improvisation, animation, sociality, tradition and politics (a Jazz Noise: 7 Questions)

Want to know what and who I’ve been listening to? or what I’ve got planned (hint: see video above)? read my take on the late-capitalist (spotified, airbnbified, uberized) bootleg economy? or how about my non-musical influences:

Politics.

Even in these so-called cynical times I find politics (in, for example, the interactions between basement-level activism, and the, to quote Zappa, ‘entertainment division of the military-industrial complex’; in the friction between good, sometimes great, journalism, and the for-profit-lubricated popularity-contest we call publishing) inspiring.

Other things…?

Animators whose subject matter are things like movement, weight, physics, physiology, intent, volition, presence, personality, empathy, when their materials, in many respects, are working against those expressions. It helps to remind those of us who work in practices where it is too easy to take those same things—movement, weight, physics, physiology, etc.—for granted because they are so effortlessly part of the form. [Read the rest…]

Over at a Jazz Noise, you can read my answers to Dave Foxall’s 7 Questions such as my take on collaboration or what I seek in collaborators:

Imagination, skill and reliability. In that order.

Probably.

Someone who has a levelheaded understanding (consciously or not) of their niche within the transnational improvised music ecology….

I gravitate towards improvisers who are always prepared for that which is, in a way, unforeseeable.

Also people who can patch the holes and weaknesses in my musical skill-set. So, thinking about those three-quarters of Sirene 1009, I think: Dom Lash’s assured, steady-handed control of his technique and sound-making; Mark Sanders’ range, seemingly boundless imagination, ability anticipate anything and everything, and ability to make sense musically regardless of what surrounds him; and Caroline Pugh’s handle and knowledge of genre, and how she seemingly can just jump in regardless of context. I think the various ways we move—our bodies and their relationship with the instruments, say—complement each other.

(I’ve said this before, but getting a group together is a kind of composition.) [Read the rest…]

Plus, the “opening track [from ‘Sirene 1009’ (BAF000)]—Psychohistory III (very Asimov!)—[is] exclusively available to a Jazz Noise readers (hear it here and nowhere else, folks) for this interview.” [Listen/read the rest…].

selected discography

Cover of ‘Sirene 1009’ (BAF000) with Han-earl Park, Dominic Lash, Mark Sanders and Caroline Pugh (artwork copyright 2017, Han-earl Park)

Sirene 1009 (BAF000) [details…]

Personnel: Han-earl Park (guitar), Dominic Lash (double bass), Mark Sanders (drums) and Caroline Pugh (voice and tape recorder).

© + ℗ 2017 Han-earl Park.

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).

© 2015 Han-earl Park.
℗ 2015 SLAM Productions.

video recordings: YouTube playlist… redux

Thanks to the efforts of the Downtown documentarists—Don Mount, Kevin Reilly and Scott Friedlander—there’s been a lot of changes to my YouTube channel and playlists since my last announcement almost a year ago. In terms of project specific playlists, I’ve updated the Eris 136199 playlist [watch…], and created one for Metis 9 [watch…]

download release: Swim This (Nick Didkovsky, Gerry Hemingway and Michael Lytle) with Han-earl Park, ‘Douglass Swim’

Elewhale Music Productions releases Swim This (Nick Didkovsky, Gerry Hemingway and Michael Lytle) and Han-earl Park’s ‘Douglass Swim’. [Bandcamp page…]

personnel

Nick Didkovsky (guitar), Gerry Hemingway (drums and harmonica), Michael Lytle (bass clarinet) and Han-earl Park (guitar).

track listing

the conference of super squirrels (11:10); a radio dial & the piano (9:36); a nap, a dream, a song & chaos cloud (11:07); calling in ideas (encore) (13:48). Total duration: 45:42.

recording details

All music by Nick Didkovsky, Gerry Hemingway, Michael Lytle and Han-earl Park.

Recorded July 26, 2013 at Douglass Street Music Collective, Brooklyn.
Performance as part of event curated by Han-earl Park.
Recorded and mixed by Michael Lytle.

© 2013 Elewhale Music Productions.
℗ 2013 Nick Didkovsky, Gerry Hemingway, Michael Lytle and Han-earl Park.

Also available for download [more…]

Paul Dunmall, Han-earl Park and Mark Sanders: Dunmall-Park-Sanders (Birmingham, 02-15-11)

Dunmall-Park-Sanders (Birmingham, 02-15-11) [details…]

Performers: Paul Dunmall (saxophones and bagpipes), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Mark Sanders (drums).

