Broken Families: Collectivism, Violence, Imagined Utopias and Improvisation (article in The Sampler)

‘Broken Families,’ The Sampler (screenshot)
© 2022 The Sampler

The Sampler has just published Broken Families: Collectivism, Violence, Imagined Utopias and Improvisation,’ my piece about the possibilities of improvisation—sometimes profound, radical and creative, sometimes regressive, hegemonic and abusive—about trust, consent and power, and how the denial of violence may itself be damaging to the project of building better communities and practices:

These are stories about failures. Failures of imagination, of peoples and groups, of how lofty goals can be deceptions. And those deceptions can be limiting, and affect violence. I want to move to a point where we can discuss, critically, both the utopian promises of the practices, processes, tribes and communities surrounding improvisation, and their destructive and violent potentials.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the above stories of improvisation-in-crisis are from events with self-professed lofty goals…. I think, in both cases, those of us involved took community, solidarity, resilience, trust and empathy for granted. It’s not just that the groundwork of trust and safety was never established for the group (although that’s part of it), but that we lazily subscribed to the dogma that the nature of improvisation would itself somehow save us. [Read the rest…]

Thanks to Laonikos Psimikakis-Chalkokondylis at The Sampler for asking me to write the piece. In writing this piece I’m indebted to exchanges and conversations with several improvisers. Big thanks, in particular, to Caroline Kraabel, Corey Mwamba, and Lauren Sarah Hayes.

update

03–19-24: update URL for article as the thesampler.org is being shuttered.

Thanks: Sirene 1009 (Belfast, London, Monmouth) and Park-Pugh (Derry)

Han-earl Park and Caroline Pugh (Derry, 03-08-17)

Four performances in March. (Another mini-tour, but, hey, for the first time, I’ve actually tied-together an album release and a tour—never happens!) A privilege to have shared the stage with smart, creative performers, and to have been performing to some wonderful community of listeners. So, quick thanks to everyone on/off stage at Monmouth, London, Belfast and Derry….

Big thanks to all the venues, promoters and supporters. Thanks, in particular, to Lyndon Owen, a person of apparently limitless enthusiasm, and the team at Monmouth (what a wonderful community); to Peter O’Doherty at Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin for the incredible work bootstrapping the Derry scene; to Eduard Solaz at IKLECTIK for running such a wonderful space; and to Brian Carson at Moving on Music, and to Simon Waters at SARC for presenting, promoting and hosting.

Thanks for David Bird at SARC for all his work above-and-beyond the call of duty. (Hey! I owe you and Craig a beer.) Kudos, David Lyttle for loaning us your double bass for a couple of days.

As always big, big thanks to everyone who came to listen. I’ll particularly remember the adventurous and genuinely interested listeners in Monmouth and Derry. And a special thanks to Jeremy (he’ll know why 😉 ).

Finally, thanks to all the performers: to James King for the gibberish; to the acoustic frenzy of FAINT (big thanks to Franziska for all her help (starting in February 2016!) getting the Belfast performance together—it’s been a long road, but worthwhile!); and, of course, biggest thanks to Dom, Mark and Caroline for the music (See you in April!)!

performance diary 02-14-17 (Belfast, Cork, Derry, London, Monmouth)

upcoming performances
date venue time details
March 1, 2017 Queens Head Inn
1 St James Street
Monmouth NP25 3DL
Wales
9:00pm Sirene 1009 (Han-earl Park: guitar; Dominic Lash: double bass; Mark Sanders: drums; and Caroline Pugh: voice and electronics).
Admission free. Presented with support from Music in Monmouth and Plancktone Club. [Details…]
[Queens Head page…]
March 2, 2017 IKLECTIK
‘Old Paradise Yard’
20 Carlisle Lane
London SE1 7LG
England
8:30pm (doors: 8:00pm) Sirene 1009 (Han-earl Park: guitar; Dominic Lash: double bass; Mark Sanders: drums; and Caroline Pugh: voice and electronics).
Admission: £8 (£6).
[Details…]
[IKLECTIK page…]
March 7, 2017 Sonic Arts Research Centre
Cloreen Park
Belfast BT9 5HN
N. Ireland
8:00pm Sirene 1009 (Han-earl Park: guitar; Dominic Lash: double bass; Mark Sanders: drums; and Caroline Pugh: voice and electronics) as part of Brilliant Corners. Also performing: FAINT (Franziska Schroeder: saxophones; Pedro Rebelo: piano and ‘instrumental parasites’; and Steve Davis: drums) with Ricardo Jacinto (cello and electronics). Tickets: £10. [Get tickets…]
[Details…]
[Brilliant Corners page…]
March 8, 2017 The Glassworks
33 Great James Street
Derry BT48 7DF
N. Ireland
8:00pm Han-earl Park (guitar) and Caroline Pugh (voice and electronics).
Admission: £5, students free. [Get tickets…]
[Details…]
[Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin page…]
April 7, 2017 Aula Maxima
University College Cork
Cork, Ireland
1:10pm Sirene 1009 (Han-earl Park: guitar; Dominic Lash: double bass; Mark Sanders: drums; and Caroline Pugh: voice and electronics) presented by FUAIM Music at UCC.
Admission free. Presented with funding from the Arts Council of Ireland. Arts Council of Ireland
[Details…]
April 7, 2017 Aula Maxima
University College Cork
Cork, Ireland
2:30pm (setup: 2:10pm) Group improvisation workshop with Han-earl Park, Dominic Lash, Mark Sanders and Caroline Pugh.
Workshop fee: €20.* [Register…] SOLD OUT. * There are a small number of discount places for students at CIT Cork School of Music and UCC Department of Music. SOLD OUT. Presented with funding from the Arts Council of Ireland, and support from UCC Department of Music. Arts Council of Ireland
[Details…]
May 19, 2017 Stack Theatre
Cork School of Music
Union Quay
Cork, Ireland
8:00pm (doors: 7:45pm) Sirene 1009 (Han-earl Park: guitar; Dominic Lash: double bass; Mark Sanders: drums; and Caroline Pugh: voice and electronics). Also performing: Catherine Sikora (saxophones) and Dan Walsh (drums). Tickets: €16 | €10 | €5.
Online box office closes at 6:00pm. Tickets will be available from the door from 7:30pm. Presented with funding from Arts Council of Ireland, and support from CIT Cork School of Music and the Cork Improvised Music Club. Arts Council of Ireland
[Details…]
[CSM page…]
Autumn 2017 Europe I am seeking performance opportunities for the transatlantic trio Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Han-earl Park: guitar; and Catherine Sikora: saxophones). Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch! [Performance proposal…]

