Avant Music News – Page 2

December 19, 2015December 13, 2021

thanks: Park-Lash-Sanders-Pugh (Fizzle, Birmingham; BtB, Bristol; and OTO London), Laubrock-Park (New Revolution Arts, Brooklyn) and Didkovsky-Park-Sinton (65Fen, Brooklyn)

Han-earl Park and Ingrid Laubrock (New Revolution Arts, Brooklyn, December 12, 2015). Photo © 2015 Michael Foster.

Five performance this fin al m ont h of 2 015! A great privilege to have shared the stage with so many awesomely creative, smart and generous people. Let’s get to the hat-tips…

Okay, start with a thanks to my co-conspirators, Dominic Lash, Mark Sanders and Caroline Pugh, who consistently created fascinating, difficult, infuriating, confounding and beautiful spaces for interaction. Listening to the music play out in real-time, all I could think was that it sounds great whenever the guitarist shuts-up. (As Josh Sinton pointed out later, that’s really a wonderful position to be in; not knowing how to contribute to—to add to—an already perfect ensemble at play.)

Thanks to Ingrid Laubrock for the play—it was great to come-off a… logistically challenging set of gigs into a relaxed performance where, well, anything might happen… and we ended up in some interesting and unexpected places. (Felt very good about this one.)

To Josh Sinton and Nick Didkovsky, well… That. Was. A. Blast. …Thanks, Josh, Nick, for the Loud Jazz (best possible sense!).

Big thanks to all the venues and promoters, DIYers and supporters: to the indefatigable Andrew Woodhead at Fizzle; to Seth Cooke and everyone at Bang the Bore for an awesome event; to Fielding Hope, Oli Barrett and everyone at Cafe OTO for their support, and for their patience with all the ups’n’downs; to Josh and everyone at 65Fen Music Series; and to Cisco Bradley for inviting me to perform at New Revolution Arts (a beautiful space—socially, musically).

Thanks to Tom Durham ~~the gentleman~~ who lent me his amplifier in Birmingham ~~(sorry, can’t remember your name!)~~, and to Andrew Drury and Chris Welcome who did the same in Brooklyn—y’all made my travels so much more pleasant!

The tour by my ensemble with Dom, Mark and Caroline was made possible with funding from Culture Ireland, and I am extremely grateful for their support.

I am also grateful to Franziska Schroeder, Elspeth Murray, Helen Petts, ODD7’s Towards the Margins, London Korea Links, and Alma Ní Choigligh of Embassy of Ireland (London) who all helped to spread the word of the performances. A special thanks to Cath Roberts of LUME, Avant Music News, and George Haslam of SLAM Productions for their continued support. Similarly, thanks to Editor Laurence Donohue-Greene for tying-in a review in The New York City Jazz Record to coincide with my Brooklyn performances.

Thanks to Dom Lash and Kate Hendry, and to Josh Sinton and family, for offering a place for this itinerant musician to crash a night (or three). Kudos to Nasc Ireland for helping me navigate some border… technicalities 😉

And a very special thanks to the Best Sound Engineer in the Known Universe, Alex Fiennes, for taking time to make the music sound great in London.

Finally, as always, thanks, thanks, thanks, everyone, for listening.

Next up…

Performing again with Dom Lash, Mark Sanders and Caroline Pugh, this time in Cork, January 2016. See the performance diary for up-to-date info.

Birmingham, Bristol and London performances presented with funding from Culture Ireland, and support from SLAM Productions.

updates

12–20-15: add Tom Durham’s name (thanks, Andy).