(cc) 2013 Paul Dunmall/Han-earl Park/Mark Sanders.

Murray Campbell, Randy McKean with Han-earl Park, plus Gino Robair and Scott R. Looney: Gargantius Effect +1 +2 +3 (Nor Cal, 08-2011)

Gargantius Effect +1 +2 +3 (Nor Cal, 08-2011) [details…]

Performers: Murray Campbell (violins, oboe and cor anglais), Randy McKean (saxophone, clarinets and flutes) with Han-earl Park (guitar), plus Gino Robair (energized surfaces, voltage made audible) and Scott R. Looney (hyperpiano).

(cc) 2012 Murray Campbell/Randy McKean/Han-earl Park/Gino Robair/Scott R. Looney.

Han-earl Park plus Marian Murray: Park+Murray (Cork, 07-29-10)

Park+Murray (Cork, 07-29-10) [details…]

Performers: Han-earl Park (guitar) plus Marian Murray (violin).

(cc) 2012 Han-earl Park/Marian Murray.

Jin Sangtae, Han-earl Park and Jeffrey Weeter: Jin-Park-Weeter (Cork, 01–24–11)

Jin-Park-Weeter (Cork, 01-24-11) [details…]

Performers: Jin Sangtae (electronics), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Jeffrey Weeter (drums and electronics).

(cc) 2012 Jin Sangtae/Han-earl Park/Jeffrey Weeter.

Han-earl Park and Franziska Schroeder: Park-Schroeder (Cork, 03-26-09)

Park-Schroeder (Cork, 03-26-09) [details…]

Performers: Han-earl Park (guitar) and Franziska Schroeder (saxophone).

(cc) 2012 Han-earl Park/Franziska Schroeder.

Catherine Sikora, Ian Smith and Han-earl Park: Sikora-Smith-Park (Cork, 04-04-11)

Sikora-Smith-Park (Cork, 04-04-11) [details…]

Performers: Catherine Sikora (saxophone), Ian Smith (trumpet) and Han-earl Park (guitar).

(cc) 2012 Catherine Sikora/Ian Smith/Han-earl Park.

thanks: Swim This (Nick Didkovsky, Gerry Hemingway and Michael Lytle) with Han-earl Park at Douglass Street Music Collective, Brooklyn

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the noise at the July 26 event. I was bowled over by the awesome time-and-motion-studies of Patricia Franceschy and Kate Gentile (Kate’s composition, in particular, was a highlight). I take my hat off to Swim This (Nick Didkovsky, Gerry Hemingway and Michael Lytle) for their playfully raucous set, and for inviting me to join them on stage. Thanks again to Don Mount for the videography. Last but not least, thanks to all who came to witness the noisy bodies in motion!

Next up: an evening of duos, Tuesday, August 13, with Chris Pitsiokos (saxophone) and Philip White (electronics); Gerald Cleaver (drums) and Han-earl Park (guitar); and Viv Corringham (voice and electronics) and Andrea Parkins (accordion and electronics). See the performance diary for up-to-date info.

reminder: Swim This (Nick Didkovsky, Gerry Hemingway and Michael Lytle) with Han-earl Park at Douglass Street Music Collective, Brooklyn

This Friday (July 26, 2013), at 8:00pm (our set: 9:00pm): Swim This (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Gerry Hemingway: drums; and Michael Lytle: clarinet) with Han-earl Park (guitar), plus Patty Franceschy (vibraphone) and Kate Gentile (drums), perform at Douglass Street Music Collective (295 Douglass Street, Gowanus, Brooklyn, NY 11217) [map and directions…]. $10 suggested donation.

performance diary 07-17-13 (Brooklyn, New York)

