thanks: Han-earl Park and Dominic Lash plus Corey Mwamba (Manchester, Cambridge and London, May 2015)

Han-earl Park, Dominic Lash and Corey Mwamba (Tubers MiniFestival, Manchester, May 2, 2015). Photo © 2015 Peter Fay.
Han-earl Park, Dominic Lash and Corey Mwamba (Manchester, May 2, 2015). Photo © 2015 Peter Fay.

Note of thanks for the performances in Manchester, Cambridge and London. Thanks in particular to our hosts (their partners and cats) and organizers: David Birchall and everyone at Tubers; David Grundy; and Alex Ward at Boat-ting (and hope you feel better soon, Sibyl Madrigal). Kudos to all the performers who shares the stage, and to Peter Fay for the documentation [more images…]. And, as always, thanks to all those who came to hear real-time music!

As for The Uncanny Dom Lash and The Astonishing Corey Mwamba, I’ll take off my hat, and bow down, to your formidable and generous musicality (a diabolical combination). I think we made music sometimes brittle, always unexpected, with no gesture lost in play.

Some things to take away from this micro-tour: talking ‘scene’ (creative communities and geographies) with David Birchall, Rex Casswell, Corey and Cathy Heyden; paying The Racially Diverse Trio of Nerdy Guys in comics (thanks to Free Comic Book Day); revisiting my take on soundart and music; finding, with Dom and Rex, unexpected musical possibilities in the imagined names of the royal baby; watching Bark! in motion—off and on-stage—an ensemble that plays like a joke where the punchline never arrives (and it’s awesome); Dom saying that “the details need to work harder”; Steve Beresford telling tales of improvised music past and present; being reminded what an imaginative, crafty and resourceful drummer Steve Noble is (he gives so much for his partners to work with); witnessing the joy of someone coax the musical from unmusical resources (Sonic Pleasure sounding masonry); performing our last gig while Dom’s bass gained a buzz and my guitar’s bridge pickup cr*pped out….

…Talking of which, if you’ll excuse me, I have a guitar to open-up and examine (and hopefully repair before Belfast).

tonight: Han-earl Park and Dominic Lash at Boat-ting, London

Tonight (Monday, May 4, 2015), at 8:30pm (doors: 8:00pm): a performance by Han-earl Park (guitar) and Dominic Lash (double bass). Also performing are Steve Noble (drums), Massimo Magee (saxophone) and Tom Wheatly (double bass); Tom Jackson (clarinet), Benedict Taylor (viola) and Daniel Thompson (guitar); Crush!!! (Ian MacGowan: trumpet; Sonic Pleasure: masonry; and Mark Browne: saxophone); and Sibyl Madrigal (poetry) and Alex Ward (clarinet).

Event takes place at Boat-ting (Bar & Co., Temple Pier, Embankment, London WC2R, England). Admission: £8 (£5).

performance diary 04-14-15 (Belfast, Cambridge, London, Manchester)

upcoming performances
date venue time details
May 2, 2015 St. Margaret’s Church
Rufford Road
Whalley Range
Manchester M16 8AE
England
5:00pm Han-earl Park (guitar) and Dominic Lash (double bass) with Corey Mwamba (vibraphone) as part of the Tubers MiniFestival. Also performing: Bark! (Rex Casswell, Phillip Marks and Paul Obermayer), Cathy Heyden and Rogier Smal, Roseanne Robertson, Vitalija Glovackyte and Joe Snape, and Ortho Stice. Admission: £8.
[Details…] [Tubers pags…]
May 3, 2015 Music Room
Robinson College
Grange Road
Cambridge CB3 9AN
England
7:00pm Han-earl Park (guitar) and Dominic Lash (double bass). Also performing: David Grundy and Martin Hackett. Admission free.
[Details…]
May 4, 2015 Bar & Co.
Temple Pier
Embankment
London WC2R, England
8:30pm (doors: 8:00pm) Han-earl Park (guitar) and Dominic Lash (double bass) presented by Boat-ting. Also performing: Steve Noble (drums), Massimo Magee (saxophone) and Tom Wheatly (double bass); Tom Jackson (clarinet), Benedict Taylor (viola) and Daniel Thompson (guitar); Crush!!! (Ian MacGowan: trumpet; Sonic Pleasure: masonry; and Mark Browne: saxophone); and Sibyl Madrigal (poetry) and Alex Ward (clarinet). Admission: £8 (£5).
[Details…] [Boat-ting page…]
May 29 and 30, 2015 Sonic Arts Research Centre
Queen’s University
Belfast, N. Ireland
Program… Han-earl Park participates in the Just Improvisation symposium organized by Translating Improvisation.
Admission free.
[Details…] [Translating Improvisation page…]
2015– 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), and my trio with Dominic Lash and Mark Sanders. Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch!

