JOHN HOLLENBECK
Acclaimed interdisciplinary composer, drummer and six-time Grammy nominee John Hollenbeck is pleased to present his ninth album of large-ensemble music in 19 years, the spellbinding Colouring Hockets. This vibrant set of music was conceived for and brought to life by the famed NDR Bigband, an elite German group founded in 1945 by the Hamburg-based public broadcast institution Norddeutscher Rundfunk. Colouring Hockets takes advantage of Hollenbeck’s well-established aptitude for writing for big assemblages—a talent he’s honed with his own Large Ensemble and other groups. But he renders the familiar new and fantastical by integrating a percussion quartet into the ensemble: blended, yet distinct.
The format was suggested by NDR Bigband percussionist Marcio Doctor, a Grammy award-winning percussionist and composer. Originally from Buenos Aires, Doctor has collaborated with a diverse range of star composers and performers, including Carla Bley, the Brecker Brothers, Vince Mendoza and Bob Mintzer. As a longtime NDR member, thinking big comes naturally to Doctor, who described his aspirations in a mission statement:
“Inspired by my love for jazz, improvised music, contemporary, and ethnic music, I dreamed of creating a sound and setting that I hadn’t heard before for this new project. The core sound of marimba, vibraphone, drumset, and hand-drums plus the brass and woodwinds felt very appealing to me. Rhythm being the driving force, but with an emphasis on timbre and texture as well.”
Doctor also expressed admiration for the way Hollenbeck’s writing slips into the cracks between disparate styles of music – progressive jazz, contemporary classical music, post-rock, and so on.
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