October 24, 2015November 20, 2015

performance: Nick Didkovsky, Han-earl Park and Josh Sinton at 65Fen Music, Brooklyn

‘Free’ is barely sufficient to describe this approach…. The vocabulary of sounds here is as broad as it is unconventional…. While an occasional interlocking harmony might emerge from all of this innovation, it is quickly shattered by unexpected Möbius twists…. An exercise in texture as much as it is in melody, Park, Sikora, Didkovsky, and Sinton don’t just break molds here – they disintegrate anything that resembles the ordinary with authority and prejudice. [Read the rest…]

— Mike Borella (Avant Music News)

Monday, December 14, 2015, at 9:00pm (doors: 8:30pm; our set: 9:00pm): Nick Didkovsky (guitar), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Josh Sinton (saxophone), plus Jon Irabagon (saxophone), perform at 65Fen Music Series (65 Fenimore Street, Brooklyn, NY 11225). $10 suggested donation.

We never got to kick Anomic Aphasia into the world, so, although Catherine Sikora sadly cannot make the gig, I’d like to consider this an unofficial record launch event. See you there!

See the performance diary for up-to-date info. [65fen listings…] [Facebook event…]

Above video playlist of the November 2013 Gowanus Company. Videography by Scott Friedlander. Featuring a stellar cast (seriously worth watching the whole thing for its breadth and depth, and unexpected turns and corners)… yet somehow Josh, Nick and I never managed to all be onstage at the same time! We’ll fix that this time.

By Han-earl Park, Nick Didkovsky and Josh Sinton

CD cover of ‘Anomic Aphasia’ (SLAMCD 559) with Han-earl Park, Catherine Sikora, Nick Didkovsky and Josh Sinton (artwork copyright 2015, Han-earl Park)

Anomic Aphasia (SLAMCD 559) [details…]

Performers: Han-earl Park (guitar), Catherine Sikora (tenor and soprano saxophones), Nick Didkovsky (guitar), and Josh Sinton (baritone saxophone and bass clarinet).

updates

11-20-15: change set time, and add Facebook event.

September 18, 2015November 3, 2021

beautiful noise (reviews: Anomic Aphasia)

‘Anomic Aphasia’ (SLAMCD 559) with Han-earl Park, Catherine Sikora, Nick Didkovsky and Josh Sinton makes Avant Music News Best of 2015 (So Far). Honored to find my work among such illustrious company. [Read the Avant Music News review…]

Meanwhile… “dynamic, articulate”? “jarring, discordant, loud and experimental”? “interesting acoustic altercations?” sounds that are simultaneously “alien and captivating”? (I certainly love the idea that my guitar “breaks constantly with magmatic rumblings.”) Accompanying the interview with Han-earl Park in jazzColo[u]rs, Andrew Rigmore and Antonio Terzo review ‘Anomic Aphasia’:

Votato all’improvvisazione basata su macro tattiche, artefice di un impiego ritmico—molto personale—della chitarra, e fautore di sonorità comunque aliene e trascinanti al tempo stesso, Han-earl Park è musicista conscio dei propri limiti, che cerca di superare con un approccio “alternativo”, umile e di ricerca. A beneficiarne, innanzitutto, la voce della sassofonista Catherine Sikora, sonora, multicolore e sfaccettata…. Mette in campo due diverse formazioni: la prima, stridente, discordante, rumorosa e sperimentale, con il chitarrista Nick Didkovsky, ossia l’Eris trio, l’altra, più dinamica, articolata e meno dissonante, invece, insieme al sassofonista—anche lui sui generis—Josh Sinton, ossia Metis 9…. Han-earl Park lo dice chiaramente: il terreno è, specie per Metis 9, quello della sperimentazione, e dal punto di vista pratico, siamo certo molto lontani da quel che si intende per jazz. Ma è anche vero che essere pratici spesso impedisce di vedere il possibile. E, soprattutto in arte, uccide la fantasia.