Continue reading “performance diary 04-14-15 (Belfast, Cambridge, London, Manchester)”

performance diary 03-20-15 (Berlin, Cork, London, Manchester)

upcoming performances
date venue time details
March 26, 2015 Ma Thilda
Wildenbruchstraße 68
Neukölln
12045 Berlin, Germany
9:00pm Hilary Jeffery (trombone), Han-earl Park (guitar), Andrea Parkins (accordion and electronics) and Simon Rose (saxophone).
Admission free; donation recommended.
[Details…]
April 12, 2015 gulpd
Triskel Arts Centre
Tobin Street
Cork, Ireland
9:00pm Han-earl Park (guitar).
Admission free.
[Details…]
May 2, 2015 St. Margaret’s Church
Rufford Road
Whalley Range
Manchester M16 8AE
England
5:00pm Han-earl Park (guitar) and Dominic Lash (double bass) with Corey Mwamba (vibraphone) as part of the Tubers MiniFestival. Also performing: Bark! (Rex Casswell, Phillip Marks and Paul Obermayer), Cathy Heyden and Rogier Smal, Roseanne Robertson, Vitalija Glovackyte and Joe Snape, and Ortho Stice. Admission: £8.
[Details…]
May 4, 2015 Bar & Co.
Temple Pier
Embankment
London WC2R, England
8:30pm (doors: 8:00pm) Han-earl Park (guitar) and Dominic Lash (double bass) presented by Boat-ting. Also performing: Steve Noble (drums), Massimo Magee (saxophone) and Tom Wheatly (double bass); Tom Jackson (clarinet), Benedict Taylor (viola) and Daniel Thompson (guitar); Crush!!! (Ian MacGowan: trumpet; Sonic Pleasure: masonry; and Mark Browne: saxophone); and Sibyl Madrigal (poetry) and Alex Ward (clarinet). Admission: £8 (£5).
Details to follow…
Early-May 2015 England Seeking performance opportunities (depending on dates, for my trio with Dominic Lash and Mark Sanders) in England, around 2 and 4 May. Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch!
2015– 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) and Mathilde 253 (with Charles Hayward and Ian Smith). Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch!

Continue reading “performance diary 03-20-15 (Berlin, Cork, London, Manchester)”

reminder: Mathilde 253 at Freedom of the City, London

Mathilde 253 (Han-earl Park, Charles Hayward and Ian Smith), Cafe OTO, London, April 18, 2010
Mathilde 253 (Cafe OTO, London, April 18, 2010). Photo © 2010 Seán Kelly

Freedom of the City kicks-off this weekend, and on Sunday (May 6, 2012), at 2:00pm Mathilde 253 (Charles Hayward: drums, percussion and melodica; Han-earl Park: guitar; and Ian Smith: trumpet and flugelhorn) will perform in an event that will also include performances by John Edwards, Caroline Kraabel and Lee Patterson; Terry Day; and the London Improvisers Orchestra. The event takes place at Cecil Sharp House (2 Regent’s Park Road, Camden, London NW1 7AY, England) [map…]. [More info…]

