The complex music of the Claudia Quintet relies on somewhat unusual instrumentation – including accordion and vibes, at times bowed – providing a dense, beautiful setting for drummer/bandleader John Hollenbeck’s pieces. Innovative, improvised, at times carefully composed, sometimes not even written down, it’s what we call jazz these days, for lack of a better word. And since the Redwood Jazz Alliance put on the show at the Arcata Playhouse, that will do. Hollenbeck is on drums, and occasional samples (as here),
Chris Speed on reeds, sax and clarinet. (You might have seen him play with former local Trevor Dunn, Oscar Noriega and Jim Black in Endangered Blood.)
Matt Moran on vibes. (Also leader of the red hot Slavic Soul Party.)
Red Wierenga on accordion and Chris Tordini on bass.
And as the RJA pointed out, no one in the Brooklyn band is named Claudia. We forgot to ask who she is, probably someone that Hollenbeck didn’t want to forget.
This article appears in Dead and Disconnected.
