large bundle, next to the Voilà delivery (croissants, brioches, pains au chocolat); the large bundle was a homeless man, whom I now had the hapless job of rousing.  I let him wash up while I set up.  I put a table in the doorway with two chairs.  I warmed up croissants, brioches and pains au chocolat, I made espresso, and I steamed eggs on the cappuccino machine (our lone warm specialty in those early days).  I joined him at the table and we breakfasted together.  He had seen better days, he had been in the Merchant Marine, he had had plenty of time to read, and he had devoured Shakespeare.  We discussed the history plays and how closely they hewed to Holinshed.

I told him that when the first customer arrived he would have to leave.  He understood.  Customers were few and far between in those days and we discussed Shakespeare for a good two hours.  At a certain point two ladies arrived and indicated they would like to be served.  I indicated to my table companion that the time had come.  We rose, he kissed me long and hard on the mouth, and took his leave.

These bare outlines I remember.  I have a paragraph.  Somehow it needs to blossom into a story.  A version of, certainly not the, but perhaps a, truth.  I’m thinking of calling it “Shakespeare.”

And, à propos titles. the working title of the book itself came in a conversation with an editor, an habituée of the café a good twenty years after Shakespeare (or maybe eighteen), who congratulated me on a complimentary review of my first book that morning in the Times and asked—that question all writers surely dread—what I was working on now.  “Well,” I fumbled, seventeen years ago, “I’m sort of thinking about writing a collection of stories about the café, you know, what happens to a Wandering Jew when he finally stops wandering and stands still and opens the doors and, well, the whole world passes through.”

“Great title,” she said.

The book is provisionally titled The Whole World Passes Through.   As it currently stands, it opens with a tiny story from the early days, a sort of amuse-bouche, called “Stanley.”  Stanley was a former American tennis champion, who now made his home in Kenya.  He would show up at the café intermittently, passing through from Africa on his way to some Masters Tournament in Florida or Hawaii or Mexico or on Long Island, and each time he would allude to a café in Nairobi of which Cornelia Street reminded him.  ”You know,” he would say, “there’s a place like this in Nairobi.  You never know who’s going to be there.  You just know, when you walk in, that somebody‘s going to be there.  Someone you know from a former life, a different continent, another galaxy—a pal, an acquaintance, a lover, a movie star.  Someone you know, or someone you knew, or someone you don’t know yet but you will, someone you may spend the night with, carousing, or the rest of your life. And you go away and you come back, a hundred times, a thousand times, and it’s always the same.  But if you stick around, which maybe a handful of people do, sooner or later the whole world passes through.”

Did I make it clear he didn’t actually say those words?  He should have.  He would have.  He does now.

Robin Hirsch founded the Cornelia Street Café with two other artists in 1977.  He is the author of Last Dance at the Hotel Kempinski (1995), every word of which was written to be read there.

Paul Hecht‘s ongoing series celebrating the birthdays of poets with words and music continues this Monday with an evening devoted to the life and work of Langston Hughes. Hosted & directed by Hecht, featuring the mighty and sometimes mohawked Malesha Jessie, pianist Ellen Mandel, and actors Denise Burse, Michael Early and Phillip James Brannon.

Feb 13, 6pm. Visit our lovely website or call 212/989-9319 to make reservations.

The fiery hand of Ted Berkowitz has steadily chronicled our Café since he first wandered downstairs in the early oughts. An exhibition of his work, variegated figures caught in between glances and strikes of the keys, opens at 5:30 this Tuesday eve in our back room.

That same night at 7, we celebrate the birth of Cornelia Cuvée. After decades of tasting, and many awards for our wine list, we have finally succeeded in putting our name behind, and our labels on, two wines grown and vinified for us in California by the Millbrook Winery which makes some excellent New York State wines less than 90 miles up the Hudson from us.

They own vineyards in California, where they make a small amount of exceptional Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Our designer John Morrison in tandem with Wine Czar/Minister of Culture/Dean of Faculty Robin Hirsch has designed these beautiful labels

Appellation: Central Coast, California

Clones: Pommard, David Bruce, #667 and Calera Burgundian Dijon clones

Blending Information: 100% Pinot Noir

Harvest Date: Sept. 17, 2009

Harvest Brix: 24.5 degrees

Time in Oak: 8 months

Bottling Date: June 24, 2010

Sensory Evaluation: The cooler temperatures California’s Central Coast vineyards make this the ideal site for cool climate varietals like Pinot Noir. Ripe flavors of cherry, plum and strawberry and soft tannins encompass this well-balanced wine.