Tickets: £12 [festival passes and concession details…]

performance: Mathilde 253 at Freedom of the City, London

Mathilde 253 (Han-earl Park, Charles Hayward and Ian Smith), Cafe OTO, London, April 18, 2010
Mathilde 253 (Cafe OTO, London, April 18, 2010). Photo © 2010 Seán Kelly

Sunday, May 6, 2012, at 2:00pm: As part of Freedom of the City, Mathilde 253 (Charles Hayward: drums, percussion and melodica; Han-earl Park: guitar; and Ian Smith: trumpet and flugelhorn) performs at Cecil Sharp House (2 Regent’s Park Road, Camden, London NW1 7AY, England) [map…]. Tickets: £12 [festival passes and concession details…]

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

Also performing on May 6, 2012 at 2:00pm: John Edwards, Caroline Kraabel and Lee Patterson; Terry Day; and the London Improvisers Orchestra.

Also performing at FOTC: Guillaume Viltard; Ute Kanngiesser, Grundik Kasyansky, and Roger Turner; Jamie Coleman and John Russell; Jennifer Allum, Ross Lambert and Seijiro Murayama; Weavels (Mick Beck, Chris Cundy and Alex Ward); Sebastian Lexer and Steve Noble; Okkyung Lee Christian Marclay and Phil Minton; Tony Marsh and Mark Sanders; John Edwards, Shabaka Hutchings and Mark Sanders; Common Objects (John Butcher, Angharad Davies, Rhodri Davies, Heledd Francis, Lina Lapelyte, Matthew Lovett and Lee Patterson); Pat Thomas; and Evan Parker and Eddie Prévost.

about Mathilde 253

Mathilde 253 (Charles Hayward, Han-earl Park and Ian Smith) was born out of an opportunity to explore the spontaneous mashup of avant-rock, African-American creative musics, European free improvisation and noise. Featuring special guest Lol Coxhill, the ensemble debuted at Cafe OTO (London) in April 2010. In March 2011, with support from Music Network, UCC School of Music, Note Productions, the National Concert Hall and the Cork Opera House, Mathilde 253 toured Ireland with the celebrated composer-improviser Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith.

The ensemble weaves a performance of physical virtuosity and humorous sound poetics; a patchwork of restraint, subtlety and recklessness. A playful collision of personal, social and musical histories, Mathilde 253 is a site where tradition and idiom are not straightjackets nor limitations, but playgrounds for real-time (re)inventions and (re)configurations.

Mathilde 253’s eponymous debut CD (SLAMCD 528) was released by SLAM Productions in January 2011.

“Smith favors long mongrelly growls and scales that ascend and descend in illogical ways, like the stairs in an M C Escher print. Hayward has a very distinct sense of time underneath the freedom…. This is an exciting new venture…. One can reasonably expect unexpected things from Park, who is a delightful shape-shifter and Smith always repays the closest attention, and claims it with sudden open-horn breakouts if the fabric of the music gets too smooth and uninflected. Great stuff….”

— Brian Morton (Point of Departure)

“Ordered and entwining… a tapestry of choice: that of another Mathilde, of a complete beauty.”

— Guillaume Belhomme (Le son du grisli)

Charles Hayward is known as the pioneering drummer with This Heat and Camberwell Now, an ever growing list of solo concerts and CDs (most recent release Abracadabra Information on Locus Solus label), special collaborative performances, and is in Massacre with Bill Laswell and Fred Frith.

Throughout the 90’s up to the present he has initiated a bewildering array of events and performances, including the widely acclaimed series Accidents + Emergencies at the Albany Theatre, Out of Body Orchestra (too much sound, not enough space, not enough time), music made from the sound of the new Laban dance centre being built which was choreographed for the official opening, music for a circus (part of the National Theatre’s ‘Art of Regeneration’ initiative), the full-on installation/performance Anti-Clockwise (with Ashleigh Marsh and David Aylward) for multiple strobes, maze structure of diverse textures, 2 drummers, synthesizers and your nervous system. Recent developements include the Continuity evenings as part of Camberwell Arts.

