For those that don’t know, I founded Stet Lab, a space for improvised music based in Cork. I curated the Lab between 2007 and 2011, and during that time, also wrangled its online presence. In August, I will be removing some of the audio recordings of Stet Lab’s first year (prior to the November 2008 event) from its website. Read more to find out how to save your favorite recordings. [More…]
Stet Lab: signing-out as curator
Originally posted at Stet Lab [original article…]:
As previously announced, after thirty-two events over three and a quarter years, I’ve stepped down as curator of Stet Lab as of February 2011. The duties of running the Lab now are in the very capable hands of Veronica Tadman, Tony O’Connor, Athos Tsiopani with curatorial duties handled by Kevin Terry (Kevin and Tony performed at the very first Lab!). I’d like to thank all of them, Kevin, Veronica and Eoin Callery in particular, for their work keeping this no-budget, alternatively pedagogical space on track over the years. (And thanks for the whisky y’all!—sorry I was too taken to make a proper speech.)
My thanks also to all the guest artists who have shared the stage with us, generously contributing to, and transforming, this practice. There’s too many names to mention, but I’d like to thank, in particular, two club-runners, Bruce Coates (who with Sarah O’Halloran and I kicked-off Stet Lab in November ’07) and Mike Hurley for their advice, cautionary tales and encouragement; to Murray Campbell, Franziska Schroeder and John Godfrey who took time out of their busy schedules, and stepped-up when others would/could not; and to Corey Mwamba, Ian Smith, Justin Yang and Alex Hawkins for encouraging words, and an unwavering belief in grass-roots music organizations. Special thanks to Paul Dunmall, Mark Sanders and Don Malone; heavy-hitters who believed in the Lab enough to participate with neophyte improvisers in what must be, by their standards, a low-key event.
Kudos to Jesse Ronneau for supporting improvised music, and the aims of the Lab in particular, during his time in Cork. I apologize for the many whose name I’ve not listed, but y’all have my warmest thanks, and my sincerest admiration for your contributions—we are a better space for it!
Of course, the biggest thanks go to everyone who participated as listener (and I am thinking in particular of the regulars who come every month!), and to those brave ones who jump-in the deep-end!
Signing-off as curator: Thanks, thanks, thanks and thanks to y’all!
BTW, some of my observations about running this space around the half-way point of my tenure as curator are at ‘Lab report 2007-2009: how to run an improvised music club’.
Please note that Stet Lab’s site has moved to stetlab.wordpress.com. Please update your bookmarks for the site and the corresponding web feeds. busterandfriends.com/stet will remain as an archive of Lab activities between November 2007 and April 2011.
Also, there is now an index of Lab reports written between June 2008 and April 2011 by fourteen author-practitioners documented over nineteen events from the POV of the stage.
thanks: Mathilde 253 with Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (Cork and Dublin, 2011)
Thanks to Catherine Kirby and everyone at the National Concert Hall for able and professional assistance, to John Godfrey, Juniper Hill and Melanie L. Marshall, the then coordinators of the UCC Music Research Seminar Series, who strongly supported Wadada’s visit, and to Mary Hickson, Chris Gaughan, Peter Crudge, Eoin Winning and everyone at the Cork Opera House. Kudos to Tony O’Connor and Athos Tsiopani for the behind-the-scenes help, and to John Hough for the videography and the technical support. Thanks also to Carmel Daly and Mel Mercier of UCC School of Music; Gary Sheehan of Note Productions; Jeffrey Weeter, Paul O’Donnell and, formerly, Jesse Ronneau of the UCC Concerts Committee; and Andreas W. Ziemons, Niamh Ryan and Louise Walsh at Music Network. Thanks to David Leikam of the Arts Noticed, Linda Plover of Blue Monkey PR, Eoin Brady and Bernard Clarke of Nova, and Sandra Quinn at the Evening Echo for their support.
A big thank to the best sound engineer in the world, Alex Fiennes, for amplifying the Cork event, and making the performance sound its best! and to Melanie for the conversations and unofficial roadie duties. Kudos to Marian Murray for jumping into the deep end, a special note of thanks Paul G. Smyth for stepping-up to support this project, and to Dennis Cassidy, Fergus Cullen and Benedict Schlepper-Connolly who came to the rescue when our drum-hire situation briefly went into tail-spin.