Appellation: Central Coast, California

Clones: #76, #95, #96 Burgundian
Dijon clones

Blending Information: 100% Chardonnay

Harvest Date: Oct. 1, 2010

Harvest Brix: 24.2 degrees

Time in Oak: Oak was not used

Bottling Date: April 30, 2011

Total Production: 667 cases

Sensory Evaluation: Bright and floral on the nose with a touch of ripe peaches and pear. On the palate, the wine is fresh with good richness and flavors of exotic fruit.

“Sooner or later, the whole world passes through.”

On January 11th, Robin took to the stage as he often has, this time not as emcee but reader, Café Stories in hand. The chapters chosen that evening told of how he’d come to invert his vagabond world and make a one-room West Village hideout into an improbable magnet for the dispersed many. It was a perfect inauguration to the Café’s first-ever JewFest, a monthlong performance series gathering together some of those far-flung Jewry to speak, play and sing what all they’d encountered in their travels. JewFest brought to Cornelia Peri Smilow, songstress of the American Jewish songbook; Daniel Cainer, “Comic Bard of Anglo-Jewry”; kinetic mystic Yehuda Hyman, who resuscitated Nachman’ s Seven Beggars, and Larry Josephson, veteran apostle of a free radio powerhouse still felt today. Throughout the festival, artist and chronicler Ted Berkowitz bore witness by hand. His work now hangs in the Café’s back room, awaiting its opening this Tuesday eve, at which point we do hope you’ll pass through too.

Our spactacular New Year’s Eve Grand Dinner is served from 5:30pm

$75 per person

($60 if you pair it with any of the shows)

a la carte menu available in the bar room & downstairs

(Click here to view the NYE menu (PDF))

…and in our downstairs cabaret

10:30pm – The Arturo O’Farrill Quartet

Arturo O’Farrill, piano; Bill Ware, vibes; Alex Blake, bass; Jaime Affoumado, drums  

We are thrilled to have the great Arturo O’Farrill–Grammy Award winning pianist, composer, educator, and winner of the Latin Jazz USA Outstanding Achievement Award–return to Cornelia Street with his sensational quartet.  Son of the legendary Cuban-American composer and bandleader, Chico O’Farrill, he was born in Mexico and grew up in New York City. He has played piano with Carla Bley, Dizzy Gillespie, Steve Turre, Freddy Cole, The Fort Apache Band, Lester Bowie, Wynton Marsalis, and Harry Belafonte. He is the founder and leader of the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and their first album Song for Chico (Zoho Records) won the GRAMMY Award for Best Latin Jazz Album of 2008.  In February of this year, Arturo and the ALJO released their third and newest album, 40 Acres and a Burro, which has been nominated for a GRAMMY in the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album category for 2011.

For more on Arturo, visit his website  and watch the video below about his return to Cuba.

Early shows in the cabaret:

5:30 pm – Andy Christie’s Liar Show

For this special New Year’s Eve edition, The Liar Show welcomes Leslie Goshko (Manhattan Monologue Champion), Andy Ross (Mad Magazine), Andy Christie (NY Times; WFUV), Ed Gavagan (The Moth Radio Hour)

8:00pm – The O’Farrill Brothers Quintet

As the sons of GRAMMY award-winning pianist Arturo O’Farrill, Adam and Zachary O’Farrill have performed in some of the most prominent jazz settings, including the Carefusion Newport Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Marian’s Jazz Room, and the Mount Fuji Jazz Festival. They are now stepping forward with their own band, and their own debut album, Giant Peach, which Wall Street Journal says, “bristles with confidence and creativity.” The band provides an eclectic mix of styles in jazz, with innovative, original compositions. Ever since their formation in2009, the O’Farrill Brothers Band has performed in some of the most exciting venues in NYC, such as Birdland Jazz Club, The Jazz Gallery, Cornelia Street Café, and more. The band members have performed with the likes of Joshua Redman, Stefon Harris, Esperanza Spalding, Arturo O’Farrill, DJ Logic, Branford Marsalis, Bob Mintzer, and Slide Hampton.

