John Hollenbeck & Hot Club Jazz Orchestra to Release PEACE AND JUSTICE

John Hollenbeck and the HOT CLUB JAZZ ORCHESTRA are set to release PEACE AND JUSTICE, a large-ensemble recording on Flexatonic Records rooted in a commission that was interrupted by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Hollenbeck and the orchestra, who first performed together more than a decade earlier in Lisbon, began work on the project in 2022 and recorded it at Canoa Studios as international travel resumed following the pandemic.

John Hollenbeck reunites with the Hot Club Jazz Orchestra for Peace and Justice, a large-ensemble recording shaped by resilience, international collaboration, and the call for hope in turbulent times.

More than a decade after a concert together in Lisbon, Hollenbeck and the orchestra began work on the project in 2022, recording June 4–6 at Canoa Studios just as international travel resumed following the pandemic. Earlier that year, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine had brought a commissioned project Hollenbeck was developing in Kyiv to an abrupt halt. When the opportunity arose to work again with the Hot Club Jazz Orchestra, he chose to bring two arrangements from that unfinished project into the new recording, allowing music that had been interrupted by the war to find a new context. From these circumstances emerged a recording that affirms connection, solidarity, and the transformative power of music.

Originally commissioned in late 2021 by Ukrainian curator Olha Bekenshtein, the project was intended to feature Hollenbeck's arrangements of Ukrainian music. Although the original commission could not take place, its spirit resonates throughout the album. Two Ukrainian works anchor the recording, including 'Red Shades,' Hollenbeck's arrangement of the historic anthem 'Oi u luzi chervona kalyna' ('Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow'), written in 1914 by Stepan Charnetskyi and revived in 2022 as a symbol of Ukrainian resistance. A second Ukrainian carol from the Kharkiv region, 'In the Middle of the Yard,' builds hypnotically through repetition and evolution.

These works inspired the album's title and its original centerpiece, 'Peace and Justice'—a bold brass-and-rhythm statement written as both declaration and aspiration. As Bekenshtein writes in her liner notes, 'Holding onto it, hoping for it, is something we must all actively practice.'

The program bridges past and present, old and new:

'Sinanari,' originally written for and recorded by Claudia Quintet, transforms a popular Turkish song into a dynamic big band mash-up, pairing its melody-turned-bassline with a John Bonham-inspired drum groove.

'Racing Heart, Heart Racing' revisits a piece originally written for the Orchestre National de Jazz and featured on Shut Up and Dance, culminating in a luminous bass clarinet melody Hollenbeck calls one of his most personal.

'Sighs' explores collective gesture and breath, framed by a pulsing prepared piano and a spoken meditation in English and Portuguese.

'Feed the Fire' honors the late Geri Allen, incorporating transcribed elements from her celebrated trio recording with Ron Carter while opening expansive space for improvisation.

'Verbena' and 'Power of Water' also revisit material from Shut Up and Dance, with the latter concluding with the entire band singing—an unexpected communal release.

Throughout, Hollenbeck's approach—deconstructing form while preserving emotional core—meets the depth and precision of the Hot Club Jazz Orchestra. Produced by John Hollenbeck and Luís Cunha, mixed by André Tavares, and mastered by German engineer Adrian von Ripka, the album carries both sonic clarity and emotional weight. The cover artwork is by the design team karlssonwilker, longtime collaborators of Hollenbeck since 2000.

Released on Hollenbeck's nonprofit label, Flexatonic Records, Peace and Justice stands as both artistic statement and act of solidarity—a gathering of musicians around shared purpose. In Bekenshtein's words, it is 'a much-needed practice of hope.'

Track Listing

1. Sinanari (4:32)

2. Peace and Justice (6:03)

3. Racing Heart, Heart Racing (7:58)

4. Red Shades (8:00)

5. Sighs (5:49)

6. In the Middle of the Yard (7:59)

7. Feed the Fire (10:11)

8. Verbena (5:26)

9. Power of Water (11:11)

Personnel

John Hollenbeck & Hot Club Jazz Orchestra

Rita Maria – voice

Tomás Marques, Mateja Dolsak – alto saxophones

César Cardoso, João Capinha – tenor saxophones/clarinets/flute

Paulo Gaspar – baritone sax/bass clarinet

Lars Arens, Xavier Ribeiro, Rui Ferreira – trombones

Rui Bandeira – bass trombone

Micael Pereira, Gonçalo Marques, Tomás Pimentel, Johannes Krieger – trumpet/flugelhorn

Nuno Costa – guitar

Óscar Graça – piano/keyboards

Demian Cabaud – bass

Pedro Felgar – drums (tracks 2, 3, 4, 5, 9)

John Hollenbeck – drums

Luís Cunha – conductor

Music composed and arranged by John Hollenbeck

'Feed the Fire' composed by Geri Allen

Recorded at Canoa Studios, June 2022

Mixed by André Tavares

Mastered by Adrian von Ripka

Liner notes by Olha Bekenshtein

Artwork by karlssonwilker

The album grew out of a commission originally proposed in late 2021 by Ukrainian curator Olha Bekenshtein, which had called for Hollenbeck to arrange Ukrainian music before the project was halted. Two Ukrainian works, including an arrangement of the 1914 anthem 'Oi u luzi chervona kalyna,' anchor the finished recording alongside new material developed for the Hot Club Jazz Orchestra.

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