A Blessing

John Hollenbeck, John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 15, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: OmniTone
• ASIN: B0007VBO34
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #157,206 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. A Blessing (16:00)

2. Folkmoot (7:24)

3. RAM (8:11)

4. Weiji (5:53)

5. Abstinence (12:11)

6. April in Reggae (7:20)

7. The Music of Life (5:28)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"a real ensemble record the musicians play in tight, arranged sections teasing out weird timbres and textures." --The New York Times

Product Description

John Hollenbeck doesn't march to the beat of a different drummer; he is that drummer ... and percussionist and composer.  And maybe that's why interdisciplinary performance pioneer Meredith Monk enlisted John to collaborate on her recent projects and calls him "one of the most brilliant musicians I've had the privilege of working with."

A Blessing, this debut recording of his "Large Ensemble" (he thinks of the 18-piece aggregation as an "ensemble of musicians" rather than a big band) takes big band sound, energy, and force, and uses it a way that doesn't sound dated or generic to create personal, non-genre specific music.

In addition to the fascinating extended melodies and overlaid rhythmic textures that are trademarks of John's approach, varied timbres (including "bowed vibes," English horns, and the human voice as an ensemble instrument) color and illuminate the music. Otherwise quirky juxtapositions of materials and ideas make sense together when John combines them. "April in Reggae" — replete with a quote from "April in Paris" toward the end — is a tune John intended to "swim in between reggae and swing."  His "Folkmoot" honors pianist and radio host Marian McPartland and saxophonist/composer Jimmy Giuffre.

The non-verbal voice of vocally astounding Theo Bleckmann, "the band's secret weapon," permeates the record, ranging from the panting and grunting in "Weiji," to sci-fi outer space sounds whirring by in "Abstinence," to instilling pure and ethereal tone as it intermingles with bassist Kermit Driscoll's bass harmonics at the end of "The Music of Life."  And Bleckman also delivers two texts — a blessing and a prayer — that appropriately enough frame the CD.

John based "A Blessing" on the words to the Irish Blessing that were printed on the mass card at his grandmother's funeral. "While I had seen this text many times, it didn't resonate with me until that moment," recalls John. Likewise, "The Music of Life," with words from Hazrat Inayat Khan, fits that utopian ideal. John describes the piece as "a simple chant-like piece that sums up why we are doing what we are doing. Because we feel that music can change lives, it can heal."

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very great disc . . ., September 4, 2005

By 

Jan P. Dennis "Longboard jazzer" (Monument, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Blessing (Audio CD)

. . . right up there with Omar Sosa's Pictures of Soul and Mulatos, Evyind Kang's Virginal Co Ordinates, Rita Marcotulli's Koine, Wayne Shorter's Alegria, Horace Tapscott's The Dark Tree I and II, Dave Douglas's Witness, and Henri Texier's Mad Nomad(s). If you know anything about me as a reviewer, you know that that is the highest praise I can give a record.

One of the things that makes this such a great disc is a strategy leader Hollenbeck employs here and on his two Claudia Quintet recordings--he presents familiar instruments in unlikely settings. The most remarkable instrument on this disc may be the voice of Theo Bleckmann. Ranging from crystalline lyrical renderings ("A Blessing" and "The Music of Life") to simply stunning vocal gymnastics on, for example, "Weiji," Bleckmann always impresses. More proof of Hollenbeck's weirdly savvy use of instrumentation is the vibes/piano duet passage in "RAM"--the way these two percussive instruments dance and interact supported by electric bass and percussion may be unique in the history of recorded music. As with his remarkable disc, I Claudia, Hollenbeck has conceived and set within unique voicings a wide range of instrumentation. Since he's working with a much broader palette of instruments on this disc, his accomplishment is all the more remarkable.

Another thing that sets this disc apart is the ease with which Hollenbeck navigates between and among genres. In the course of the startling music represented here, he moves with perfect ease between folkish world-jazz, New Music, classical, chamber jazz, Minimalism, and a sort of post-Mingus morphing big-band jazz--sometimes all at once, as on "Folkmoot." Indeed, this may be the single most eclectic yet cohesive musical concoction ever recorded. I hear everything from Charles Ives-ish heartland dissonance to John Adams-like anthemic moves to Steve Reich-type minimalism to Mingus big-band freak-out. There's also touches of Dave Douglas expressivism, as well as, of all things, a kind of almost neo-Township vibe--one imagines Johnny Dyani and Chris McGregor would feel absolutely at home in this setting, not to mention fellow percussive master Louis Moholo or that great English Township-jazz revivalist group, The Dedication Orchestra. Virtuoso beyond imagining, the present disc under review is always, remarkably, listener-friendly, which is not always the case with such heady, highly conceptualized music.