Please call 212/989-9319 or visit http://www.corneliastreetcafe.com for reservations. 

fragments from conversation with michael lydon in his studio.

in the 60′s michael left an anemic rock beat at newsweek to help co-found rolling stone. he started out tagging along as part of the national psychedelic entourage but his writing and candor brought him closer to the center, sat him next to mick jagger on rough flights and made janis joplin suggest maybe he wanted to pick up a harmonica and give it a try too. matched with encouragement from his the likewise excellent and dedicated pianist ellen mandel, he began new life as a loving crooner. file under: writer-musician/musician-writer/all-around-mensch.
michael lydon plays cornelia street cafe tuesday december 12th at 830.

music: “midnight in manhattan” & “love at first sight”

Celebrating their 15th anniversary in 2012, Claudia Quintet embraces the textural freedom of electronic sounds and improvisation, the structural ambition of contemporary classical music, and most importantly, the joy of bodacious grooves and unapologetically gorgeous melodies. Led by drummer and composer John Hollenbeck, this ensemble features some of the foremost innovators of new sounds in “jazz and beyond.” Their beautifully seductive work recasts jazz in shimmering new shapes with inflections of classical minimalism, new music, progressive rock and post-rock. Claudia Quintet’s latest release, What Is The Beautiful?, featuring special guest vocalists Kurt Elling & Theo Bleckmann, is a tribute to the late beat poet and visual artist Kenneth Patchen, commissioned by the University of Rochester on the occasion of his 100th birthday.

How’d it come to be that these folks in Rochester enlisted you to make an album around Patchen’s work? How did they find you, or you them? What had been your knowledge of/relationship with Patchen’s work prior to that?

I got a call from Richard Peek at the University of Rochester library who told me that for Kenneth Patchen’s 100th birthday they were doing an exhibition of his verbal & visual work—paintings and drawings, covers for records, books. Turns out there’s a patron of the University who’s a jazz lover and was keen to fund a recording of some kind. So they asked me if I wanted to get involved, and I thought it would be a really interesting project for the Claudia Quintet, so I went for it. I started working about a year ago, over the holidays. I couldn’t find any Kenneth Patchen books in the bookstores, so I went to the library filled up on everything he did; there’s also a good biography out there, and that helped. When I found something that hit, I’d write that down, and I ended up with a list of 20 or so poems. His work varied but there were at least five  genres that he was working in, and I take a cross-section of those. That’s how it started coming together.

What in particular are the challenges in setting poetry to music? Did you work with Theo & Kurt on the compositional side, or did you compose alone then hand them the music & let them work magic in their singing of it?

This week Cornelia Street Café marks the loss of Paul Motian, a legendary drummer and powerfully influential musician whose long career coursed through many transfigurations of Jazz. Motian performed regularly and in the company of musicians young and old up until the very end of his life, sustaining an inimitable verve & intelligence while battling persistent illness. Of late Motian became the closest Cornelia has had to a house drummer, appearing nearly a dozen times with stalwarts and upstarts from Dan Tepfer to Tony Malaby to Samuel Blasser; his last performance at the Café came at the end of September, with Kris Davis. His absence will be deeply felt in our Downstairs, as it is through the world of Jazz and beyond.

These words have been brought to you by Jacques Swartz, Chronicler of John. Jacques would like to reaffirm for all interested parties that he is not, in fact, Mr. John Hollenbeck, nor is he Mr. Hollenbeck’s imaginary alter-ego, but rather a fully discrete being in his own right.All queries, complaints, kind remarks and general feedback regarding this blog may be directed to Jacques at johnhollenwebpr@gmail.com

POWERS OF THREE

Refuge Trio reunites for three Northwesterner gigs! First, a residency and concert at University of Oregon on May 9th, then, on May 15th, as part of Earshot’s Spring Series in Seattle, and, finally, at PDX Jazz at the Mission Theatre, on May 16th. Tickets available at the afore-linked links.

For those uninitiated or curious, check out this preview article from the Eugene Weekly(featuring a super-dashing photo of Theo to add to your collection). You’re also encouraged to scroll down for a Rashomon-style interview with each member of the group…

THE UN-CONSERVATORY

The Claudia Quintet with Matt Mitchell will appear at Brooklyn Conservatory on Thursday, June 13, at 7 and 9:30 pm. They will play the Conservatory’s ”Jazz Club,” performing—per special request—music from Claudia’s 2010 LP, Royal Toast. Reports, if they can be believed, say BYOB. OK!

What could be better than classic Claudia and hand-brought beer? Why, a live pre-concert Q&A with noted music journalist David Adler! Not bad!

