The cello is not a jazz instrument — unless you’ve heard Fred Lonberg-Holm play it. One of Chicago’s most restless and productive improvisers, Lonberg-Holm has spent decades dissolving genre boundaries, combining extended cello technique with live electronics to produce a sound that belongs to no single tradition and to all of them at once.
A central figure in the city’s creative music infrastructure, Lonberg-Holm has worked with Ken Vandermark, Peter Brötzmann, Mats Gustafsson, Hamid Drake, and dozens of others in configurations ranging from solo to large ensemble. He’s as likely to be found in a noise performance as in a composed chamber setting — often in the same week.
His membership in Catalytic Sound — the artist-run free jazz label and cooperative — reflects a long-held conviction that musicians should control both the music and the means of sharing it. In this Q&A, Lonberg-Holm reflects on the cello, the city, and what it means to keep building something outside the industry’s comfortable walls.
Q: What has been inspiring you lately?
A: Throughout my life I’ve been lucky to find inspiration in all sorts of stuff. A leaf, a novel, a person’s history, a machine, a map, a concert… I still find a lot of inspiration in things and people around me (I am lucky to know and work with some very inspiring people). But at some point I realized that my biggest inspiration is whatever material I am working with at that specific moment. I guess this is why I like improvising (and painting) so much.
Q: Favorite musicians, artists, thinkers and why (current or general)?
A: In the music world, I could fill the page with names of my favorite people. I’m lucky to know so many incredible musicians. Outside music, Johan Galtung crosses my mind more and more. I don’t read a lot of contemporary fiction but love Sinclair Lewis, Graham Greene, Hans Fallada. I love many painters but do continue to feel that Richter is the greatest painter of our era.
Q: Favorite films, books, etc. and why (current or general)
A: I’ll admit to being pretty out of the loop on current films. The most interesting visual storytelling I have run across in the recent past are some series on the streaming services. This includes Reservation Dogs, Fargo, Jury Duty (good cringe), Curb Your Enthusiasm and This Fool. I’ll watch just about anything by Truffaut, Bresson, Bunuel, Godard, Mellville, Tati, and even more outlier types like Robert and Corneau. And of course I’m a sucker for movies featuring cello. Sweet Smell of Success, Take the Money and Run and The Hunger immediately come to mind.
Q: Best thing you’ve seen on Youtube (recently)?
A: I have been enjoying watching and listening to contemporary South African cellists. I know of two which means there must be more to learn about.
Q: Dream trio/quartet/quintet with historical figures?
A: If this means groups I might be a member of, I can honestly say I don’t dream about things like that. TBH, “super groups” are rarely (if ever) “super” interesting to me and I doubt my presence would improve things. On the other hand, it would be great to have a time machine and to be in the audience for so many groups I have only read about or heard on recordings. But where to start? Tansen might be my first stop but I bet there were some awesome musicians thousands of years BCE all over the planet.
Q: Last performance you saw that expanded the way you think about your own work?
A: Every performance has some sort of impact, positive, negative, or somewhere in between. It might have been some time since a concert really changed everything (maybe Cecil Taylor solo over 20 years ago?). But I can say that a few concerts (to be un-named) really made me question why I am still doing this!
Q: Recording people would be most surprised you listen to?
A: I listen to a lot of music that would surprise no-one. That said, I tend not to obsessively listen to any one recording or even genre. I did love the first Lady Gaga record. I’m also pretty fond of music from African-American churches across many eras.