And of course a big, big, big thanks to Charles Hayward, Ian Smith and Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith for letting me share in their skill, craft, intelligence, musicality, generosity and sense of play (and their patience with this first-time tour manager): I’ll treasure Charles’ rhythmic travels to the outer reaches of an alternative-universe Caribbean; Ian’s brave counterpoint; and the spiraling, expert stacatto precision of Wadada’s trumpet.
Last but not least, thanks to all who came to listen and witness creative music in real-time!
Presented with funding from the Music Network Performance and Touring Award, and support from UCC School of Music, Note Productions, the National Concert Hall and the Cork Opera House.
thanks: Matana Roberts, Han-earl Park and Mark Sanders
Thanks to Paul O’Donnell and Jeffrey Weeter of the University College Cork Concert Series; to Kevin Terry and Athoulis Tsiopani for helping out on the evening; to the Music Research Seminar Series (run by John Godfrey, Juniper Hill and Melanie L Marshall) for hosting the talk by Matana; to the Head of Music, Mel Mercier; to Carmel Daly for administrative support; and to John Hough for the technical and photographic work. I’d like to thank Jesse Ronneau who worked to host many improvised music events at the School over the years. This was the last concert, before he moved on to greener pastures, with his involvement, and his support of, and belief in, this and other projects has been invaluable.
And a very, very big thanks to Matana and Mark for their incredible musicianship and generosity. I find Matana’s work daring, original and provocative—her sound is by turns humorous and beautiful, and always compelling—and Mark is about the finest drummer I have had the pleasure of working with. I hope I managed to keep up with them on the evening, and hope to play again.
Finally, thanks to all who came to support this event!
Thanks: Maynooth, Berlin and Vienna
Thanks to Jesse Ronneau of EIMM, Hilary Jeffery and Richard Scott of AUXXX, Marco Eneidi of the Neu New York / Vienna Institute of Improvised Music for organizing the performances, and for hosting this itinerant musician. Thanks also to Jaap Pieters whose films added an extra interactive complication (in the best possible sense) to the AUXXX performance, Richard Scott for the informal recording session in Berlin, and to all the performers who were involved in EIMM and Neu New York / Vienna Institute of Improvised Music.
And a big, big thanks to Richard Barrett for the pushing/pulling me. I’m in awe of Richard’s skill and craft, and I hope I managed to keep up with his energy and creativity. I recall, during our twenty-five minute duet, at least four points during which I fumbled the ball, but I still think he got some of the best playing out of me. It was certainly a mental and physical workout, and I leaned a lot during that performance. Hope to play again!
As always, thanks to all who came to listen/watch—it was a pleasure to share the journey.
video recordings: Paul Dunmall and Han-earl Park, ‘Boolean Transforms’
A couple of short video clips of the November 6, 2009 performance by Paul Dunmall and myself. The full concert available on the CD ‘Boolean Transforms’ [Get the CD…].
video credits
Improvised music performance by Paul Dunmall (saxophone and bagpipes) and Han-earl Park (guitar).
Video: John Hough
Audio: Han-earl Park
Presented by the UCC Concert Series at the Ó Riada Hall, UCC School of Music, Cork, Ireland, on November 6, 2009. Thanks to Paul O’Donnell, Jesse Ronneau, Carmel Daly and John Hough.
Full concert available on DUNS Limited Edition CD ‘Boolean Transforms’ (DLE 067).
© 2010 Dunmall/Park
reminder: Jitney Trio plus the QME
This coming Monday (March 15, 2010) at 9:00 pm (doors at 8:45 pm): the Jitney Trio plus the Quiet Music Ensemble perform at The Roundy (Castle Street, Cork, Ireland). Admission is €12 (€6) at the door. [Details…]
Hope to see y’all there!
performances: Jitney Trio plus the QME
On Monday, March 15, 2010, at 9:00 pm (doors at 8:45 pm): An improvised music event with the Jitney Trio (Marian Murray (violin), Neil O’Loghlen (double bass) and Han-earl Park (guitar)) plus the Quiet Music Ensemble (Roddy O’Keeffe (trombone), Ilse De Ziah (’cello), John Godfrey (guitar) and Jesse Ronneau (double bass)). The event takes place at The Roundy (Castle Street, Cork, Ireland) and admission is €12 (€6) at the door.