Personnel on hand:

John Hollenbeck, drums
Chris Speed, clarinet and tenor saxophone
Red Wierenga, accordion
Drew Gress, acoustic bass
Matt Moran, vibraphone
And SPECIAL GUEST: Matt Mitchell, piano

To purchase tickets please click here

To hear “Sphinx,” from Royal Toast, click here.

Below, a love song for John’s beloved Kate, entitled “Love Song for Kate,” from Claudia’s first record, matched with the poetry of Dylan Thomas. A splendid look for all involved.

–

ECOUTEZ L’ENSEMBLE CAIRN

“Flock,” John’s piece for French contemporastronauts L’Ensemble Cairn, is now listenable as a podcast by clicking here. Please note this podcast is only available for listening until JUNE 5th. No dawdling!

What you’ll hear if you’ll listen is the premiere performance at the Theatre d’Orleans, from March 8th. The Ensemble plays “Limpidity of Silences” (previously recorded by Claudia Quintet, this is its first actual performance), followed by a new commission for them, “The Commons,” then an orchestration for the Ensemble of John’s Bang On A Can commission, “Rainbow Jimmies.” “Flock” is the encore.

The concert starts with a great piece called “Aschenblume,” by Mauro Lanza, plus a premiere by the crafty New York wildcat, Alex Mincek, titled, “Donegal.” (But if you’re in a hurry, the Hollenbeck portion starts at 34:40.)

For those fortunate enough to be shouting distance from Douai, you can see L’Ensemble perform this piece live, at the Hippodrome Douai on June 1st. Allez!

–

AS PROMISED ABOVE, AN INTERVIEW WITH EACH OF THE MEMBERS OF REFUGE TRIO, IN CASE YOU WERE CURIOUS

Courtesy UOregon’s Liner Notes Blog

Gary Versace:

1. What are you planning to bring to the performance at the University?

Lots and lots of weed. (Not really. But if you know anyone…

2. Can you tell us the musical journey of Refuge Trio? How did you start as a band?

With instruments and microphones, then we plugged the shit in, and BAM. Wok tee, baby.

3. What are your biggest influences in music that shape your style today?

Spandex.

4. Do you have any upcoming projects that you’d like to share with the readers?

A large toothpick replica of st. patrick’s cathedral that i’ve been working on for months…it’s pretty sweet.

Theo Bleckmann:

1. What are you planning to bring to the performance at the University?

Old and new music performed in new ways.

2. Can you tell us the musical journey of Refuge Trio? How did you start as a band?

This trio was formed to play at the 2002 Wall-to-Wall Joni Mitchell Marathon Concert at Symphony Space in NYC. Since then, they have continued to explore music from all genres following a unique collaborative path.

Their repertoire includes their own originals as well as compositions by Joni Mitchell, Theolonius Monk, Dmitri Schostakovitsch, Sidsel Endresen and Allan Holdsworth among others.

3. What are your biggest influences in music that shape your style today?

Pretty much everything influences me, either in a good way that makes me want to learn about it and have more of it in my life, or in a way that defines what I want to avoid.

4. Do you have any upcoming projects that you’d like to share with the readers?

I am working on a new band with harpist Zeena Parkins (Björk) performing some of my new songs and some baroque music.

John Hollenbeck:

1. What are you planning to bring to the performance at the University?

TOYS…LOTSA TOYS

2. Can you tell us the musical journey of Refuge Trio? How did you start as a band?

gary has the funny answer, theo the real one….so I think you got all you need on this one!

3. What are your biggest influences in music that shape your style today?

yesterday I heard a great album from a band from Berlin called Schneeweiss and Rotenrot-the album is called Pool-check it out!

but usually I’m behind the current trends….as I’m writing this I’m listening to deerhoof and just to show how unhip I am-this is my first time listening to them…..I get into everything about 5-10 years after everyone else it seems……next up for me is probably The Dirty Projectors since I’ve been hearing about them for about 5 years…..

eternal favs:

Peter Garland, Brian Eno, György Ligeti

4. Do you have any upcoming projects that you’d like to share with the readers?

That reminds me that what I should be doing right now is finishing music for the upcoming Claudia Quintet record, called September that is coming out in, you guessed it-September!  Also revising some new music for this great new music ensemble from Paris, France, Ensemble Cairn, that I will play with in a few weeks….yikes I got to get back to work.

