thanks: Birmingham, Edinburgh and London*2

St Cecilia’s Hall (Edinburgh) 02-18-11

Thanks to all those hosting and organizing the performances: Mike Hurley and the rest of the Fizzle gang, Sibyl Madrigal of Boat-ting, Matthew Collings (who also sourced the tools for a mid-tour kluge repair of my amplifier), and the Lewisham Arthouse. Kudos to Reka Sanders, Joe Hope and Han-ter Park for putting a roof over this itinerant musician.

Big thanks to Paul Dunmall and Mark Sanders for the high-energy, musical workout, to Owen Green for introducing me to the musical (and comical) applications of a cardboard box, to Pat Thomas for his skill and wit, to Lol Coxhill for being the inimitable Lol Coxhill, and to the rest of Mathilde 253—to Charles Hayward and Ian Smith—for pushing and pulling into ever more fascinating musical spaces.

Last but not least, thanks to all who came to listen/watch.

more CD reviews: Mathilde 253

‘Mathilde 253’ (SLAMCD 528) CD cover
‘Mathilde 253’ (SLAMCD 528) CD cover

After some glowing reviews (including one from Brian Morton in Signal to Noise [read it…] and another from Guillaume Belhomme in Le son du grisli [read it…]), Mathilde 253 has got a couple of more careful, measured responses:

…A bustling, talkative seventy-four minutes made up of angular, Baileyesque electric guitar, some fantastic drum splashes mixed with occasional bursts of less traditional percussive sounds such as the small metallic chimes heard in the opening seconds of the album, and the chattery, conversational style of the trumpet and horn. …The playing here is very fine, a tightly woven mass of sounds with no one real dominating voice but each musician expressive and energetic. The music is all about the conversation, but a real heart-on-the-sleeve collision course of a conversation, but nevertheless the result of the musicians listening to one another and responding. The addition of Coxhill’s softer soprano on the last two pieces do slow the music a little, but the jazz credentials remain. If the music’s progression is a little less choppy then melody and hints at standardised rhythm creep in, but the improvised discussion carries on, perhaps the words are less heated but the debate remains of interest. [Read the rest…]

Richard Pinnell (The Watchful Ear)

My favorite tracks are the last two, in which the group is joined by saxophone legend Lol Coxhill. The four minute guitar/sax duet at the beginning of Track 6 is inspired; the two really seem to be conversing with one another. [Read the rest…]

— Max Level (KFJC 89.7 FM)

Mathilde 253’s eponymous debut CD (SLAMCD 528) available on SLAM Productions. [More info…] [All reviews…] [Get the CD…]

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…]

tonight: Mathilde 253 with Pat Thomas plus Zolan Quobble

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

Tonight (Saturday, February 19, 2011), at 8:00pm: Mathilde 253 (Charles Hayward (drums, percussion and melodica), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Ian Smith (trumpet and flugelhorn)) perform with Pat Thomas (synthesizer) plus Zolan Quobble (spoken word) at the Lewisham Arthouse (140 Lewisham Way, London SE14, England). Admission is £5. [Details…]

flyer: Mathilde 253 with Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (Cork and Dublin, 2011)

Flyers now released for the performances in Cork and Dublin, Ireland, 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).

Mathilde 253 with Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith 2011 flyer (copyright 2011 Han-earl Park and unknown photographer) click to download PDF…
flyer © 2011 Han-earl Park and unknown photographer (click to download PDF…)

Performances are as follows:

See the performance diary for up-to-date info. [Details about events/tour…]

Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith will also speak on ‘Ankhrasmation: A Systemic Music Language for Creative Music’ as part of the UCC Music Research Seminar Series. The talk is free, open to the public, and takes place at the UCC Music Building (Sundays Well, Cork) at 2:00 pm on 30 March.

  • Arts Council Ireland logo
  • Music Network logo

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.

Point of Departure: Mathilde 253

‘Mathilde 253’ (SLAMCD 528) CD cover
‘Mathilde 253’ (SLAMCD 528) CD cover

A very nice review of Mathilde 253 (SLAMCD 528) by Brian Morton in the current issue of Point of Departure:

Mathilde 253 is one of those ‘name’ groups that sprang fully-formed from a single playing moment… but seems to have been around for much longer…. Ian Smith is a formidable technician and a profoundly intuitive music maker, with the ability to deliver exactly the right sound, or very often the right sonic texture, at the psychological moment….

Guitarist Han-earl Park is a musical philosopher…. One of the delights of this live session is that one very frequently can’t distinguish who is making particular sounds. There’s not much idiomatic guitar-playing, though Park is very much in the Derek Bailey rather than the Keith Rowe line; he uses relatively orthodox technique to unorthodox ends.

It’s fascinating to find [Charles] Hayward in this setting, taking up the mantle—different as they were—of the late Steve Harris. Mathilde 253 has something of the guttural authority and generosity of gesture one associates with Zaum…. They also make a specific virtue of building other musicians into the group language.

