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Vortex gig reviews by Chris Parker
Claudia Quintet
Wednesday 10 March
Claudia
Quintet's music has been memorably termed (in Downbeat) the 'sonic
equivalent of hand-woven tapestry', and this performance, attended by what
seemed to be every musician in London and environs, comprehensively demonstrated
the perspicacity of this description.
Drummer/leader/composer John Hollenbeck, like the celebrated New York musicians of the 1980s/1990s somewhat arbitrarily lumped together under the rubric 'Downtown' (a tag most of them disliked), is clearly a man with wide musical interests, and his pieces for the quintet (a sextet on this occasion, with the addition of pianist Matt Mitchell) draw on everything from free and structured jazz, through minimalism and contemporary classical music, to the more adventurous sorts of rock, but – more importantly – in accordance with the craft implied in Downbeat's comment, they are also precisely tailored to the particular skills and strengths of his band: Chris Speed (reeds), Matt Moran (vibes), Ted Reichman (accordion) and bassist Drew Gress.
Thus a specific number might begin with a subdued but intense introduction from clarinet and accordion over Gress's bowed bass, blossoming slowly, via the participation of Mitchell, working inside the piano to produce tiny tinkling sounds, and Hollenbeck and Moran's delicately percussive contributions, into a full-blown ensemble piece notable both for its textural originality (a defining feature of the band) and carefully restrained power.
Or an apparently tentative, free-ish rhythm will gradually strengthen, via a series of subtle solo contributions (Speed's clarinet particularly adept at this) into a relatively conventional-sounding jazz groove, or even an emphatic rock beat.
Hollenbeck is on record as hoping his quintet's music will appeal to the 'deep, patient listener', and this multi-faceted, carefully wrought, slow-burning performance certainly achieved this commendable goal.
Chris Parker
Chris Parker was commissioning editor for Quartet Books jazz list and
publisher of Wire magazine and has written on jazz forJazz Review
and Jazzwise, the Independent, the Daily Telegraph
and The Times).
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