These words have been brought to you by Jacques Swartz, Chronicler of John. Jacques would like to reaffirm for all interested parties that he is not, in fact, Mr. John Hollenbeck, nor is he Mr. Hollenbeck’s imaginary alter-ego, but rather a fully discrete being in his own right.All queries, complaints, kind remarks and general feedback regarding this blog may be directed to Jacques at johnhollenwebpr@gmail.com

Claudia Quintet take Cornelia Street (with special guest, Chris Tordini)

This week CQ swings through old stomping grounds in the West Village. All shows are All Ages, so you can bring your baby (or your baby’s baby).

Friday, April 19 at 9 & 10:30PM 
and Saturday, April 20, at 9 & 10:30PM

Go once! Go twice in a night ! Go four times in a weekend!

Call 212-989-9319 for tickets or visit their website for details

Shortwave signals

The Claudia Qunitet will “appear” in an accordion special hosted by Ssrirus Pakzad (correct spelling!). Part of the show, “radioJazznacht,” it will be broadcast on may 4th, 6pm-8pm New York Time, on Bayern 2 (Bayerischer Rundfunk). Listen in via live stream here.

And for our readers who are fluent in Portguese, we have a nice feeling what ‘forca positiva’ might mean, but we’d appreciate your help to verify.Check the full interview here.

Next step: Knighthood

We are very proud to announce that John has been appointed to England’s Royal Academy of Music as their Visiting Professor of Jazz for the academic year 2013/2014. In John’s words as quoted by RAM:

John Hollenbeck said, ’It is a distinct honour to be invited to teach at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music as a Visiting Professor of Jazz. I anticipate it will be an insightful and enriching experience for me to work with the Academy’s students, and I hope to inspire and motivate the students in return, serving to bring them closer to their chosen path.’

See, he even used the added ‘u’ when he said ‘honor’! Righto!

Tour Pix: Dispatches from the Midwest

What began at the Jazz Standard, went to Ohio and ended in Johnson City, NY. For those not fortunate enough to see shows or play along for the ride, you can view a comprehensive gander of the proceedings right here from “Mr. Enthusiasm” Steven Lugerner!

These words have been brought to you by Jacques Swartz, Chronicler of John. Jacques would like to reaffirm for all interested parties that he is not, in fact, Mr. John Hollenbeck, nor is he Mr. Hollenbeck’s imaginary alter-ego, but rather a fully discrete being in his own right.All queries, complaints, kind remarks and general feedback regarding this blog may be directed to Jacques at johnhollenwebpr@gmail.com

Old Media <3′s John

Ladies and gentleman, John Hollenbeck has hit the mainstream. At long last, the unclassifiable is cool. No longer will “no labels” be an impediment to earnest attention from the masses. For on newsstands now—that’s right, I said newsstands—you can find not one but TWO highly respected journalistic organs devoting raw pagespace for John and his travails.

In this latest issue of The New Republic you can read “Music Without Category,” by David Hajdu. To wit:

Likewise, in this current issue of Stereophile  magazine you can read an extensive article on John, written by Mr. Robert Baird.

These words have been brought to you by Jacques Swartz, Chronicler of John. Jacques would like to reaffirm for all interested parties that he is not, in fact, Mr. John Hollenbeck, nor is he Mr. Hollenbeck’s imaginary alter-ego, but rather a fully discrete being in his own right.All queries, complaints, kind remarks and general feedback regarding this blog may be directed to Jacques at johnhollenwebpr@gmail.com

John ventures Franceward to join Ensemble Cairn “pour un projet qui confronte et associe musique écrite et musique improvisée, musique jazz et musique contemporaine.” Or, as we might say in English, a mindbending and ballerific evening. Ensemble Cairn specializes in what other folks might call difficult music. Spectral, post-spectral, improvisational collaborations, the works.

For this program JH has been invited to perform a brand new work commissioned by L’Ensemble, “The Commons,” based on (wait for it) The Commons framework. John et al. will also play a réorchestration of Rainbow Jimmies, initially commissioned for Bang on a Can, PLUS two works from What Is The Beautiful, including “Flock” and “Limpidity of Silences,” making its live premiere. To top it off, will also be joined for this performance by most excellent French saxophonist, Fred Gastard. Detailles ci-dessous. 

