Lab report July 10th 2008: consequences of a noisy head

Published
by
tony
on July 30, 2008
in reviews
. 1 Comment

Normally, nothing runs through my head when improvising. Occasionally, a thought will suggest, in an unobtrusive way, “Oh, that’s quite cool, you should copy that”. Or, as when I was first messing around with extended techniques on my bass, “My luthier’s gonna kill me…” But, at this Stet Lab, for the first time, a thought sounded loud and clear in my head almost immediately, and brought forth an emotional response which I don’t think left me for the whole performance. The emotion was panic, and the thought that caused it was, “Oh Christ, it’s too melodic…” Continue reading ‘Lab report July 10th 2008: consequences of a noisy head’

Lab report July 10th 2008: fitting the square piece into that triangular hole

Published
by
han
on July 25, 2008
in reviews
. 0 Comments

It’s good, I think, to think tactically about improvisation, and group improvisation in particular. You know, however, that you’ve lost the game in improvisation when you’re preempting the music. You don’t want to be thinking this is how it should be, goddamnit, and I will fit that square piece into that triangular hole. Continue reading ‘Lab report July 10th 2008: fitting the square piece into that triangular hole’

Stet Lab July 10th 2008: audio recordings

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news
on July 14, 2008
in audio recordings, news, site updates and web site
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Audio recordings of the July 10th Stet Lab are now online.

A very warm thanks to Mike Hurley who not only demonstrated his abilities as, to quote Eoin Callery, a “sh*t-hot pianist”, but also demonstrated his generosity as a performer.

Thanks to Neil O’Loghlen for keeping Mike company on stage. And thanks, as always, to all who came to listen and play, including the evening’s Real-Time Company (for the Ad-Hoc Association) of… Tony O’Connor and Han-earl Park, and Eoin Callery, Marian Murray and Kevin Terry for jumping into the (improvisative) deep-end.

Finally, Stet Lab gratefully acknowledges the support of the UCC Department of Music for coming through with this month’s venue.

Stet Lab and Mike Hurley in the Cork Independent

Published
by
news
on July 10, 2008
in news
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The Cork Indy has a little article on Mike Hurley and Stet Lab.

[Mike Hurley:] “I have improvised in quite a free and gestural way since I was too young to know what free improvisation and free jazz were. …Like anything there was a fair bit of ‘trial and error’ when I was learning. …One prepares for an improvised show in a similar way to which one prepares for a surprise—it’s best not to worry about it.”

…Understanding personal differences is key, he says, to a successful collaborative improvisation, particularly as the process requires collective decision making and a trust in one another’s abilities.

Read the whole thing…

Catch Mike and the Stet Lab (ir)regulars tonight (Thursday, July 10th)! [Details…]

Stet Lab July 10th 2008 (reminder)

Published
by
news
on July 7, 2008
in event announcements and news
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This month’s evening of improvisations and extemporizations will take place this Thursday (July 10th). The ninth Stet Lab will feature guest artist Mike Hurley on piano, who will be joined by bassist Neil O’Loghlen. [Details…]

The evening’s second ‘rhythm section’ will be The Real-Time Company (for the Ad-Hoc Association) of… Tony O’Connor (bass guitar) and Han-earl Park (guitar).

Please note (yet again) the new venue!

It’ll be a unique and exciting event. We hope to see you there, participating as audience, performer or helper, and thank you for your continued support.

Lab report June 12th 2008: thoughts of a newbie improviser

Published
by
mel
on July 7, 2008
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I’ve often wondered what goes through an improviser’s head during group improvisation. The improvised public performances I’ve participated in before have been more like improvised compositions in a sense—one person takes charge, or there’s a kind of plan vaguely sketched out (usually with the proviso that things might happen differently). This was my first time going in ‘cold’, without a plan. Continue reading ‘Lab report June 12th 2008: thoughts of a newbie improviser’

Stet Lab July 10th 2008 (update)

Published
by
news
on June 27, 2008
in event announcements and news
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Next Stet Lab (featuring Mike Hurley) will be on Thursday, July 10th 2008, Ó Riada Hall, UCC Department of Music, Sundays Well, Cork, Ireland [map…]. Please note the new venue and earlier start time! Up-to-date details…

Stet Lab

featuring Mike Hurley
plus The Real-Time Company (for the Ad-Hoc Association) of…

Thursday, July 10th 2008

7:30pm [earlier start time!]

Ó Riada Hall [new venue!]
UCC Department of Music
Sundays Well
Cork, Ireland

€10 (€5)

Following the success of June’s convention, Cork’s monthly improvised music event—Stet Lab—continues its Summer 2008 season of on-stage mutations and hybrids on Thursday, 10th July, at the Ó Riada Hall, UCC Department of Music, Sundays Well. This regular, yet unique meeting between novice and veteran improvisers alike welcomes the co-founder of the Birmingham Improvisers Orchestra, Mike Hurley to the rostrum.

Stemming from the bright lights of Birmingham, Hurley is an exciting and innovative young pianist, capable of both furious extemporizations and the “angelic piano” (Downtown Music Gallery, NY), who has quickly established himself as an original voice in the free improvisation scene. A mover and shaker within the English improvised music community, according to the Birmingham Post, Hurley is “making quite a mark in the British free jazz arena, and has already played with such stalwarts of the scene as Lol Coxhill and the Pauls, Rutherford and Dunmall.” This is Hurley’s first performance at Stet Lab and will see him performing both as a soloist and with the local musicians. However, he is no stranger to the Lab’s style having founded his own fortnightly free improvisation event FiZZLE, and curates, in association with Birmingham Jazz, the quarterly Invention Convention.

Also performing at the event will be Stet Lab’s house band; a group of Cork-based improvisers appearing as The Real-Time Company (for the Ad-Hoc Association) of…. Audience members are welcome to participate in association with the programmed artists; please introduce yourself to the Stet Lab curator on the night.

Stet Lab gratefully acknowledges the support of the UCC Department of Music in providing a venue for this month’s event.

Lab report June 12th 2008: being the odd-one-out

Published
by
han
on June 26, 2008
in reviews
. 1 Comment

There’s a lot to be said for being the odd-one-out: you can be lazy.

There’s also a lot to be said for putting two ‘alikes’ together; be it the same instrumentation, or people who share a name. Okay, AFAIK, tactically, as an improviser, that latter factor doesn’t make an iota of difference, but I can vouch for the former. Continue reading ‘Lab report June 12th 2008: being the odd-one-out’

Lab report June 12th 2008: noisiest ‘hoedown’

Published
by
eoin
on June 17, 2008
in reviews
. 4 Comments

“This was possibly the noisiest ‘hoedown’ ever………………………………………” —Everybody’s sub-conscious

Anyway, it began with several short burst to get things started, from the house band of the evening. This comprised Eoin Callery (mountain dulcimer), Susan Geaney (flute), Tony O’Connor (bass guitar) and Barry Twomey (guitar). A very well behaved bass player who could have crush the puny acoustic forces, swelled and tinkered over the guitar and dulcimer duel. Continue reading ‘Lab report June 12th 2008: noisiest ‘hoedown’’

Stet Lab July 10th 2008

Published
by
news
on June 15, 2008
in event announcements and news
. 0 Comments

The next Stet Lab (featuring Mike Hurley) will be on Thursday, July 10th 2008. [Details…]

Please not that, due to circumstances beyond our control, there is unfortunately likely to be a last minute change of venue. Please sign-up to the list or subscribe to the news feed to stay up-to-date. [More info…]