Tonight (Friday, June 6, 2014), at 7:00pm: a performance by ‘Alias Ra’ Mette Rasmussen (saxophones) with Michael Foster (saxophones), Pascal Niggenkemper (doubles bass) and Han-earl Park (guitar). Also performing at 6:00pm are Gianni Mimmo (saxophone) and Alison Blunt (violin). The event takes place at Downtown Music Gallery (13 Monroe Street, New York, NY 10002-7351) [map…]. Free admission.
reminder: Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky, Han-earl Park and Catherine Sikora) at ISIM, New York
ISIM: Cross-Cultural Improvisation III kicks-off this week, and on Friday (June 6, 2014), at 3:00pm, Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Han-earl Park: guitar; and Catherine Sikora: saxophones) will be performing at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music (55 West 13th Street, New York, NY 10011). Conference fees from $25 to $200 [more info and get tickets…].
Incidentally, the performance with ‘Alias Ra’ Mette Rasmussen, Michael Foster and Pascal Niggenkemper that was to take place on the evening of Eris 136199’s performance has been relocated to Downtown Music Gallery, New York. As always see the performance diary for up-to-date info.
performance diary 05-22-14 (Brooklyn, New York)
| date | venue | time | details |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 6, 2014 | The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music 55 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 |
3:00pm | Performance by Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Han-earl Park: guitar; and Catherine Sikora: saxophones) as part of ISIM: Cross-Cultural Improvisation III. Conference fees from $25 (single event) to $200 (entire conference [more info and get tickets…]. [Details…] |
| June 6, 2014 | Downtown Music Gallery 13 Monroe Street New York, NY 10002 |
7:00pm | New venue! Performance by [Details…] |
| June 8, 2014 | Why Not Jazz Room 14 Christopher Street New York, NY 10014 |
7:30pm | Performance by Han-earl Park (guitar) and Tom Rainey (drums) as part of Andrea Wolper’s Why Not Experiment? Series. Also performing: TransAtlantico (Lamy Istrefi: drums, percussion, sound efx; Lawrence Leathers: drums, sound efx; Brahim Fribgane: percussion, goumbri, oud, sound efx). Recommended donation: $10 per set. [Details…] |
| 2014– | Europe | I am based in Europe as of 2014, and I am seeking performance opportunities for, in particular, my Europe-based projects including Numbers (with Richard Barrett), Mathilde 253 (with Charles Hayward and Ian Smith). Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch! |
| September–October 2014 | Europe | Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky, Han-earl Park and Catherine Sikora) is seeking performance opportunities late-September and October 2014. Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch! |
Continue reading “performance diary 05-22-14 (Brooklyn, New York)”
Happy New Year: 2014
canceled: Viv Corringham and Han-earl Park at Downtown Music Gallery, New York
Unfortunately the performance by Viv Corringham and Han-earl Park that was to take place on November 17, 2013 at Downtown Music Gallery, New York has been canceled.
Sorry about that. I’m offering the video clips of the August 13 performances by Gerald Cleaver and Han-earl Park, and Viv Corringham and Andrea Parkins as a kind of consolation (the time Viv and I almost performed together).
Next up: performance in Pittsburgh (November 7) as part of Crucible Sound, then back to Brooklyn (November 20) for a duo performance with Anna Webber. See the performance diary for up-to-date info.
thanks: Eris 136199 (DMG, NYC) and Park-Sikora-Sinton (Harvestworks, NYC)
Acknowledgments re the, for the time being, final performances of two projects: Eris 136199 on October 27, and Metis 9 on October 29. My hat goes off to my comrades Nick Didkovsky and Catherine Sikora who make Eris 136199 the site of unexpected choices—of twists and turns. We’d thought our previous performance was weird, this one warranted a new term:
weirderation wir-də-ˈrā-shən noun. process that results in something just that little bit weirder with each iteration. [compare examples A and B]
I am greatly indebted to Catherine Sikora and Josh Sinton for doing the heavy lifting, and turning my barebone sketches and speculations into music; for engageing intelligently, adventurously and imaginatively with the context at hand. These past months have been a learning experience for me as tactician, and I couldn’t have asked for better teachers.
Thanks to Bruce and Manny at the World’s Best Record Store for hosting us, and for their unshakable advocacy of new music. Thanks to Carol Parkinson, Hans Tammen, Kevin Ramsay, Emilio Vavarella and everyone at Harvestworks for hosting our performance, their enthusiasm, and for their support. Thanks again to Kevin Reilly for his video documentation of the DMG performance [watch/listen…], and, as always, thanks to all who came to listen and witness the musicking—real-time and interactive.