MARCH 8

Ensemble Cairn “Un Cairn à John Hollenbeck” @ Théâtre d’Orléans

Boulevard Pierre Ségelle, Orléans, 45002 (France) – Map

02 38 62 75 30  Set: 8:30 PM

All Ages

Tickets: 24 / 18

MARCH 9

Ensemble Cairn “Un Cairn à John Hollenbeck” @ Le Petit faucheux

12 rue Léonard de Vinci , Tours, 37000 (France) – Map

02 47 38 67 62  Set: 8:30 PM

All Ages

Tickets: 15 € / 12 € / 7 €

What heights of elegance could ever top these? Two words: Johnson City. In the beginning of April, it will be there in the Southern Tier, as well as in the zamboni-flat heartland of Columbus, OH, that John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble makes its triumphant return, joining Kate & Theo to perform Songs he Likes A Lot. Then, later in April, JH breaks away with Claudia Quintet for a luxurious 3-night engagement at The Cornelia Street Café in New York.

OH—and how could we forget? Claudia Quintet’s original formation reunites on March 23rd at Symphony Space, featuring alumni and faculty from Chris Speed & Matt Moran’s alma mater, New England Conservatory. They will there play a brief set with former CQ accordionist and NEC faculty member, Ted Reichman.

Details on all this and more may be found at JohnHollenbeck.com/Live

CAN’T MAKE IT LIVE?

We all are visited by reclusiveness. If unwilling or unable to see the Hollenmenschen live, we offer this as a decent substitute: Ringing out in high definition, it’s Claudia Quintet, live via Vimeo from Sunset in Paris. Courtesy of CitizenJazz point com, you can view these most excellent videos and catch the glory secondhand right here.

In a similar vein, you can download for portable listening this combination live performance/interview, courtesy Mr. Mark Hayes and his Passing Notes site, right here. Truly extensive, not to be missed.

REVIEWS, UNABATED

The love keeps a’flowing for Songs I Like A Lot, John’s latest album, now available for immediate purchase. Joining the choir of biggups is DownBeat’s Frank Alkyer, who selected the record as an Editors’ Pick, as well as emusic’s Dave Sumner, and—straight outta Irie—Mr. Cormac Larkin of the Irish Times.

Meanwhile our sizable German-fluent readership may enjoy this review of another Hollencollab, Shut Up and Dance, in the words of Mr. Sebastian Scotney (the English translation follows, in case you’re feeling rusty).

PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST

But what have you done for US lately? Sketched Mr. Hollenbeck mid-strike in charcoal and guache? No? Well at least one fellow has, and he threatens to put your fandom to shame with his efforts. His note to us, along with the masterwork he created, follow:

I am an artist from Bamberg, Germany. You played with your band in our town in the Jazzclub in the year 2009 and I made a portrait of you later with help from a photo I made this evening.

2010 I made a exhibition with different jazz musicians in our club, also with the one of you. I thought now, maybe you like it and so I send it to you as mail to look at it.

friendly greetings from Bamberg,

(Awesome Fan)

FRIDAY FLUSH

Last but not least, we bring you this dispatch from The Department of Getting The Joke. We appreciate your appreciation, Ken®.

at the Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University!

In case you've been dozing on our previous installments, you'd best be aware that John's latest record, Songs I Like A Lot, is fast on its way. The album contains a smattering of favorite music from Jimmy Webb, Ornette Coleman, Imogen Heap, Freddie Mercury, and others, all rearranged and scrambled by John. It features Frankfurt Radio BigBand, Theo Bleckmann, Kate McGarry, and Gary Versace—and you can PRE-OWN it now.

These words have been brought to you by Jacques Swartz, Chronicler of John. Jacques would like to reaffirm for all interested parties that he is not, in fact, Mr. John Hollenbeck, nor is he Mr. Hollenbeck’s imaginary alter-ego, but rather a fully discrete being in his own right.All queries, complaints, kind remarks and general feedback regarding this blog may be directed to Jacques at johnhollenwebpr@gmail.com

OUR FAVORITE THINGS: A NEW ALBUM

here once again is the cover of the new album by the Frankfurt Radio BigBand with Theo Bleckmann, Kate McGarry & Gary Versace playing tunes and arrangements by John. cue: excitement.

as the name suggests, the record features personal arrangements of treasured gems by everyone from Ornette Coleman to Imogen Heap. how cool is that?

Cooler still: next week JHLE will shlep mightily thro’ the Eastern Seaboard, appearing with Theo and Kate & playing songs off the new record at shows in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, North Carolina, Virginia and New York.

DETAILS!!!!

