Looking for Consonance GEORGE & John Hollenbeck

• 1 bounce 10:03
• 2 Lewis (dedicated to George Lewis) 08:14
• 3 Nassam Alayna-LHawa (a diasporic offering for peace) 04:50
• 4 George and Dee (dedicated to George and Dee Gamble) 03:23
• 5 Georgist 04:14
• 6 Porter (10,000 men named George) 02:39
• 7 Norma (in support of reproductive autonomy) 04:15
• 8 Unicornio (for the Global South, in movement and resilience) 05:43
• 9 Johnson (dedicated to George F. Johnson) 03:27
• 10 Wayne Phases (dedicated to Wayne Shorter) 11:52
• Total Runtime 58:40

Info zu Looking for Consonance

The title Looking for Consonance popped into my head one day as I began thinking about a name for this collection of music. This title immediately felt important, so I kept sitting with it. I thought I knew what consonance meant in music, but I also knew it carried other meanings—ones that extend well beyond sound. Webster’s Dictionary defines consonance as “the harmony or agreement of sounds produced simultaneously, resulting in a pleasing and stable auditory experience.” The word that stands out most to me there is stable. I think we’re all searching for something that resembles stability. Agreement and harmony would be incredible—but that kind of harmony would require people to give up some of their own certainty, their own opinions. And I’m aware that even gestures meant to honor life can provoke resistance or offense, as was the case with the naming of this band, our tribute to George Floyd.

I’m also fully aware that consonance and dissonance are subjective. I love both dense, asymmetric rhythms and atonal harmonies just as much as a simple major or minor triad, or the most stripped-down groove. Everyone has their own consonance–dissonance meter, and their own level of tolerance. In music, consonance is often defined in opposition to dissonance. Dissonance creates tension and instability, and it’s meaningful precisely because it can resolve into something more grounded and calmer. In that sense, dissonance isn’t the enemy of consonance—it’s a requirement. To find consonance, you must pass through tension. You must walk through the Fire Swamp (yes, I recently rewatched The Princess Bride) to get to a safe place.

But maybe I should have started with the word Looking because regardless of what consonance means to you, this record is about looking—about aspiration—about hope. I realized a few years ago that most of my music is either an experiment or an aspiration, and this one is both. I’m deeply grateful to Anna, Sarah, and Isis, who have enthusiastically gone on this journey with me. (John Hollenbeck, Montréal, Quebec, Canada)

"Richly detailed, Looking For Consonance, may prove challenging for casual listen. Still, the group’s fluid command of odd meters and genre-crossing expression ultimately feels organic, inviting listeners to yield to its intricate rhythmic and improvisational allure." (jazztrail.net)

Anna Webber, tenor saxophone, flute, alto flute
Sarah Rossy, voice, synthesizer
Chiquita Magic, synthesizers, voice
John Hollenbeck, drums, glockenspiel, composition

Recorded at Hansa Studios November 5-6, 2024
Engineered by Nanni Johansson
Mastered by Frida Claeson Johansson

GEORGE & John Hollenbeck
From the Greek name Georgios, which was derived from the Greek word georgos meaning “farmer, earthworker”, itself derived from the elements γῆ (ge) meaning “earth” and ergon meaning “work”.

George Washington Carver, George Gervin, George Clooney, George Floyd, George Wein, Georgia (the state and the country), Georgia O’Keefe, Saint George, George Saunders, George Michael, George Carlin, George Clinton, George Frideric Handel, George Orwell, Boy George, Curious George, George the magazine, etc…

John Hollenbeck formed GEORGE during the Covid pandemic. He brought together three great musicians/people whom he loved and admired for a long time! Even though most of the members had never met each other, John was confident from knowing them himself, that this group would immediately be, as one of the members calls it, “tight” (which means “very cool” in case you were wondering.) Their group sound is firmly planted outside any categories or labels, so good luck with that! They remotely recorded a literal “Proof of Concept” in March 2021 and finally met in person in January 2022 in Montreal, Canada where they recorded Letters to George, which was released on vinyl/cd/digitally on Out Of Your Head Records on January 27, 2023. On August 27th, 2023, GEORGE released “short”, 4 re-composed remixes based on improvisations from their 1st recording session.

The group combines strategies from experimental jazz, ambient electronics, chamber music and more — with myriad elements converging on ‘Earthworker,’ which neatly sets Nealand’s wordless soprano against Webber’s flute.

Elsewhere on Letters to George, the group moves into different sonic dimensions, even venturing a spooked-out cover of Sonny Bono’s ‘Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down),’ best known for hit versions by Cher and Nancy Sinatra. The album’s gratis track on Bandcamp is a nightmare vision titled ‘Can You Imagine This?’ — opening with a scream, and thrashing forward in a coordinated blur.” – Nate Chinen, WRTI 90.1

Dieses Album enthält kein Booklet