GEORGE

GEORGE is what happens when groove meets inquiry — when analog warmth and digital edge blur into something both unexpected and deeply human. Formed by composer/drummer John Hollenbeck during the stillness of the pandemic, the quartet quickly became a fully realized ensemble.

Featuring Anna Webber (tenor saxophone, flute), Sarah Rossy (voice, synthesizer), Chiquita Magic (synthesizers, voice), and John Hollenbeck (drums, composition), GEORGE creates music that lives in the margins — between vintage funk and futuristic electronica, jazz and art-pop, structure and improvisation. As DownBeat noted, “Magic happens in the margins and the middle.” As Pitchfork observed, when the band locks in, its energy is “as infectious as a perfect pop tune.”

But GEORGE isn’t just about sound — it’s about resonance.

The band is named in tribute to George Floyd — in remembrance of his life and the violence that ended it. The name also resonates with a wide constellation of Georges: the Greek georgos (“earthworker”), George Washington Carver, George Clinton, George Orwell, Georgia O’Keeffe, George Saunders, George Lewis, George Gervin. Saints and revolutionaries. Artists and outsiders. The name carries history, contradiction, groove, and gravity.

These themes are woven seamlessly into performances audiences describe as immersive, surprising, and deeply nourishing.

Their debut album, Letters to George (Out Of Your Head Records, 2023), was praised by AllMusic as “a remarkable debut” featuring “captivating, provocative compositions.” In 2026, GEORGE releases Looking for Consonance, also on Out Of Your Head Records,  recorded at Hansa Studios in Berlin. The album expands the band’s sonic world while deepening its emotional and political clarity. From groove-driven pieces like “bounce,” to the diasporic offering “Nassam Alayna-LHawa,” to “Norma (in support of reproductive autonomy),” the music moves fluidly between celebration and reflection, tension and release.

Live, GEORGE is immersive, dynamic, and deeply felt. Wordless vocal harmonies dissolve into microtonal synth textures. Tenor saxophone lines soar over rhythmic frameworks that are both tight and expansive. Drums shift from whisper to thunder. The band’s compact instrumentation belies a vast sonic palette — at times orchestral, at times intimate.

Each member brings a singular voice:

• Anna Webber bridges avant-garde jazz and contemporary classical with fearless precision and expressive depth.
• Sarah Rossy merges live electronics, jazz, and global folk traditions into ethereal, socially engaged vocal soundscapes.
• Chiquita Magic channels microtonal synths, Latin American rhythms, and electro-pop futurism into rhythmically charged, dance-inflected textures.
• John Hollenbeck, a six-time GRAMMY nominee and Guggenheim Fellow, is known for shaping genre-defying ensembles that balance compositional rigor with groove-based immediacy.

Together, they deliver music that is inventive yet deeply human — groove-centered, emotionally generous, and instantly engaging.