upcoming performances
date venue time details
July 26, 2013 Douglass Street Music Collective
295 Douglass Street
Gowanus
Brooklyn, NY 11217
8:00pm Performance by Swim This (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Gerry Hemingway: drums; and Michael Lytle: bass clarinet) with Han-earl Park (guitar). Also performing: Patty Franceschy (vibraphone) and Kate Gentile (drums). Recommended donation: $10.
[Details…]
[DSMC page…]
August 13, 2013 Douglass Street Music Collective
295 Douglass Street
Gowanus
Brooklyn, NY 11217
8:00pm Performance by Gerald Cleaver (drums) and Han-earl Park (guitar). Also performing: Chris Pitsiokos (saxophone) and Philip White (electronics); and Viv Corringham (voice and electronics) and Andrea Parkins (accordion and electronics). Details to follow…
Recommended donation: $10.
[DSMC page…]
September 22, 2013 Douglass Street Music Collective
295 Douglass Street
Gowanus
Brooklyn, NY 11217
8:00pm Performance of Metis 9 by Han-earl Park (guitar), Catherine Sikora (saxophones) and Josh Sinton (saxophone and clarinet). Also performing: Lisa Mezzacappa Trio (Chris Welcome: guitar and voice; Lisa Mezzacappa: double bass; and Mike Pride: drums). Details to follow…
Recommended donation: $10.
[DSMC page…]
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). Details to follow…
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…
October 2013 New York and surrounding areas I am seeking opportunities to perform Metis 9 in small and large ensemble contexts with, at its core, the trio of Han-earl Park, Catherine Sikora and Josh Sinton. In particular, I am seeking performance opportunities for Gargantius Effect +4 (Murray Campbell and Randy McKean with Gino Robair, Han-earl Park, Catherine Sikora and Josh Sinton). Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch! [Details…]
2013 North America Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Han-earl Park: guitar; and Catherine Sikora: saxophones) is seeking performance opportunities in North America, and, in 2014, elsewhere in the world.
Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch! [Detailed proposal…]
2014 Europe Seeking performances in Europe, 2014 for the cyborg ensemble of interactive, semi-autonomous, technological artifact and machine musician io 0.0.1 beta++ (itself) with human musicians Han-earl Park (guitar), Bruce Coates (saxophones) and Franziska Schroeder (saxophones). Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch! [Detailed proposal…]

Continue reading “performance diary 07-17-13 (Brooklyn, New York)”

performance diary 07-03-13 (Brooklyn)

upcoming performances
date venue time details
July 26, 2013 Douglass Street Music Collective
295 Douglass Street
Gowanus
Brooklyn, NY 11217
8:00pm Performance by Swim This (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Gerry Hemingway: drums; and Michael Lytle: bass clarinet) with Han-earl Park (guitar). Also performing: Patty Franceschy (vibraphone) and Kate Gentile (drums). Recommended donation: $10.
[Details…]
[DSMC page…]
August 13, 2013 Douglass Street Music Collective
295 Douglass Street
Gowanus
Brooklyn, NY 11217
8:00pm Performance by Gerald Cleaver (drums) and Han-earl Park (guitar). Also performing: Anna Webber (saxophone and flute), Viv Corringham (voice and electronics) and Andrea Parkins (accordion and electronics); and more. Details to follow…
Recommended donation: $10.
[DSMC page…]
September 22, 2013 Douglass Street Music Collective
295 Douglass Street
Gowanus
Brooklyn, NY 11217
8:00pm Performance of Metis 9 by Han-earl Park (guitar), Catherine Sikora (saxophones) and Josh Sinton (saxophone and clarinet). Also performing: Lisa Mezzacappa Trio (Chris Welcome: guitar and voice; Lisa Mezzacappa: double bass; and Mike Pride: drums). Details to follow…
Recommended donation: $10.
[DSMC page…]
October 2013 New York and surrounding areas I am seeking opportunities to perform Metis 9 in small and large ensemble contexts with, at its core, the trio of Han-earl Park, Catherine Sikora and Josh Sinton. In particular, I am seeking performance opportunities for Gargantius Effect +4 (Murray Campbell and Randy McKean with Gino Robair, Han-earl Park, Catherine Sikora and Josh Sinton). Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch! [Details…]
2013 North America Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Han-earl Park: guitar; and Catherine Sikora: saxophones) is seeking performance opportunities in North America, and, in 2014, elsewhere in the world.
Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch! [Detailed proposal…]
2014 Europe Seeking performances in Europe, 2014 for the cyborg ensemble of interactive, semi-autonomous, technological artifact and machine musician io 0.0.1 beta++ (itself) with human musicians Han-earl Park (guitar), Bruce Coates (saxophones) and Franziska Schroeder (saxophones). Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch! [Detailed proposal…]

Continue reading “performance diary 07-03-13 (Brooklyn)”

performance: Swim This (Nick Didkovsky, Gerry Hemingway and Michael Lytle) with Han-earl Park at Douglass Street Music Collective, Brooklyn

Friday, July 26, 2013, at 8:00pm (our set: 9:00pm): a performance by Swim This (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Gerry Hemingway: drums; and Michael Lytle: clarinet) with Han-earl Park (guitar) takes place at Douglass Street Music Collective (295 Douglass Street, Gowanus, Brooklyn, NY 11217) [map and directions…]. Also performing: Patty Franceschy (vibraphone) and Kate Gentile (drums). $10 suggested donation.