See the performance diary for up-to-date info.
performance diary 02-16-10 (Cork, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London)
| date | venue | time | details |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 8, 2010 | The Roundy Castle Street Cork, Ireland |
9:00pm (doors: 8:45pm) | Stet Lab featuring Paul Stapleton (new musical instruments / sound sculptures) and Nick Williams (guitar and electronics). Admission: €10 (€5). [Details…] |
| March 15, 2010 | The Roundy Castle Street Cork, Ireland |
9:00pm (doors: 8:45pm) | Performance by the Jitney Trio (Marian Murray (violin), Neil O’Loghlen (double bass) and Han-earl Park (guitar)) plus the Quiet Music Ensemble (Roddy O’Keeffe (trombone), Ilse De Ziah (’cello), John Godfrey (guitar) and Jesse Ronneau (double bass)). Admission: €12 (€6). [Details…] [Poster…] |
| April 12, 2010 | The Roundy Castle Street Cork, Ireland |
9:00pm (doors: 8:45pm) | Stet Lab featuring John Godfrey (guitar). Admission: €10 (€5). [Details…] |
| April 14, 2010 | Venue TBC Glasgow, Scotland |
TBC | Performance by Han-earl Park (guitar) and others. Details to follow…. |
| April 15, 2010 | Venue TBC Edinburgh, Scotland |
TBC | Performance by Han-earl Park (guitar) and others. Details to follow…. |
| April 18, 2010 | Cafe OTO 18–22 Ashwin Street Dalston London E8 3DL England |
8:00pm | Performance by Charles Hayward (drums), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Ian Smith (trumpet and flugelhorn). Admission: £5 adv. / £6 on the door. [Details…] [Cafe OTO Page…] [Get tickets…] |
| May 10, 2010 | The Roundy Castle Street Cork, Ireland |
9:00pm (doors: 8:45pm) | Stet Lab featuring Juniper Hill (voice) and friends. Admission: €10 (€5). [Details…] |
| May 26, 2010 | Blackrock Castle Observatory Cork, Ireland |
8:00pm (doors: 7:45pm) | Debut performance by io 0.0.1 beta++ (itself) with Bruce Coates (saxophones), Franziska Schroeder (saxophones) and Han-earl Park (guitar), plus iWife (itself) with John Godfrey (guitar) and Francis Heery (diffusion). Presented with funding from the Music Network Performance and Touring Award, and support from the Arts Council of Ireland, Blackrock Castle Observatory, The Castle Bar and Trattoria and the UCC School of Music. [Details…] |
| 2010 (TBC) | Venue TBC | TBC | Performance by Han-earl Park (guitar), Mark Sanders (drums) and Franziska Schroeder (saxophones). Details to follow… Interested promoters and venues, please get in touch! |
Continue reading “performance diary 02-16-10 (Cork, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London)”
video recordings: Dunmall-Park-Sanders-Smith
Video clips of the February 11th 2009 performance by myself with Paul Dunmall, Mark Sanders and Jamie Smith are now on YouTube.
video credits
Improvised music performance by Paul Dunmall (saxophone), Han-earl Park (guitar), Mark Sanders (drums) and Jamie Smith (guitar).
Video: John Hough.
Audio: Jamie Smith.
Presented by the UCC Concert Series at the Lewis Glucksman Gallery, Cork, Ireland, on February 11 2009, during the exhibition Eye for An Eye: Representations of Conflict in 20th Century Ireland.
Thanks to Paul O’Donnell, Jesse Ronneau, Ciarán Meade, Carmel Daly, John Hough and Chris Paton.
Full concert available on the CD ‘Live at the Glucksman Gallery, Cork’, Owlhouse Recordings (owlcd002).
© 2009 dunmall/park/sanders/smith
updates
05-01-21: replace old Flash-based embeds.
thanks: Dunmall-Park
A very big thanks to Paul Dunmall for performing with me on Friday [Details…]. It was (despite me suffering from a cold) a mind blowing experience. What a, to borrow an adjective Paul uses a lot, fantastic player. I’m reminded how much I have to learn and practice.
Kudos to Jesse Ronneau and Paul O’Donnell of the UCC Concerts Committee for programming us, to Mary Mitchell Ingoldsby for taking time to show Paul around the uilleann pipes, and to Carmel Daly and John Hough for help in all matters, respectively, administrative and technical. Thank also to Aisling Ryan for plugging the gig on handy as a small pot.
Last but not least, thanks to all who came to listen and watch.
By the way, there is a recording (audio and video) which we’ll need to decide what to do with. I’ll keep you posted.
thanks: Buckner-Park-Ronneau
A special note of thanks to Thomas Buckner and Jesse Ronneau for inviting me to join-in on the improvisative play last week [Details…]. It was a pleasure and I hope we have more real-time musical encounters in the future.