• December 6 – ATLAS Performing Arts Center, Washington, DC 
• December 7 – Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia, PA
• December 8 – Duke University, Durham, NC 
• December 9 – JMU School of Music, Harrisonburg, VA

Hollenfriends of NYC and most notably, Brooklyn,  can join in at Roulette, see the band, support your local transdisciplinary new music performance center, and impress your children by going out on a monday night.

Tickets, info, and an array of elegant b&w photography can be found at their website here.

BUT FIRST: FRANCE

before we can see John here in America again, he first had to serve a grueling tour in such places as Paris and Caen. the latest from the front?

“there were awesome gigs with nice crowds!”

good to hear it, soldier. story goes they were even so bold as to try out a brand-spanking piece, “September 9th”
It’s the first in a series of un-notated tunes, learnt by rote, deftly digested and infinitely reconstituted.

John, again:

Because my music is usually not short or simple, learning it by rote is difficult.
What it means visually is NO MUSIC STANDS. Also the music will be IN us, so hopefully it will be more liquid after we get to know it.
How we actually learn the music is something that we are figuring out. But for the first attempt, we learned the piece a phrase at a time.
It is actually written down for posterity and in case we forget it, but during the learning process the guys did not want to see the music, they made their own notes to help them remember.

awesome.

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THEY CALL HIM JET-PACK JOHN

Pre-empting the annual james bond marathon in greater brazil this week was the Buenos Aires Jazz Festival Internacional, starring john hollenbeck in two roles: conductor of the conservatory’s MANUEL DE FALLA BIG BAND and percussionist/bandleader, local killer quintet in tow, in a double bill with the KIRK LIGHTSEY TRÍO. As you can see from these photos it was no less a racy and suave affair than The Living Daylights.

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WEB LINK ROUND UP

a blog supreme got that new compass and JH is on it.

also check out john’s recent interview with The Thread, released in two parts:

I. Stories about making music with Meredith Monk, plus a Theo Bleckmann origin story:

II. Good phrases for weird problems, like how to talk about genre, and why a large ensemble is not the same as a big band.

[Reader poll: what cardinal direction would John be? NNE? respond in the comments section below or mail your submissions to HQ]

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LAST BUT NOT LEAST

nice-looking young men in black t-shirts play “ziggurat (interior)”

rad.

These words have been brought to you by Jacques Swartz, Chronicler of John. Jacques would like to reaffirm for all interested parties that he is not, in fact, Mr. John Hollenbeck, nor is he Mr. Hollenbeck’s imaginary alter-ego, but rather a fully discrete being in his own right.All queries, complaints, kind remarks and general feedback regarding this blog may be directed to Jacques at johnhollenwebpr@gmail.com

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As autumn’s taut chill nips amidst the tumbling leaves, quite naturally our thoughts turn once again to the Recording Academy Grammy Awards. And even though Grammy.com’s Gucci-sponsored countdown widget reminds us it’s still over 111 days away, now is the time when ye anointed few must elect Grammy’s nominees. So for all of you not privileged with Recording Industry Suffrage (and may be right now wondering aloud, “you mean they actually vote on these?”) bear with us while we stump for John’s latest greatnesses.

Up this year for your consideration: What is the Beautiful?, a lovely and imminently buyable record by Claudia Quintet + 1, as well as “What is the Beautiful?” which is (you guessed it) title track from that very album.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. First, Claudia Quintet goes charging through France, in Paris on November 11th, then in Caen on November 13th. Hit those links for tickets, information, and verifiable proof.

Now. This is the cover of the new album by Frankfurt Radio BigBand with Theo Bleckmann, Kate McGarry & Gary Versace playing tunes and arrangements by John! Yes, it should indeed excite you.

In December, JHLE will sweep the Eastern Seaboard, appearing with Theo and Kate & playing songs off the new record at shows in New York, North Carolina, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. We’d like to call particular attention to this smashing night at Roulette in (of all places) Brooklyn. Tickets, info, and repeatable maxims all may be found at their website. FUN.

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ILLMATIC SPACE-REFINISHER TENNIS VIDEO MASHUP 

After exile to what was surely a gruesome 4 weeks of residence at Liguria Study Center, John has left behind two artifacts, etched into digital ink for us to steep in and contemplate.

The first, entitled “I’m a Lucky Girl,” details in photographs John and Lady Kate’s sartorial narrative throughout literally dozens of dinners for which they had to dress in fancy attire. Kate looks lovely, but it is the array of blazers and ties in play that truly impress on the eyeballs. See for yourself.