Committed to song ‘but the shapes have to change,’ his current one-man show is an intoxicating mix of percussive attack, swirling electronics and lyrical fragment collage.

“An unwavering belief in the power of the groove and an uncanny facility for generating one riff after another.”

— The Wire

“Telepathic magic…. Hayward is one of the most life-affirming people who stalks this dark globe.

— The Sound Projector

Improviser, guitarist and constructor Han-earl Park (박한얼) has been working within/from/around traditions of fuzzily idiomatic, on occasion experimental, mostly open improvised musics for over fifteen years, sometimes engineering theater, sometimes inventing ritual. He feels the gravitational pull of collaborative, multi-authored contexts, and has performed in clubs, theaters, art galleries, concert halls, and (ad-hoc) alternative spaces in Austria, Denmark, Germany, England, Ireland, The Netherlands, Scotland and the USA.

He is part of Mathilde 253 with Charles Hayward and Ian Smith, and is involved in collaborations with Bruce Coates, Franziska Schroeder, Alex Fiennes and Murray Campbell. He has recently performed with Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith, Lol Coxhill, Pat Thomas, Paul Dunmall, Mark Sanders, Matana Roberts, Richard Barrett, Pauline Oliveros, Thomas Buckner and Kato Hideki. Festival appearances include Sonorities (Belfast), Sonic Acts (Amsterdam), dialogues festival (Edinburgh), VAIN Live Art (Oxford), and the Center for Experiments in Art, Information and Technology Festival (California). His recordings have been released by labels including Slam Productions and DUNS Limited Edition.

Park founded Stet Lab, a monthly improvised music space in Cork, Ireland, and taught improvisation at the UCC Department of Music.

“Park applies every technique to his detuned ax—tapping, sliding, muting, twisting the machine heads. It’s simultaneously disciplined and barbaric.”

— Greg Burk (MetalJazz)

“Pieces of dismantled gestures, destabilizing timbres, and impressive synergy.”

— François Couture (Monsieur Délire)

Ian Smith has been playing improvised music and has performed with Evan Parker, John Stevens, Maggie Nicols, Lol Coxhill, Steve Beresford and Eddie Prévost among others. His own trio, Trian, has played at the 1993 London Experimental Music Festival and the 1992 Soho Jazz Festival. He also participated in a reformation of Cornelius Cardew’s Scratch Orchestra in the ICA in 1994. He has collaborated with composer Roger Doyle, winner of the Bourges International Elecro-Acoustic Music Competition 1997, and he has been featured on two instrumental tracks by the hip hop band Marxman. He toured the UK with Butch Morris’ London Skyscraper conduction project in November 1997.

He helped to institute the London Improvisers orchestra in 1998 with Steve Beresford and Evan Parker, which continues to play monthly in London and has recently performed at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam. He also founded The Gathering with Maggie Nichols.

In 2000 he recorded his second CD as a leader, Daybreak, with Derek Bailey, Veryan Weston, Gail Brand and Oren Marshall. Into the twenty-first century, as well as regularly playing with London improvisers, he has also performed with Greg Tate’s Burnt Sugar Arkestra, guitarists Han-earl Park, Reeves Gabrels, the Poet and Detriot legend John Sinclair, and New York based drummer Harris Eisenstadt.

“Smith’s style has the free-form panache of a Wadada Leo Smith or Joe McPhee, but his experience of other musics is never too far from the surface. Some of his gestures seem to derive from earlier forms of jazz, and there are moments of harmonic directness that you could put chord symbols under. But it has all been thoughtfully moulded into a highly convincing and distinctive language.”

— Philip Clark (JazzReview)

“Smith’s trumpet playing is a particular revelation. His brassy blats and smears play off of the hyperactive spatters of Eisenstadt’s drums. There is a clear jazz edge to his tone, which sounds almost radical these days when many trumpet players in the improv world seem inclined to turn their back on that vocabulary. But he can also dip down to breathy flutters and muted coloristic playing.”

