"She is a true musician, which any great artist whose medium happens to be music, should be classified as. ... Chris McNulty is an exquisite instrument, along the lines of a Sarah Vaughan or Ella Fitzgerald". -Gary Bartz

Guitarist and composer Paul Bollenback is bringing together the talents of an Austrailian born New York singer Chris McNulty, drummer Kenny Horst and the incomprable Anthony Cox on Bass for a 2 night stand at the Artisits' Quarter in Saint Paul July 22^nd and 23^rd.

Bollenback is not only a solid jazz guitarist, but a gifted composer as well. In a recent Jazz TImes interview JazzTImes Paul said "Playing, arranging and composition are all part of the same thing, Compositional considerations--texture, color and density--can be used to create improvisations without resorting to a constant string of cliches."

"Not one jazz virtuoso could put the definition of jazz into words, but all agreed that you know it when you hear it. That's the way it is with Paul Bollenback. It's bona-fide playing, unambiguous, up-front and powerful," summarizes George Benson, a long-time friend. His debut recording, Original Visions, as a leader with Challenge Records, is one of the most creative efforts by a guitarist in recent memory. Double Gemini, his second CD, features four of his own compositions and won the title of CD of The Month in Jim Fisch's distinguished jazz column in 20th Century Jazz Magazine. It won the same award from the renowned jazz radio station WBGO in Newark, New Jersey. Challenge Records has recently released his fourth recording, Dreams.

Paul Bollenback's emotionally expressive style and eclectic approach is the result of years of listening, studying and playing music by Carlos Santana, Yes, Wes Montgomery, George Benson, John Scofield, Pat Metheny, Kenny Burrell, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter and Lenny Breau. At the age of seven, Paul received a nylon-string guitar from his father, a classically trained trumpeter and lover of music. When Paul was eleven, his family relocated to new Delhi, India, on a three-year consulting engagement with United States Aid. It was there that he cultivated his life-long interest in exotic musical sounds and timbres, which is evident in Original Visions. When his family returned to the United States, Paul's father bought him an electric guitar and he began listening to rock-and-roll. Then he heard Miles Davis and his world changed forever.

Photo by Andrea Canter

Paul has appeared on the Tonight Show, Good Morning America, Joan Rivers, The Today Show, and Entertainment Tonight. He has contributed some acoustic guitar work to America's Most Wanted and has played with an impressive spectrum of musicians, including Stanley Turrentine, Gary Bartz, Joey DeFrancesco, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Joe Locke, Gary Thomas, Steve Wilson, Shunzo Ohno, James Moody, David “Fathead” Newman, Jack McDuff, Charlie Byrd, Paul Bley, Carol Sloane, Chris McNulty, Melissa Walker, Carter Jefferson, Dave Valentin, Herb Ellis, Jimmy Bruno, and East Meets Jazz(with Sandip Burman).

Photo by Andra Canter

Anthony Cox is a world-class bass player who, from a home base in the Twin Cities, has taught, performed a recorded around the world. He plays straight-ahead, swinging jazz as well as post-bop and more avant-garde styles, and performs on equally well on upright string bass, string electric bass and Spanish acoustic bass. He has recorded with Sam Rivers, Dewey Redman, Geri Allen, Arthur Blythe, Mike Cain, Uri Caine and many others. He has recordings on several labels.

Catch this group at the Artists' Quater located in the basement of the Hamm Bulding on St. Peter Street in Saint Paul, MN. Music begins at 9:00 and the first set each night is non-smoking.