GEORGE

Drummer/composer John Hollenbeck is a composer of music uncategorizable beyond the fact of being always identifiably his: a conceptualist able to translate the traditions of jazz and new music into a fresh, eclectic, forward-looking language of his own invention, a drummer and percussionist possessed of a playful versatility and a virtuosic wit, and a musical thinker allergic to repetition, forever seeking to surprise himself and his audiences. Hollenbeck formed GEORGE during the Covid pandemic, bringing together three musicians that he’d long admired – saxophonist/flutist Anna Webber and keyboardists/vocalists Chiquita Magic and Sarah Rossy.

Their group sound is firmly planted outside any categories or labels, as evidenced on their 2023 debut, Letters to George. Pitchfork called the album, “a whimsical effort largely guided by the diverse tastes of its members… an exercise in leaving things up to fate [that is] impulsive and fun, augmented by sounds more associated with dance music and alt-pop than free jazz.” The name GEORGE was chosen to reflect the elusive influences that go into the band’s idiosyncratic sound. By way of (a sort of) explanation, Hollenbeck cites the name’s derivation from the Greek word georgos meaning “farmer, earthworker” – not to mention a laundry list of namesakes including George Washington Carver, George Clooney, George Floyd, Georgia O’Keefe, Saint George, George Carlin, George Clinton… you get the picture.