Atlantis Quartet

Atlantis Quartet
On the main stage at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, 2014.
On the main stage at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, 2014.
Background information
OriginMinneapolis
GenresJazz, post-bop, jazz fusion
Years active2006–present
LabelsShifting Paradigm
MembersBrandon Wozniak
Zacc Harris
Chris Bates
Pete Hennig
Past membersTravis Schilling
Websiteatlantisquartet.com

The Atlantis Quartet is a musical group established in 2006 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

History

The Atlantis Quartet was formed in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, after guitarist Zacc Harris moved from Southern Illinois to Minneapolis in 2005 and met drummer Pete Hennnig while playing in an R&B band led by John Starkey.[1][2] After working briefly as a quintet with a pianist, the group solidified their lineup with reed player Brandon Wozniak and bassist Chris Bates (who replaced Travis Schilling in 2008). They performed regularly at the Artists' Quarter and Clown Lounge, toured throughout the midwest (including gigs at The Jazz Showcase and The Dakota), and performed at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, the Iowa City Jazz Festival, as well as three clubs (L.I.C. Bar, Puppets Jazz Bar, and Miles Cafe) in New York City in 2011. Atlantis Quartet self-released three albums, followed by two more on the Shifting Paradigm record label. The group recorded a live performance at Icehouse in Minneapolis on November 24, 2014 for a planned future release.[3] Although their records have focused on original compositions by all four members, from 2008 to 2011 the quartet performed annual Halloween shows in which they interpreted other artists' albums, including The Bridge, Head Hunters, A Love Supreme, and Houses of the Holy.[4][5]

Style and reception

On Atlantis Quartet's debut album, Again, Too Soon, All About Jazz reported that they "create an aura of musical textures that sound as fresh and relevant as they did in Miles Davis' heyday" and while "they're all talented songwriters, attacking their compositions with utmost earnestness...they sound as if they're just having fun."[6] In a review of their second album, Animal Progress, JazzTimes critic Bill Milkowski called the Atlantis Quartet "modern jazz renegades" who "shift nimbly from a punk-jazz aesthetic to ECM-ish sensitivity."[7] Regarding the same album, City Pages writer Rick Mason described "a signature Atlantis sound that taps historic elements like swing, bop, and free jazz while referencing contemporary bits of funk, rock, and world music, then rolls it all into a cohesive bundle of kinetic energy with the visceral allure of intense fireworks and the intellectual challenge of multilayered complexity."[8] Of their fourth album, Expansion, MPR's David Cazares wrote that they "deliver rapid-fire licks in complex rhythms and changing tempos, much like the best jazz-rock ensembles of the 1970s."[9]

Awards

McKnight Fellowship for Performing Musicians, 2015[10]
Star Tribune, Best of Minnesota, 2012
City Pages, Best Jazz Artist in Minnesota, 2011
City Pages, Top 10 Minnesota Albums, 2011
Minnesota Emerging Composers Award, 2010 (Pete Hennig)[5]

Discography

  • Hello Human (Shifting Paradigm, 2018)
  • x (Shifting Paradigm, 2016) digital-only release of complete recordings 2006-2016
  • Expansion (Shifting Paradigm, 2013)
  • Lines in the Sand (2011) recorded live at the Artists' Quarter
  • Animal Progress (2009)
  • Again, Too Soon (2007)

References

  1. ^ Stewart, Brent. "Homecoming: Zacc Harris Returns to Southern Illinois with Atlantis Quartet." The Southern, 14 Feb. 2008. Web. 14 June 2015.
  2. ^ Cazares, David. "Jazz Guitarist Zacc Harris Blends Tradition and Novelty on 'The Garden'" MPR News, 8 May 2012. Web. 20 June 2015.
  3. ^ Oxford, Tracy. "Atlantis Quartet Recording Live At Icehouse." Secrets of the City, 24 Nov. 2014. Web. 20 June 2015.
  4. ^ Hobbes, Dwight. "Zacc Harris of the Atlantis Quartet on Jazz, Leaving Wiggle Room, and the Future of the Clown Lounge." Twin Cities Daily Planet, 04 Feb. 2011. Web. 14 June 2015.
  5. ^ a b Robson, Britt. "Four on the floor - With each member contributing songs, the freewheeling Atlantis Quartet is firing on all cylinders." Star Tribune: 28 Oct. 2011, Metro, Variety: 05E. NewsBank. Web. 14 Jun. 2015.
  6. ^ Basiliere, Aaron. "Atlantis Quartet: Again, Too Soon." All About Jazz, 12 May 2009. Web. 20 June 2015.
  7. ^ Milkowski, Bill. "Jazz Reviews: Animal Progress Atlantis Quartet." JazzTimes, 1 June 2010. Web. 20 June 2015.
  8. ^ Mason, Rick. "Atlantis Quartet: Animal Progress." City Pages, 20 Jan. 2010. Web. 20 June 2015.
  9. ^ Cazares, David. "Atlantis Quartet Expands Musical Vision on New CD." State of the Arts. MPR News, 4 Oct. 2013. Web. 20 June 2015.
  10. ^ Espeland, Pamela. "4 Musicians/ensembles and 4 Composers Win 2015 McKnight Fellowships." Artscape. MinnPost, 28 May 2015. Web. 10 June 2015.