Eric Hochberg’s “StringThing” to Bring Different Quintet Standard for Jazz Festival Performance

Bassist Eric Hochberg will present "StringThing," his ensemble with violin and cello frontline, at the upcoming Chicago Jazz Festival. Photograph by Michael Jackson

Let’s revisit the recording still revered seven decades after its release as be-bop’s baptism: The Quintet: Jazz at Massey Hall. Bird, Diz, Bud, Charles, and Max permanently implanted their “Big Foot” print followed by this music’s messengers then, now, and into infinity.

Here in Chicago, the classic quintet model continued to be championed in the 1980s by folks like trumpeter Brad Goode and saxophonist Barry Winograd, and today by trumpeter Marques Carroll, among countless other cats. Remember Ernest Dawkins’ New Horizons Ensemble? As a quintet, it featured saxophone, trumpet, and trombone out front backed by bass and drums.

Gotta question for you: Have you ever experienced a quintet with violin and cello on the frontline joined by piano, bass, and drums? Does such an animal even exist?

Bassist Eric Hochberg would respond in the affirmative to both questions. “StringThing,” his ensemble that includes violinist Mark Feldman, cellist Larry Gray, pianist Steve Million, and drummer Michael Raynor, will prove their existence at the Chicago Jazz Festival on Friday, September 1, 11:30 a.m., at the Von Freeman Stage.

Hochberg, active on Chicago’s scene since the early ‘70s, has performed internationally and recorded with drummer Paul Wertico, the Rob Parton Big Band, and vocalist Josie Falbo, and live dates with more than 100 other musicians. He recently discussed how StringThing’s new, self-titled recording originated.

“In 2022, the International Society of Bassists (ISB) held a convention. It was virtual, as it had been for the past two years, and I was asked to put something together,” he said. “I had been thinking about doing something with Larry and Mark, and I thought this would be a good opportunity.

“It was recorded ‘Live’ and ran during the convention,” Hochberg added about the 47-minute performance, which is available on youtube.com. (Type in “Eric Hochberg’s String Thing” for access.) “I approached this as if Larry and Mark were frontline horn players, and I just decided, ‘Let’s try this with cello and violin and see what happens.’ ”

“Past Tense,” the opener, first appeared on an album by saxophonist Steve Eisen that also featured Hochberg and drummer Andrew Potter. Track two, “Song for Sarah,” is the first song devoted to someone special. 

“I wrote that song for my wife. It was released on an album by a group I was in called 3,” Hochberg said. “That was a piano trio with Brad Williams and (drummer) Jim Widlowski. I thought it would be a beautiful, lyrical tune for StringThing.”

“Taliaville” and “Testament” first appeared on Paul Wertico’s Don’t Be Scared Anymore, which also included guitarist John Moulder. Hochberg titled the first tune to honor Talia, Wertico’s daughter, who also sang on one other track. Hochberg, who also played trumpet and guitar on this recording, described “Testament,” which closes StringThing’s recording, as “an exciting tune that packs the most punch.”

“Hymnal,” composed by Steve Million, previously appeared on Passion Flower, a duet album he and Hochberg released in 2021. (Million also recorded this song on his own album, Jazzwords, where he composed lyrics that were sung by Sarah Marie Young. The song begins: “Will this help us/find our way?/Life moves on/We plant our seeds/Growing toward/the light they need…”)  

“Steve’s got a group where he wrote all the music and lyrics for, and ‘Hymnal’ was one of those tunes,” Hochberg explained. “I thought it was such a beautiful tune, and it’s such a contrast to (the other songs) I wrote.”

Cellist Larry Gray – who has earned two degrees in cello performance – has also played guitar in Hochberg’s trio, which has performed at Catch 35 Chicago since 2005. Gray, by the way, recently incorporated another instrument into his weaponry, which has intrigued Hochberg.

“I thought about doing something to add him on accordion, and he could have also played guitar,” Hochberg said. “But I decided to keep this (recording) solid.”

For Gray, whose bass playing buoyed multiple ensembles at the Jazz Showcase for decades, playing cello is a new voice waiting to be heard.

“I regard it as an extension of my musical, improvisational voice,” said Gray, who is contemplating recording an album featuring his cello playing. “I can now get a decent sound. I can vibrate, play in tune, and do the basic stuff that was not easy to do right away.”

Participating in the StringThing recording, Gray added, proved quite satisfying.

“I appreciated Mark Feldman, a wonderful artist who has a really cool sound,” he said. “And I liked Eric’s writing very much. This was all very cool.”

Reimagining these five songs for violin/cello lead voicings, Hochberg explained, involved new effort but no excess energy. 

“I added a few harmony parts that weren’t originally in the music, but they’re basically simple arrangements, nothing too extravagant,” he said. “It was fairly straightforward in terms of giving guys lead sheets with harmony markings, and everyone just went with that.”

StringThing’s Chicago Jazz Festival hit, Hochberg continued, will include all songs from the ISB performance and one more original.

“We’re doing one fifty-minute set, so let’s not complicate things,” he said. “Let’s just go straight ahead!”