The second—well, better left to John to describe:

my studio was overlooking this awesome tennis court…..so after a few weeks I could not help myself….I came up with a serial system based on the tennis court itself…..then I applied it as a test to these three Jimmy Connors rallies.

So far so good!

The view from John’s studio

And the resulting video

For max enjoyment, do heed those instructions: As. Loud. As. Possible.

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SPLIT SCREEN SOUND

We close this time, as we sometimes do, with audience participation: Three instruments and one man, at play in “The Snow is Deep on the Ground”, covered from CQ+1′s What is the Beautiful. Enjoy:

These words have been brought to you by Jacques Swartz, Chronicler of John. Jacques would like to reaffirm for all interested parties that he is not, in fact, Mr. John Hollenbeck, nor is he Mr. Hollenbeck’s imaginary alter-ego, but rather a fully discrete being in his own right.All queries, complaints, kind remarks and general feedback regarding this blog may be directed to Jacques at johnhollenwebpr@gmail.com

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I chose to end the weekend on a quiet, if forceful note at the Harbor Stage: drummer John Hollenbeck’s augmented Claudia Quintet, which mixed the leader’s motoric rhythms and lyrical melodies with the love poetry of Kenneth Patchen. Theo Bleckman sang, and Kurt Elling — guesting after leading his own razzle-dazzle, foot-stomping set at the Quad — recited. Aside from Hollenbeck’s drums, the band included Matt Moran’s vibes, Red Wierenga’s accordion, Matt Mitchell’s piano, and Chris Speed’s clarinet and tenor sax. Patchen’s poems were funny and profane. The audience laughed and even grooved a bit. It was like some long-ago imaginary jazz café. And for a while at least, the music was good and the weather didn’t matter.

There it came, there it went. Another Newport Jazz Fest sailed through inclemency and delivered generous and beautiful music to the assembled masses. You can read more of Boston Phoenix’s Jon Garelick writing on the festival and thus find yourself nearly in his shoes. And if you happened to actually be there? Please, tell us about it! Leave a comment below, or email JohnHollenWebPR@gmail.com with your recollections and impressions from the afternoon John Came to Providence.

And now for some photos.

Photos credited to Mr. Hal S., who remarked that “With the pictures I took…you might guess one reason I was at Newport was to document everyone together”

…and while you are indulging telephotically, may we recommend you visit these lovely samplings from Claudia’s performance at Shapeshifter Lab. In addition to the always stimulating sight of CQ+1, you can see modern dance magicians Abigail Levine, Ellen

Fisher and their respective companies also in motion. Check out these photos, courtesy of Dave Kaufman, here.

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John Hollenbeck, you just finished a multi-band, multi-season, multi-nation tour, culminating in America’s greatest Jazz gathering. What are you going to do now?

His answer?

10 day silence.  No phone, internet, paper, pen, books and no communication—definitely my idea of ideal!. It was a meditation retreat I just came from.

Vipassana meditation, check out……dhamma.org

There you have it. Deliberate, thoroughgoing remove from the world at large and an outstanding inwards turn. Not quite “I’m going to Disneyland!”…Unless you’re John. Something to ponder as we flit from screen to screen in search of freedom…

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BREAKING:

John would like to congratulate and wish mighty luck to Juilian Külpmann and Martin Krümmling, one current and one former student, both recently announced as semifinalists for the 2012 Monk Competition. The competition focuses each year on a different instrument and this year will give awards for excellence in Drums and Composers (something about which all involved know much). Out of 12 semifinalists, Juilian & Martin are the only two from Germany.

Viel Erfolg!

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Did you know this year Claudia Quintet will be 15 years old? So far CQ seems to be managing puberty pretty well. The zits have been few, the growth spurts spastic and marvelous, and the change in voice moves ever-deeper with nary a squeak to be heard.

To celebrate turning 15, John has decided that starting in September he will be releasing for download one cut every month from his extensive library of live Claudia gigs. As anyone who’s seen them knows, this means the chance to own (and listen to, and re-listen to) a familiar yet strikingly parallel sonic experience that will augment and enrich any Claudia fan’s library of Hollensound.

Watch this space.

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We conclude with a link for an interview John recently gave to The Voice Magazine, A Publication of the Athabasca University Students’ Union. More insight into the man and his process, not to mention proof positive that greatness does not discriminate in its generosity of attention, whether on Alberta’s Voice Magazine or Manhattan’s Village Voice…

Check it out; go in peace.