It’s a long set, but has sufficient underlying momentum to pass with deceptive speed. It takes an alert listener to distinguish occasional quietuses in the process with track endings, and there is a moment between ‘Ishikari’ and ‘Jixi’ when it sounds almost as if one aspect of the previous piece has been filleted out for more sustained attention. 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 for him and for the others. 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. [Read the rest…]

— Brian Morton (Point of Departure)

Mathilde 253’s eponymous debut CD (SLAMCD 528) available on SLAM Productions. [More reviews…] [More info…] [Get the CD…]

reminder: Birmingham, Edinburgh and London*2

Performances coming up this month with Paul Dunmall and Mark Sanders; as part of Mathilde 253 (Charles Hayward, Han-earl Park and Ian Smith) with Pat Thomas and with Lol Coxhill; plus more, in Birmingham, Edinburgh and London (see the performance diary for up-to-date info).

Hope to see y’all at these events!

CD reviews: Mathilde 253

‘Mathilde 253’ (SLAMCD 528) CD cover
‘Mathilde 253’ (SLAMCD 528) CD cover

First set of reviews of Mathilde 253 (SLAMCD 528) including a very nice piece from Guillaume Belhomme:

La mise en place inquiète (Hayward au mélodica) donnait quelques indices sur la teneur de l’entière improvisation : réfléchie, et dans laquelle les intervenants rivalisent de subtilités (Park érodant les reliefs de plaintes aux volumes variés, Smith au bugle saisissant). Passée la période de flottement ravissant—de vacance, presque, pour Hayward—,il faudra bien revenir aux turbulences afin de s’y montrer autrement convaincant. Alors, Coxhill peut apparaître : le soprano élabore des parallèles aux phrases du cuivre dublinois ; ourdit et trame, enfin tisse, sur le métier remonté crescendo par Hayward, une tapisserie de choix : celle d’une autre Mathilde, à la beauté tout roturière. [Read the rest…]

— Guillaume Belhomme (Le son du grisli)

Translation by Justin Yang:

The tentative opening (Hayward on melodica) gives some indication of the tenor of the entire improvisation: reflective, in which the stakeholders compete in subtilities (Park eroding reliefs of wailing in varied volumes, Smith with a seizing bugle). Passing through a section of ravishing suspension—of near absence for Hayward—,it becomes necessary to return to turbulence to remain convincing. Alas, Coxhill can appear: the soprano elaborates parallell reflections in phrases of Dublin brass; ordered and entwining, weaves on the crescendo where Hayward restablishes his presence, a tapestry of choice: that of another Mathilde, of a complete beauty.

More reviews…

Une session très sympa d’un trio relevé: Charles Hayward, Han-Earl Park et Ian Smith, plus Lol Coxhill comme invité sur deux des sept pièces. De l’improvisation libre soutenue, vive comme c’est souvent le cas avec Hayward à la batterie. [Read the rest…]

— François Couture (Monsieur Délire)

La genialità non è qualcosa che si trova per strada, ma a quanto pare in qualche studio di registrazione qualcosa di positivo si riesce a raggiungere. Il batterista avant rock Charles Hayward (fondatore del gruppoThis Heatha deciso di confrontarsi con musicisti provenienti da tutt´altre aree musicali, Han-earl Park, anche lui abituato al geneere noise e il trombettista Ian Smith, una delle icone dell´improvvisazione radicale inglese e parte della London Improvisers´ Orchestra. Insieme a loro sugli ultimi due brani si aggiunge un´altro famoso personaggio dell´avanguardia, il sassofonista soprano Lol Coxhill.

L´interazione fra i tre (e poi in quartetto) procede perfettamente buttando nel calderone un pò di tutto, in situazioni che avevamo ascoltate da unFred Frith, ma qui procede tutto in modo più logico, forse per la forza propulsiva del trombettista che si ritaglia degli spazi precisi, evitando che si scivoli troppo verso il genere noise.

Lol Coxhillnei brani finali (più di venti minuti di improvvisazione a tutto spiano) contribuisce ad animare la compagnia, evitando che scenda la tensione. Sono nell´insieme quasi settantacinque minuti di musica che scorrono veloci, in cui le idee arrivano subito ed di musicisti si divertono a metterle in pratica.

Album così non si producono certo in serie, per cui ben venga l´intuizione diGeorge Haslamdi pubblicarli: un altra cosa notevole nel suo catalogo.