— Michael Rosenstein (Signal to Noise)

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

Mathilde 253 (SLAMCD 528) is available from SLAM Productions [details…]

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

© 2010 Han-earl Park.
℗ 2010 SLAM Productions.

updates

04–30–12: add the John Edwards/Shabaka Hutchings/Mark Sanders set that stands-in for the Tony Marsh/Mark Sanders duo. I cannot, however, bring myself to remove Mr. Marsh’s name. RIP Tony Marsh.
Add facebook event page.

reminder: Mathilde 253 with Lol Coxhill at Boat-ting

Mathilde 253 (Han-earl Park, Charles Hayward and Ian Smith), Cafe OTO, London, April 18, 2010
Mathilde 253 (Cafe OTO, London, April 18, 2010). Photo © 2010 Seán Kelly

Tomorrow night (Saturday, February 21, 2011), at 8:00pm: Mathilde 253 (Charles Hayward (drums, percussion and melodica), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Ian Smith (trumpet and flugelhorn)) perform with Lol Coxhill (saxophone) plus Sharon Gal (voice), Alex Ward (guitar) and Steve Noble (drums); Red Start (Noel Taylor (clarinet), Benedict Taylor (viola) and Noura Sanatian (violin)); and Sibylline Sisters (Sibyl Madrigal (poetry), Aromorel Weston (voice) and Kay Grant (voice)) presented by Boat-ting. The event takes place at Bar & Co. (Temple Pier, Embankment, London WC2R, England). Admission is £6/4. [Performance diary entry…] [Boat-ting page…]

performance diary 02-06-11 (Birmingham, Cork, Dublin, Edinburgh, London)

upcoming performances
date venue time details
February 7, 2011 The Roundy
Castle Street
Cork, Ireland
9:00pm
(doors: 8:45pm)
Stet Lab featuring Stephen Davis (drums) with Han-earl Park (guitar), plus Helena Reilly (voice), Kevin Terry (guitar) and Dan Walsh (drums).
Admission: €10/5.
[Details…]
February 15, 2011 The Lamp Tavern
Barford Street
Birmingham B5, England
9:00pm Fizzle presents a performance by Paul Dunmall (saxophones), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Mark Sanders (drums).
Admission: £5.
[Details…]
[facebook event…]
February 18, 2011 St Cecilia’s Hall
Niddry Street
Cowgate
Edinburgh EH1, Scotland
8:00pm Grind Sight Open Eye presents performances by Han-earl Park (guitar), and Matthew Collings, plus others (TBA).
Details to follow….
Recommended donation: £2.
[facebook event…]
February 19, 2011 Lewisham Arthouse
140 Lewisham Way
London SE14, England
8:00pm Performance by Mathilde 253 (Charles Hayward (drums, percussion and melodica), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Ian Smith (trumpet and flugelhorn)) with Pat Thomas (synthesizer) plus Zolan Quobble (spoken word).
Admission: £5.
[Details…]
[facebook event…]
February 21, 2011 Bar & Co.
Temple Pier
Embankment
London WC2R, England
8:30pm
(doors: 8:45pm)
Boat-ting presents a performance by Mathilde 253 (Charles Hayward (drums, percussion and melodica), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Ian Smith (trumpet and flugelhorn)) with Lol Coxhill (saxophone). Also performing are Sharon Gal (voice), Alex Ward (guitar) and Steve Noble (drums); Red Start (Noel Taylor (clarinet), Benedict Taylor (viola) and Noura Sanatian (violin)); and Sibylline Sisters (Sibyl Madrigal (poetry), Aromorel Weston (voice) and Kay Grant (voice)). Admission: £6/4.
[Details…]
[facebook event…]
March 2011 The Netherlands I’m looking for performance opportunities in The Netherlands mid-March 2011. Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch!
March 30, 2011 Half Moon Theatre
Half Moon Street
Emmets Place
Cork, Ireland
8:00pm Performances by Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet) with Mathilde 253 (Charles Hayward (drums, percussion and melodica), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Ian Smith (trumpet and flugelhorn)). Presented with funding from the Music Network Performance and Touring Award, and support from the UCC School of Music and the Cork Opera House. Tickets: €11 (€6) from the Cork Opera House.
[Get tickets…]
[Details…]
[facebook event…]
March 31, 2011 Kevin Barry Room
National Concert Hall
Earlsfort Terrace
Dublin 2, Ireland
8:30pm Performances by Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet) with Mathilde 253 (Charles Hayward (drums, percussion and melodica), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Ian Smith (trumpet and flugelhorn)), plus Paul G. Smyth (piano). Presented with funding from the Music Network Performance and Touring Award, and support from Note Productions and the National Concert Hall. Tickets: €12 (€10) from the National Concert Hall Box Office.
[Get tickets…]
[Details…]
[facebook event…]

