The Claudia Quintet — Semi-Formal

The Refusenicks, a trio around percussionist John Hollenbeck, had an inside joke going on about a fan named Claudia who they met at their first show. Her name kept lingering among the members of the band resulting in some sort of collective fantasy. The band fell apart and Hollenbeck went on to form a quintet. Searching for a name Hollenback wanted to tribute his old band (among other reasons) and named it the Claudia Quintet.

John wanted the band to maintain a female quality, and indeed, you won’t find much testosterone in their music. One of the main reasons might easily be Chris Speed’s delicate clarinet-tone (which you might know from Pachora, Jim Black’s Alasnoaxis and several projects of his own), which was instantly recognizable when I played the CD for the first time, without having read the bio or linernotes yet. It’s also an element that points at Tzadik, or the New York downtown jazz scene. A scene where also Drew Gress is a household name. Accordionist Ted Reichman played with both Anthony Braxton as well as Paul Simon and John’s old friend Matt Moran on vibes completes the quintet. All members play several instruments, so you hear much more instruments that the five maininstruments.

The music is a mix between notated parts and improvisation, which you can typify a chamberversion of jazz. Complex structures are played with such a finesse and delicacy that you don’t perceive them as such, they tend to work in a more textural way. The sound of the vibes often adds a lot of depth to the sound and as a side-effect also makes you think of Tortoise, although Claudia Quintet have a higher pace and are more rooted in jazz. After two quick tunes, the band slows down to an almost Morton Feldman-like pace in Kord, rudely interrupted by the fast groove of They Point... Glance... Whisper... Then Snicker..., while the vibes seem to maintain the slowness of the previous track, to finally get along with the jungle-ish drums for a fullblown jazzsolo. Susan reminds of Bill Frisell’s work on albums like This Land. In Limp Mint it seems we are taken to a birdgarden. After little more than an hour the album closes with Minor Nelson, which has an electronic appeal to it.

Semi-Formal is a varied album, with a very friendly sound. Great musicianship and lots of exciting ideas and moods that escape the pigeonholes of tradtional jazz and contemporary composed music easily.