— Andrew Rigmore and Antonio Terzo (jazzColo[u]rs)

Elsewhere… you can get your copy of the CD from Downtown Music Gallery who call it “challenging music where all of the players help determine the direction and interaction”:

Mr. Park moved here for a few years not too long ago and worked with a number of Downtown musicians…. This is Mr. Park’s first disc with those Downtowners, an interesting cast from different scenes…. Mr. Park wrote or provided directions for each piece…. The first trio is for two guitars and Ms. Sikora on saxes. It is very long and both guitars sound well-integrated, Mr. Park played those fractured notes similar to Derek Bailey and Mr. Didkovsky using some sustain or other devices to thicken up his tone or provide alien textures. Ms. Sikora… works well in the two guitars or two saxes context here. This is a strong, long and spirited disc of challenging music where all of the players help determine the direction and interaction. Another great thing about this disc is getting to hear bari sax great Josh Sinton stretching out at length. [Read the rest…]

— Bruce Lee Gallanter (Downtown Music Gallery)

Finally, KFJC 89.7 FM hears music that spans “cacophony to melody”, and a “beautiful noise”:

It’s all about guitars versus sax. Sax versus guitars. Sax and guitars together. They are challenging and phenomenal works with the musicians playing off of each others ideas. The guitars are each unique in approach and Sikora goes for it with her sax taking them on note for note. There is pause and space, much needed allowing the listener to appreciate it all. Cacophony to melody…. What is clear is the stunning trio work…. The feeling is different but still crazy, intertwining each others notes, letting them stand, then facing off, blending, melding, challenging each other. A beautiful noise. Free jazz continuing to experiment. [Read the rest…]

Thanks to KFJC 89.7 FM for all the support over the years (shout outs to Carson Street, Edison Einstein, Cousin Mary, Dada Diogenes and Spliff Skankin!), and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank, in particular, WNUR 89.3 FM, CHRW 94.9 FM, KALX 90.7 FM and WFMU 91.1 FM for their airplay.

[About this recording…] [All reviews…]

More updates

In addition to Downtown Music Gallery, ‘Anomic Aphasia’ is now also available from Wayside Music. So you can now get your copy from:

[Downtown Music Gallery…] [Wayside Music…] [Disk Union…] [Improjazz…] [Crazy Jazz…] [Jazzcds…] [Proper Music (distributor)…] [More purchase options…]

And above is the latest trailer for the album. Watch, listen and share….

Also from SLAM Productions…

‘io 0.0.1 beta++ (SLAMCD 531) CD cover (copyright 2011, Han-earl Park)

io 0.0.1 beta++ (SLAMCD 531) [details…]

Performers: io 0.0.1 beta++ (itself), Han-earl Park (guitar), Bruce Coates (alto and sopranino saxophones) and Franziska Schroeder (soprano saxophone). [About this project…]

‘Mathilde 253’ (SLAMCD 528) CD cover (copyright 2010, Han-earl Park)

Mathilde 253 (SLAMCD 528) [details…]

Performers: Charles Hayward (drums, percussion and melodica), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Ian Smith (trumpet and flugelhorn) plus Lol Coxhill (saxophone). [About this ensemble…]

updates

09–23-15: update Downtown Music Gallery link.

March 6, 2015November 3, 2021

Harmonious Discord (reviews: Anomic Aphasia)

First set of reviews of ‘Anomic Aphasia’ (SLAMCD 559) with Han-earl Park, Catherine Sikora, Nick Didkovsky and Josh Sinton. Avant Music News selects the recording as for a Pick of the Week, and hails the trio*2 on the recording as “a variable supergroup”:

Putting this unlikely lineup together was almost as brilliant as the recording they have produced….

‘Free’ is a barely sufficient to describe this approach, as the trios explore various angular constructs and effects. The vocabulary of sounds here is as broad as it is unconventional. Park and/or Didkovsky might strum or pick a string or two, then spend time rubbing it with their fingertips. Sikora and/or Sinton might blast percussively between more discernable notes. While an occasional interlocking harmony might emerge from all of this innovation, it is quickly shattered by unexpected Möbius twists….