— Cosimo Parisi (MusicBoom.it)

Как можно догадаться, музыка Mathilde 253 — свободная импровизация, в которой джазовая идиома превалирует, но которая до собственно джаза, даже в самом свободном его понимании, не доходит. …Хейуорд же своими барабанами, тяжелыми, находящимися будто в стороне от самой музыки, не пытающимися ни поспеть за ней, ни задать ей ход, дает импровизациям Mathilde 253 третье измерение. Он поразительно точно для человека, который большую часть жизни играл музыку неимпровизированную, слышит своих коллег, дает им пространство для жизни и никогда не перетягивает одеяло на себя — но именно его-то слушать отдельное удовольствие. [Read the rest…]

As one might guess, Mathilde 253’s music is free improvisation, in which the jazz idiom predominates, but which does not attain to jazz proper even in the freest understanding of the term. …It is Hayward with his drums, heavy and as it were standing aside from the music itself, not attempting either to keep up with it or to set its pace, who gives Mathilde 253’s improvisations a third dimension. With an accuracy remarkable in one who for much of his life played non-improvised music, he listens to his colleagues, gives them space to live and never steals the limelight—but he it is whom it is a particular pleasure to hear.

Opium Mass, translation by Leofranc Holford-Strevens.

Mathilde 253’s eponymous debut CD (SLAMCD 528) available on SLAM Productions. [More info…] [All reviews…] [Get the CD…]

performances: Mathilde 253 with Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (Cork and Dublin, 2011)

March 2011: Performances in Cork and Dublin, Ireland, 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).

See the performance diary for up-to-date info.

[Download press release (PDF)…]

Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith will also speak on ‘Ankhrasmation: A Systemic Music Language for Creative Music’ as part of the UCC Music Research Seminar Series. The talk is free, open to the public, and takes place at the UCC Music Building (Sundays Well, Cork) at 2:00 pm on 30 March.

  • Arts Council Ireland logo
  • Music Network logo

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.

Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith

Mathilde 253 with Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith
(Cork and Dublin, Ireland: March 2011)

[Download press release (PDF)…]

Expect powerful and inventive musical interactions as internationally renowned composer-improviser Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith performs with the virtuosic, cross-idiomatic ensemble Mathilde 253 (Charles Hayward, Han-earl Park and Ian Smith) in Cork and Dublin, Ireland in March 2011. This two-date tour marks Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith’s first appearance in Ireland, and the Irish debut of Mathilde 253.

Hailed as “one of the most vital musicians on the planet today” (Bill Shoemaker, Coda), legendary composer, multi-instrumentalist, improviser and educator Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith has been active in creative contemporary music for over forty years. He is creator of Ankhrasmation, a systemic music language, and his music traverses traditions as diverse as the delta blues, creative world musics, American experimentalism and live-electronics. His current ensembles include the Golden Quartet (currently with Vijay Iyer, John Lindberg and Pheeroan akLaff), Silver Orchestra (with J.D. Parran, Lindberg, Okkyung Lee, Harris Eisenstadt and others), Organic (with Nels Cline, Lee, Lindberg, akLaff and others), and his compositions have been performed by ensembles including the Kronos Quartet, Da Capo Chamber Player, New Century Players, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Del Sol String Quartet and New York New Music Ensemble. He is faculty member, and director of the African-American Improvisational Music program, at The Herb Alpert School of Music at the California Institute of the Arts, a Guggenheim Fellow, and a longtime member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians.

Mathilde 253 consists of the pioneering avant-rock drummer Charles Hayward (This Heat, Camberwell Now, Massacre), rising Cork-based guitarist and improviser Han-earl Park (Paul Dunmall, Kato Hideki, Stet Lab), and Irish trumpeter and mainstay of the London improvised music scene, Ian Smith (Derek Bailey, The London Improvisers Orchestra, The Gathering). Mathilde 253 was formed to explore the spontaneous mashup of avant-rock, African-American creative musics, European free improvisation and noise, and collaborates with noted improvisers such as Lol Coxhill and Pat Thomas. Guillaume Belhomme described the music of the ensemble’s eponymous debut CD, released in 2011 by Slam Productions (SLAMCD 528), as “ordered and entwining… a tapestry of choice: that of another Mathilde, of a complete beauty”.

The Dublin event will open with a solo performance by the Dublin-based Paul G. Smyth, one of Ireland’s foremost free-improvising pianist.

The events take place: Wednesday, 30 March, Half Moon Theatre (Cork Opera House, Emmet Place, Cork), 8:00 pm; and Thursday, 31 March, Kevin Barry Room (National Concert Hall, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin) 8:30 pm.

Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith will also speak on ‘Ankhrasmation: A Systemic Music Language for Creative Music’ as part of the UCC Music Research Seminar Series. The talk is free, open to the public, and takes place at the UCC Music Building (Sundays Well, Cork) at 2:00 pm on 30 March.

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.

Continue reading “performances: Mathilde 253 with Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (Cork and Dublin, 2011)”

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)”

performances: Birmingham, Edinburgh and London*2

Upcoming performances in Birmingham, Edinburgh and London, February 2011 (see the performance diary for up-to-date info):

Hope to see y’all at these events!

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)”