Next up: performance in Pittsburgh (November 7) as part of Crucible Sound, then back to New York (November 17) for a duo performance with Viv Corringham [canceled…] back to Brooklyn (November 20) for a duo performance with Anna Webber. See the performance diary for up-to-date info.
reminder: Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky, Han-earl Park and Catherine Sikora) at Downtown Music Gallery, New York
This Sunday (October 27, 2013), at 6:00pm: maybe your last chance to hear Nick Didkovsky (guitar), Han-earl Park (guitar), and Catherine Sikora (saxophones), a.k.a. Eris 136199, visit the crossroads of noise, melody, rhythm, space, density, contrast, synchronicity, asymmetry, serendipity and contradiction. Also performing is Samm Bennett. The event takes place at Downtown Music Gallery (13 Monroe Street, New York, NY 10002-7351) [map…]. Free admission.
performance diary 10-23-13 (Brooklyn, New York, Pittsburgh)
| date | venue | time | details |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 27, 2013 | Downtown Music Gallery 13 Monroe Street New York, NY 10002 |
6:00pm | Performance by Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Han-earl Park: guitar; and Catherine Sikora: saxophones). Also performing: Samm Bennett. Free admission. [Details…] [DMG page…] |
| October 29, 2013 | Harvestworks 596 Broadway #602 New York, NY 10012 |
7:00pm | Performance of Metis 9 by Han-earl Park (guitar), Catherine Sikora (saxophones) and Josh Sinton (saxophone and clarinet). Free admission. [Details…] [Harvestworks page…] |
| November 7, 2013 | ModernFormations 4919 Penn Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15224 |
8:00pm (doors: 7:30pm) | Performance by David Bernabo (guitar), Edgar Um Bucholtz (coronet, trash), J Wayne Clinton (synthesizer, homemade instruments), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Lenny Young (oboe) as part of Crucible Sound. Suggested donation: $7. [Details…] [Crucible Sound page…] |
13 Monroe Street New York, NY 10002 |
Canceled! Free admission. |
||
| November 20, 2013 | IBeam 168 7th Street Brooklyn, NY 11215 |
8:30pm | Performance by Anna Webber (saxophone) and Han-earl Park (guitar). Also performing: Joe Moffett (trumpet), Carlo Costa (drums) and Dan Peck (tuba). $10 suggested donation. [Details…] |
| November 21, 2013 | Andrew Drury’s home [Contact for location…] Lefferts Gardens Brooklyn, NY |
7:00pm | Soup and Sound House Concert with Jack Wright (saxophones) and Ben Wright (double bass) with Andrew Drury (percussion), Joe Moffett (trumpet), Dan Peck (tuba), Han-earl Park (guitar), Michael Evans (percussion) and others. Recommended donation: $10. [Details…] |
| November 26, 2013 | Douglass Street Music Collective 295 Douglass Street Gowanus Brooklyn, NY 11217 |
7:00pm | Gowanus Company curated by Kyoko Kitamura, Josh Sinton and Han-earl Park. Performers: Dan Blake (saxophone), Olie Brice (double bass), Viv Corringham (voice and electronics), Nick Didkovsky (guitar), Michael Evans (drums), Ken Filiano (double bass), Christopher Hoffman (’cello), Jason Kao Hwang (violin), Kyoko Kitamura (voice), Ingrid Laubrock (saxophone), Jeremiah Lockwood (voice and guitar), Russ Lossing (piano), Han-earl Park (guitar), Tom Rainey (drums), Josh Sinton (saxophone and clarinet), Fay Victor (voice) and others. Recommended donation: $10. [Details…] [DSMC page…] |
| 2014– | Europe | I will be moving back to Europe at the start of 2014, and I am seeking performance opportunities for, in particular, my Europe-based projects including Numbers (with Richard Barrett), Mathilde 253 (with Charles Hayward and Ian Smith), and io 0.0.1 beta++ (with Bruce Coates and Franziska Schroeder). Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch! |
Continue reading “performance diary 10-23-13 (Brooklyn, New York, Pittsburgh)”
performance: Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky, Han-earl Park and Catherine Sikora) at Downtown Music Gallery, New York
Sunday, October 27, 2013, at 6:00pm: expect noise, melody, space and density in unexpected proportions and combinations as Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Han-earl Park: guitar; and Catherine Sikora: saxophones) performs for the (last?) time. The event, also featuring a set by Samm Bennett, takes place at Downtown Music Gallery (13 Monroe Street, New York, NY 10002-7351) [map…]. Free admission.
See the performance diary for up-to-date info. [DMG page…]
about Eris 136199
Eris 136199 plays on the crossroads of noise, melody, rhythm, space, density, contrast, synchronicity, asymmetry, serendipity and contradiction. Eris 136199 is the noisy, unruly complexity of composer, computer artist and guitarist Nick Didkovsky, the corporeal, cyborg virtuosity of constructor and guitarist Han-earl Park, and the no-nonsense melodic logic of composer and saxophonist Catherine Sikora.
A composer who enjoys blurry boundaries, Nick Didkovsky founded the avant-rock big band Doctor Nerve, and is a member of Swim This with Gerry Hemingway and Michael Lytle. He is a pioneer of small-systems computer music, and has composed music for ensemble including Bang On A Can All-Stars and the California EAR Unit.
Described by Brian Morton as “a musical philosopher… a delightful shape-shifter”, Han-earl Park is drawn to real-time cyborg configurations in which artifacts and bodies collide. He has performed with some of the finest practitioners of improvised music, is part of Mathilde 253 with Charles Hayward and Ian Smith, and Numbers with Richard Barrett.
