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John Hollenbeck: Songs You Like A Lot

By Dan Bilawsky
January 14, 2021
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Every ending a beginning, each conclusion an act of creation. If multi-hyphenate

John Hollenbeck

drums
b.1968

" data-original-title="" title="">John Hollenbeck's Songs You Like A Lot doesn't slot within that sentiment, nothing really does. This collection marks the completion of a lauded trilogy that's stretched out across the better part of a decade, but it also signals the start of something new—the Flexatonic Arts non-profit, which will serve as an umbrella for Hollenbeck's arts and education initiatives, and the record label it houses, acting as a home for Hollenbeck's past releases and future projects.

Joining forces with the same titanic talents who appeared on Songs I Like a Lot (Sunnyside, 2013) and Songs We Like a Lot (Sunnyside, 2015) —vocalists

Theo Bleckmann

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Theo Bleckmann and

Kate McGarry

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Kate McGarry, pianist/organist

Gary Versace

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Gary Versace and the Frankfurt Radio Big Band—Hollenbeck has his way with pop, disco, folk and stage classics, adding significant depth and dimension(s) to everything he touches. All of the selections, save for his own "Kindness," are part of a firm structure of collective cultural experiences we've spied through radios, concerts, films and/or theater, yet all prove perfectly malleable in the hands of this protean arranger.

One need only take a single listen to the opener—"Down to the River to Pray," popularized through its inclusion in the 2001 film O Brother, Where Art Thou? —to realize how Hollenbeck unlocks the potential within a composition. McGarry and Bleckmann offer a relatively faithful, harmonized introduction, but then each verse takes on its own character, both in line with and independent of the others. Not surprisingly, all aspects eventually reach a merger that demonstrates clear compatibility. Offering an expansive yet honest look at the original harmonies, some glimmering textural wonders, and notable solos from bassist

Hans Glawischnig

bass
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Hans Glawischnig, guitarist

Martin Scales

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Martin Scales and pianist

Gary Versace

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Gary Versace, it proves to be a highlight before anything else is even considered.

The remaining seven wonders further the image of Hollenbeck as a thoughtful writer. His take on Joni Mitchell's "Blue" blooms from a curious exchange from Versace's organ and

Oliver Leicht

clarinet

" data-original-title="" title="">Oliver Leicht's clarinet, taking clearer shape as a gliding, soft-bedded beauty tailor-made for Bleckmann's voice. The interpretation of The Bee Gees' "How Deep Is Your Love?" puts the titular question under examination, with angular assertions, swimming and dovetailing lines, exclamatory ensemble phrasing (around the question at hand), and propulsive grooving under

Steffen Weber

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Steffen Weber's tenor stand. And "Fire and Rain" finds Glawischnig setting the scene, gracefully flowing streams reflecting a light in their crossings,

Christian Jaksjø

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Christian Jaksj? adding his tasteful trombone to the mix, and McGarry making the well-covered vocals her own.

Axel Schlosser

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Axel Schlosser's funky trumpet work ushers in Peter Gabriel's "Don't Give Up," a rock-fronted performance that kicks off the second half of the album and eventually settles down on its familiar stylistic and sonic plane. The major twists? A role reversal, flipping the original Gabriel and Kate Bush parts for Bleckmann and McGarry, and a brief tangle leading to the curtains-signaling, emphatic "Don't" capper. Hollenbeck's "Kindness" follows, serving as the one true outlier on an album of fan-favorite familiars. But if it doesn't exactly fit the theme, it still manages to sit well in the mix. Naomi Shihab Nye's poetry serves as the spine of the composition and the Frankfurt Radio Big Band's sensitive treatment of Hollenbeck's writing elevates the words in motion.

With Hollenbeck's literal and topical embrace of "Pure Imagination," laid out as a kaleidoscopic fantasy for and by Versace and Bleckmann, and his brilliant derrangement of "God Only Knows" (dubbed "Knows Only God"), the album reaches a conclusion tied to the very essence of Hollenbeck's art. Creating music cradled by logic yet crafted with ingenuity, this brilliant artist reminds us why we liked these songs in the first place and how each one can serve as a vehicle for serious understanding and meaningful exchange(s) on multiple levels.

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Track Listing

Down to the River to Pray; Blue; How Deep Is Your Love?; Fire and Rain; Don't Give Up; Kindness; Pure Imagination; Knows Only God (God Only Knows).

Personnel

John Hollenbeck

drums

Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn

saxophone, alto

Oliver Leicht

clarinet

Ben Kraef

saxophone, tenor

Steffen Weber

saxophone, tenor

Rainer Heute

saxophone, baritone

Frank Wellert

trumpet

Thomas Vogel

trumpet

Martin Auer

trumpet

Axel Schlosser

trumpet

Christian Jaksj?

trumpet

Felix Fromm

trombone

Shannon Barnett

trombone

Martin Scales

guitar

Hans Glawischnig

bass

Jean Paul H?chst?dter

drums

Claus Kiesselbach

percussion

Gary Versace

piano

Kate McGarry

vocals

Theo Bleckmann

vocals

Additional Instrumentation

Manfred Honetschl?ger: bass trombone.

Album information

Title: Songs You Like a Lot | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Flexatonic Records label

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