An exercise in texture as much as it is in melody, Park, Sikora, Didkovsky, and Sinton don’t just break molds here – they disintegrate anything that resembles the ordinary with authority and prejudice. [Read the rest…]

— Mike Borella (Avant Music News)

Meanwhile, Rigobert Dittmann (a.k.a. rbd) in Bad Alchemy [BA 84] hears a “glorious bastard of noise and sweet dreams”:

Einmal Musik als discordia concors, Kollisionen in zwieträchtiger Eintracht. Oder als Grenzverletzungen mit merkurialem Scharfsinn. So oder so, man muss sich einhören auf einen Gitarristen [Han-earl Park], der Schlagzeuger und die Bläser Wadada Leo Smith und Paul Dunmall als maßgebend für sein Spiel nennt, ein Spiel, das er mit ‘weirderation’ charakterisiert als etwas, das bei jeder Wiederholung nur sonderbarer und eigenartiger wird. Simpler gesagt: Statt Plinkplonking gibt es pleomorphe Cockophonien mit krätzigem Gepixel und schartigem Gebröckel und Geprickel der Gitarristen im Kontrast mit immer wieder sonorem Sinnieren seitens Sikoras. Aber dann lässt Didkovsky auch die Finger fliegen und die Töne Dudelsack trillern oder entgleisen wie bei seinen heißen Doctor Nerve-Solos. Wobei er freilich seine Partner einlädt, ihm den Buckel rauf zu rutschen oder sich wimmernd in seine Arme zu kuscheln. Sikora spinnt Sopranolyrismen, die Didkovsky fuzzy überrauscht. Und so ad infinitum, ein glorioser Bastard aus Noise und süßer Träumerei.

— Rigobert Dittmann (Bad Alchemy)

“Broad as it is unconventional”? “Music as discordia concors, collisions in dual unity, or as border infringements with mercurial acuity”? or, as The Wire calls it, “curiously charmless”? (Probably better less said about the last 😉 )

[About this recording…] [All reviews…]

Also from SLAM Productions…

io 0.0.1 beta++ (SLAMCD 531) [details…]

Performers: io 0.0.1 beta++ (itself), Han-earl Park (guitar), Bruce Coates (alto and sopranino saxophones) and Franziska Schroeder (soprano saxophone). [About this project…]

Mathilde 253 (SLAMCD 528) [details…]

Performers: Charles Hayward (drums, percussion and melodica), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Ian Smith (trumpet and flugelhorn) plus Lol Coxhill (saxophone). [About this ensemble…]

November 21, 2011

performance: Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith’s Silver Orchestra at the Roulette, Brooklyn

Friday, December 16, 2011, at 8:00pm: I will be performing as part of Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith’s Silver Orchestra. From Avant Music News and Interpretations:

December 16th features Leo Smith’s Golden Quintet [with Angelica Sanchez, John Lindberg, and Pheeroan akLaff] (adding Susie Ibarra on drums), his electric band Organic, and the Silver Orchestra, featuring Jennifer Choi, Jessica Pavone, Wendy Law (strings), Jamie Baum, Marty Ehrlich, Sara Schoenbeck, Mark Taylor, J.D. Parran, Jason Mears (winds), Ted Daniel, Taylor Ho Bynum (brass) Yuko Fujiyama (piano), John Lindberg (bass), Liberty Ellman, Han-Earl Park (guitar), and Bobby Naughton, Susie Ibarra, Martin Obeng, Harris Eisenstadt, (percussion), performing Central Park (featuring Thomas Buckner, voice) and the premiere of his latest work, Occupy the World: For Freedom. [Read the rest…]

As part of the two-day celebration to mark Smith’s 70th birthday, the event takes place at the Roulette (509 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217). Tickets: $15 ($10) [get tickets…].

See the performance diary for up-to-date info. [Roulette page…] [Interpretations page…]

updates

11–22–11: add details from Avant Music News and Interpretations.

September 1, 2009

reminder: Kato-O’Looney-Park

This Monday (September 7th 2009), at 9:00 pm (doors open at 8:45pm): an improvised music event with Kato Hideki (bass), Katie O’Looney (drums) and Han-earl Park (guitar) at The Roundy (Castle Street, Cork, Ireland). Hope to see y’all there! [Details…]

…And a note of thanks to Avant Music News for taking note of us.