Looking forward to Kate’s duo, and I’m super excited and honored to be guesting with Swim This. Should be a fun gig: I’m expecting fireworks!

See the performance diary for up-to-date info. [DSMC page…] [facebook event…]

thanks: Eris 136199 (DSMC, Brooklyn) and Lytle-Park (ABC No Rio, NYC)

Nick Didkovsky: “Wow. That was weird!”

Belated set of thanks for the performances earlier this month (June 5th and 9th). The biggest thanks to Nick Didkovsky and Catherine Sikora who made this Eris 136199’s stragest performance so far, with unexpected and unpredictable turns and juxtapositions; and big thanks to Michael Lytle who invited me to join him for a duo performance at ABC No Rio. Thanks also to Blaise Siwula for organizing and curating COMA: Citizens Ontological Music Agenda, and to the other musicians who shared the bill and both events. In particular, kudos to Ras Moshe, Shayna Dulberger and John Pietaro for stepping up and contributing a fantastic set (plus John said one of the nicest things about my playing after Eris’ set: “You’re the Rashied Ali of the group!”); and to Craig Flanagin and Frank Marino for their great vibe on and off stage. Special thanks to Scott Friedlander for his indefatigable and expert documentation—audio, video and photographic—and a hat tip to Don Mount for helping Eris come up with a title for our first improvisation. Last but not least, thanks to all who came to listen and witness the noise, complexity and play.

Next up: performance in July with Swim This (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Gerry Hemingway: drums; and Michael Lytle: bass clarinet). See the performance diary for up-to-date info.

performance diary 04-26-13 (Brooklyn, New York)

upcoming performances
date venue time details
May 16, 2013 Douglass Street Music Collective
295 Douglass Street
Gowanus
Brooklyn, NY 11217
8:00pm Performance by Ingrid Laubrock (saxophones) and Han-earl Park (guitar). Also performing: Kris Davis (piano) and Andrew Drury (drums), and Catherine Sikora (saxophones) and Stanley Jason Zappa (saxophones). Recommended donation: $10.
[Details…]
[DSMC page…]
June 5, 2013 Douglass Street Music Collective
295 Douglass Street
Gowanus
Brooklyn, NY 11217
8:00pm Performance by Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Han-earl Park: guitar; and Catherine Sikora: saxophones). Also performing: Ras Moshe (saxophones), Shayna Dulberger (bass) and John Pietaro (percussion). Recommended donation: $10.
[Details…]
[DSMC page…]
June 9, 2013 ABC No Rio
156 Rivington Street
New York, NY 10002
7:00pm Performance by Michael Lytle (bass clarinet) and Han-earl Park (guitar) as part of COMA: Citizens Ontological Music Agenda. Also performing: Craig Flanagin Ensemble. Admission: $5.
[Details…]
July 26, 2013 Douglass Street Music Collective
295 Douglass Street
Gowanus
Brooklyn, NY 11217
8:00pm Performance by Swim This (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Gerry Hemingway: drums; and Michael Lytle: bass clarinet) with Han-earl Park (guitar). Also performing: Patty Franceschy (vibraphone) and Kate Gentile (drums). Recommended donation: $10.
[Details…]
[DSMC page…]
2013 North America Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Han-earl Park: guitar; and Catherine Sikora: saxophones) is seeking performance opportunities in North America, and, in 2014, elsewhere in the world.
Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch! [Detailed proposal…]
2014 Europe Seeking performances in Europe, 2014 for the cyborg ensemble of interactive, semi-autonomous, technological artifact and machine musician io 0.0.1 beta++ (itself) with human musicians Han-earl Park (guitar), Bruce Coates (saxophones) and Franziska Schroeder (saxophones). Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch! [Detailed proposal…]

Continue reading “performance diary 04-26-13 (Brooklyn, New York)”

site update: Eris 136199

Nick Didkovsky, Catherine Sikora and Han-earl Park
The (provisional) project page for Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Han-earl Park: guitar; and Catherine Sikora: saxophones) is now live:

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. Eris 136199 plays on the crossroads of noise, melody, rhythm, space, density, contrast, synchronicity, asymmetry, serendipity and contradiction.

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 long-standing duo projects with Eric Mingus and with Ziv Ravitz, 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.

[Eris 136199 page…]

Eris 136199 is performing later this month (July 24, 2012) at Freddy’s Bar (Brooklyn). See the performance diary for up-to-date info.