John Hollenbeck's Claudia Quintet at La Peg

Ars Nova Workshop is pleased to present the return of The Claudia Quintet, celebrating the release of their eighth album, Super Petite.

On Super Petite, the eighth release by the critically-acclaimed, proudly eccentric Claudia Quintet, drummer-composer John Hollenbeck - known for his work with Meredith Monk and Bob Brookmeyer - acrobatically explores the dichotomy between brevity and complexity. The oxymoronic title of the new album, released in May 2016 by Cuneiform Records, captures the essence of its ten new compositions, which pack all of the wit and virtuosity that listeners have come to expect from the Claudia Quintet into the time frame of radio-friendly pop songs....

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Ars Nova Workshop is pleased to present the return of The Claudia Quintet, celebrating the release of their eighth album, Super Petite.

On Super Petite, the eighth release by the critically-acclaimed, proudly eccentric Claudia Quintet, drummer-composer John Hollenbeck - known for his work with Meredith Monk and Bob Brookmeyer - acrobatically explores the dichotomy between brevity and complexity. The oxymoronic title of the new album, released in May 2016 by Cuneiform Records, captures the essence of its ten new compositions, which pack all of the wit and virtuosity that listeners have come to expect from the Claudia Quintet into the time frame of radio-friendly pop songs.

The Huffington Post praised the album, saying, “Mr. Hollenbeck can find inspiration in almost anything from the most mundane to the most magical… The music follows no dictates; it simply uses Hollenbeck’s skills at composition and orchestration, his musicians’ virtuosity and the seasoned simpatico of the group to paint an aural image.”

Formed in 1997, The Claudia Quintet is one of the most innovative groups to spring from the creativity of New York’s downtown music scene. Hollenbeck, a four-time Grammy nominee, named the band for an effusive audience member at an early show who vowed to return for future performances and never did – an act which sparked the imagination of the drummer and gave him a moniker to fit the collective ensemble he envisioned. The band boasts unique instrumentation and a lineup composed of some of the finest exploratory instrumentalists in modern jazz. The Claudia Quintet has remained true to its original mission of creating distinctive improvisational chamber music that defies categorization. Over the course of 19 years and eight critically-acclaimed albums, the band has forged an astounding chemistry and become expert at juggling mind-boggling dexterity with inviting emotion and spirit.

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