Continue reading “performance diary 02-06-11 (Birmingham, Cork, Dublin, Edinburgh, London)”

performance diary 01-26-11 (Birmingham, Cork, Dublin, Edinburgh, London)

upcoming performances
date venue time details
February 7, 2011 The Roundy
Castle Street
Cork, Ireland
9:00pm
(doors: 8:45pm)
Stet Lab featuring Stephen Davis (drums) with Han-earl Park (guitar), plus Helena Reilly (voice), Kevin Terry (guitar) and Dan Walsh (drums).
Admission: €10/5.
[Details…]
February 15, 2011 The Lamp Tavern
Barford Street
Birmingham B5, England
9:00pm Fizzle presents a performance by Paul Dunmall (saxophones), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Mark Sanders (drums).
Admission: £5.
[Details…]
[facebook event…]
February 18, 2011 St Cecilia’s Hall
Niddry Street
Cowgate
Edinburgh EH1, Scotland
8:00pm Grind Sight Open Eye presents performances by Han-earl Park (guitar), and Matthew Collings, plus others (TBA).
Details to follow….
Recommended donation: £2.
[facebook event…]
February 19, 2011 Lewisham Arthouse
140 Lewisham Way
London SE14, England
8:00pm Performance by Mathilde 253 (Charles Hayward (drums, percussion and melodica), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Ian Smith (trumpet and flugelhorn)) with Pat Thomas (synthesizer) plus Zolan Quobble (spoken word).
Admission: £5.
[Details…]
[facebook event…]
February 21, 2011 Bar & Co.
Temple Pier
Embankment
London WC2R, England
8:30pm
(doors: 8:45pm)
Boat-ting presents a performance by Mathilde 253 (Charles Hayward (drums, percussion and melodica), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Ian Smith (trumpet and flugelhorn)) with Lol Coxhill (saxophone). Also performing are Sharon Gal (voice), Alex Ward (guitar) and Steve Noble (drums); Red Start (Noel Taylor (clarinet), Benedict Taylor (viola) and Noura Sanatian (violin)); and Sibylline Sisters (Sibyl Madrigal (poetry), Aromorel Weston (voice) and Kay Grant (voice)). Admission: £6/4.
[Details…]
[facebook event…]
March 2011 The Netherlands I’m looking for performance opportunities in The Netherlands mid-March 2011. Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch!
March 30, 2011 Half Moon Theatre
Half Moon Street
Emmet Place
Cork, Ireland
8:00pm Performances by Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet) with Mathilde 253 (Charles Hayward (drums, percussion and melodica), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Ian Smith (trumpet and flugelhorn)).
More info to follow… Presented with funding from the Music Network Performance and Touring Award, and support from the UCC School of Music and the Cork Opera House. Tickets: €11 (€6) from the Cork Opera House.
March 31, 2011 TBC
Dublin, Ireland
TBC Performances by Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet) with Mathilde 253 (Charles Hayward (drums, percussion and melodica), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Ian Smith (trumpet and flugelhorn)). Presented with funding from the Music Network Performance and Touring Award, and support from Note Productions. Details to follow…

Continue reading “performance diary 01-26-11 (Birmingham, Cork, Dublin, Edinburgh, London)”