Catherine Sikora is “a free-blowing player’s player with a spectacular harmonic imagination and an evolved understanding of the tonal palette of the saxophone” (Chris Elliot, Seacoast Online). She has a long-standing duo project with Eric Mingus, and performs as part of ensembles led by Elliott Sharp, François Grillot and Matt Lavelle.
Together, Didkovsky, Park and Sikora forges an improvisative space where melody can be melody, noise can be noise, meter can be meter, metal becomes metal, bluegrass turns to bluegrass, jazz transforms into jazz, all there, all necessary without imploding under idiomatic pressures.
final (?) performances: Eris 136199 and Metis 9, NYC
Last chance to see? Coming up in October: what may be the final performances (for the foreseeable future) of two of my New York projects, Eris 136199 with Nick Didkovsky and Catherine Sikora, and Metis 9 with Catherine Sikora and Josh Sinton (see the performance diary for up-to-date info).
- October 27, 2013: Performance by Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Han-earl Park: guitar; and Catherine Sikora: saxophones) at Downtown Music Gallery (13 Monroe Street, New York, NY 10002).
[Performance diary entry…] [DMG page…] - October 29, 2013: Performance of Metis 9 by Han-earl Park (guitar), Catherine Sikora (saxophones) and Josh Sinton (saxophone and clarinet) at Harvestworks (596 Broadway #602, New York, NY 10012).
[Performance diary entry…] [Harvestworks page…]
If you’ve never caught these project… now’s the time!
thanks: Parker-Park (The Stone, NYC), Park-Sikora-Sinton (DSMC, Brooklyn) and Park-Parkins (The Living Gallery, Brooklyn)
Three gigs; and I couldn’t ask for a more varied and musically valuable seven days.
I learned a heck of a lot (about my capabilities as an improviser, and about the social dynamics of interactive play) performing with Evan Parker. Still reeling from the experience, I’m grateful for the opportunity to play with Mr Parker again, and to have sat in with the Bleeding Edge Trio.
The performance with Catherine Sikora and Josh Sinton was the most craftily accomplished. We’ve been engineering, navigating and negotiating these improvisative, tactical considerations since February, and it’s been a pleasure and a privilege to be working with two imaginative and gutsy performers. I expect our performance at Harvestworks in October will be something else. (Plus thanks to Josh for the post-gig reflections.)
If I had to choose just one of these gigs as a stand-out though, it might have to be the duo with the stupendously creative Andrea Parkins. Insanely fun! Despite (or perhaps becuase of) severe technical limitations, I found myself in some very odd places. (Andrea was one of the first NYC people I contacted before moving here, so this performance was looong overdue.) Let’s play again. I had a blast.
Big thanks to coconspirators Michael Foster and Lisa Mezzacappa, to Mike Pride for the funniest post-gig story telling, and to the documetarists Don Mount and Jeremiah Cymerman. Finally, special thanks to Louise and Tom for bringing their new family to The Stone.
Next up: performances coming up in October as part of Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky, Han-earl Park and Catherine Sikora), and with Catherine Sikora and Josh Sinton for another round with Metis 9. See the performance diary for up-to-date info.
performance diary 09-27-13 (Brooklyn, New York, Pittsburgh)
| date | venue | time | details |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 27, 2013 | Downtown Music Gallery 13 Monroe Street New York, NY 10002 |
6:00pm | Performance by Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Han-earl Park: guitar; and Catherine Sikora: saxophones). Also performing: Samm Bennett. Free admission. [Details…] [DMG page…] |
| October 29, 2013 | Harvestworks 596 Broadway #602 New York, NY 10012 |
7:00pm | Performance of Metis 9 by Han-earl Park (guitar), Catherine Sikora (saxophones) and Josh Sinton (saxophone and clarinet). Free admission. [Details…] [Harvestworks page…] |
| November 7, 2013 | ModernFormations 4919 Penn Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15224 |
8:00pm (doors: 7:30pm) | Performance by Han-earl Park (guitar) and other as part of Crucible Sound. Details to follow… Suggested donation: $7. |
| November 17, 2013 | Downtown Music Gallery 13 Monroe Street New York, NY 10002 |
6:00pm | Performance by Viv Corringham (voice and electronics) and Han-earl Park (guitar). Details to follow… Free admission. |
| November 21, 2013 | Andrew Drury’s home [Contact for location…] Lefferts Gardens Brooklyn, NY |
7:00pm | Soup and Sound House Concert with Jack Wright (saxophones) and Ben Wright (double bass) with Andrew Drury (percussion), Joe Moffett (trumpet), Dan Peck (tuba), Han-earl Park (guitar), Michael Evans (percussion) and others. Details to follow… Recommended donation: $10. |
| 2014– | Europe | I will be moving back to Europe at the start of 2014, and I am seeking performance opportunities for, in particular, my Europe-based projects including Numbers (with Richard Barrett), Mathilde 253 (with Charles Hayward and Ian Smith), and io 0.0.1 beta++ (with Bruce Coates and Franziska Schroeder). Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch! |
Continue reading “performance diary 09-27-13 (Brooklyn, New York, Pittsburgh)”