Because of his ability to write for and record with two such diverse ensembles, namely, the Claudia Quintet and this, his Large Ensemble, John Hollenbeck vaults to the very front lines of modern music masters. A Blessing is absolutely mesmerizing, and certainly not to be missed. May well end up being the record of the year, if not the decade.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clever Collage of Sounds, December 31, 2008

By 

Scott Williams "sneakyneighborsdog" (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Blessing (Audio CD)

Overview:
A Blessing is everything you want in a big band jazz album. John Hollenbeck is a creative, clever song writer and he really knows how to leverage a big band. You don't have 4 horn players playing the same line in unison here. Each song has many cool parts and sub themes, and each of these sections feature various subsets of the big band and employ different tempos which create a wide variety of sounds, moods, and textures. Overall the mood of the album in similar to the moods Hollenbeck creates with his Claudia Quintet group. Vocals are used tastefully and sparingly on the album and are song by Theo Bleckmann. The band is made up of Rob Hudson, Kurtis Pivert, Jacob Garchik, and Alan Ferber on Trombone. Jon Owens, Tony Kadleck, Dave Ballou, and Laurie Frink play the trumpet. The group is highlighted by the rhythm section and premiere soloists of Kermit Driscoll on bass, Hollenbeck on drums, Gary Versace on piano, and Matt Moran on vibes. Both this album and Hollenbeck's other recent big band album Joys and Desire are excellent, but this one is my favorite of the two.

Song Highlights:
Folkmoot: This is my favorite piece on the album. There are so many cool subsections on this song, but none are better by the opening interactive piano line with percussive staccato horns. But Hollenbeck doesn't stop there; the cool themes just keep on coming in this tune. I think of grandiose folklore and fairytales when I listen to it.

Weiji: This piece reminds me of Ornette Coleman and Pat Methaney's Song X. It is very abstract and alien. Totally different from everything else on the album, yet it fits in perfectly.

Abstinence: This tune has a kicking bass line. This piece is featured on Hollenbeck's Joy's and Desires as well. It is interesting to compare the two versions. I think this version is a little bit more controlled and note quite as over the top. In general that is really a key difference between `Joys and Desires' and `A Blessing'. `A Blessing' is more subtle and even. It is great from start to finish, while `Joys and Desires' is more abrasive and out there. 'Joys and Desires' has some wonderful highs, but also some lows. There really aren't any lows on 'A Blessing'. It is a great listen from minute 1 until the end.

Modern Big Band Jazz doesn't get any better than this.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is not my world..., June 29, 2008

By 

jive rhapsodist (NYC, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Blessing (Audio CD)

...but the excellence of the achievement cannot be denied. But I'll be really happy when the accoutrements of Post-Minimalism, or Totalism, or whatever you want to call it, pass into history. Every development has its necessity - even I have to admit this. Neo - Classicism, Disco, Soft Rock, Glenn Miller...whatever you can think of. It all fit into its particular Zeitgeist. So, OK, can I change the channel now and move up about ten years? Pretty, pretty...we can hear traces of Reich and Reilly, Andreissen, Bjork, Maria S., Fripp and the whole King Crimson thing. And lots more besides. Not like I'm trying to deny Hollenbeck's originality - I'm just sayin'. But Man! What's with the Kitsch piano interludes? The way they combine with the English Horn on Folkmoot feels well - nigh indefensible. But Hollenbeck - for better or worse - has done the best job so far in combining the Internationally omnipresent Post - Mini language with Jazz, although for my taste the result could be funkier or less homogenized . Most of the references in this music seem to come from (I'll try to say this in the nicest and most delicate way possible) the Dominant Culture, if you catch my drift. But artists have to be true to themselves. A couple of real issues, though. The orchestration is truly BLAND! And the drum sound comes right out of Buddy Rich and the Tonight Show. Which renders some of the Free Jazz-isms in a track like RAM unintentionally hilarious. Look, I don't really like this record. But I think it's quite important, and anybody who wants to know what the paradigms are today needs to hear it. It makes me want to go back to school and get another degree, this time in Semiotics. Another money - making proposition!