Continue reading “performance diary 02-14-17 (Belfast, Cork, Derry, London, Monmouth)”

performance diary 01-24-17 (Belfast, Cork, Derry, London, Monmouth)

upcoming performances
date venue time details
February 3, 2017 St Peter’s Cork
North Main Street
Cork, Ireland
9:15pm Sky, Horse and Death (Kevin Terry: voice and clarinet; Ros Steer: electronics and voice; Dan Walsh: drums and saxophone; Han-earl Park: guitar; and Diarmait MacCárthaigh: accordion) perform as part of Quarter Block Party.
Tickets: €20.
[Quarter Block Party page…]
March 1, 2017 Queens Head Inn
1 St James Street
Monmouth NP25 3DL
Wales
9:00pm Sirene 1009 (Han-earl Park: guitar; Dominic Lash: double bass; Mark Sanders: drums; and Caroline Pugh: voice and electronics).
Admission free. Presented with support from Music in Monmouth and Plancktone Club. [Details…] [Queens Head page…]
March 2, 2017 IKLECTIK
‘Old Paradise Yard’
20 Carlisle Lane
London SE1 7LG
England
8:30pm (doors: 8:00pm) Sirene 1009 (Han-earl Park: guitar; Dominic Lash: double bass; Mark Sanders: drums; and Caroline Pugh: voice and electronics).
Admission: £8 (£6).
[Details…]
[IKLECTIK page…]
March 7, 2017 Sonic Arts Research Centre
Cloreen Park
Belfast BT9 5HN
N. Ireland
8:00pm Sirene 1009 (Han-earl Park: guitar; Dominic Lash: double bass; Mark Sanders: drums; and Caroline Pugh: voice and electronics) as part of Brilliant Corners. Also performing: FAINT (Franziska Schroeder: saxophones; Pedro Rebelo: piano and ‘instrumental parasites’; and Steve Davis: drums) with Ricardo Jacinto (cello and electronics). Tickets: £10.
[Details…]
[Brilliant Corners page with ticket info…]
March 8, 2017 The Glassworks
33 Great James Street
Derry BT48 7DF
N. Ireland
8:00pm Han-earl Park (guitar) and Caroline Pugh (voice and electronics).
Admission: £5, students free.
[Details…]
[Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin page…]
April 7, 2017 Aula Maxima
University College Cork
Cork, Ireland
1:10pm Sirene 1009 (Han-earl Park: guitar; Dominic Lash: double bass; Mark Sanders: drums; and Caroline Pugh: voice and electronics) presented by FUAIM Music at UCC.
Admission free. Presented with funding from the Arts Council of Ireland. Arts Council of Ireland
Details to follow…
May 19, 2017 Stack Theatre
Cork School of Music
Union Quay
Cork, Ireland
TBC Sirene 1009 (Han-earl Park: guitar; Dominic Lash: double bass; Mark Sanders: drums; and Caroline Pugh: voice and electronics). Also performing: Catherine Sikora (saxophones) and Dan Walsh (drums). Tickets: TBC. Presented with funding from the Arts Council of Ireland, and support from CIT Cork School of Music and the Cork Improvised Music Club. Arts Council of Ireland
Details to follow…
Autumn 2017 Europe I am seeking performance opportunities for the transatlantic trio Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Han-earl Park: guitar; and Catherine Sikora: saxophones). Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch! [Performance proposal…]

Continue reading “performance diary 01-24-17 (Belfast, Cork, Derry, London, Monmouth)”

Sirene 1009 at Brilliant Corners, Belfast

Sirene 1009 (Belfast)
Photos © 2016 Bruce Coates; icons © 2016 Han-earl Park; overlaid text © Brilliant Corners.

Tuesday, March 7, 2017, at 8:00pm: Sirene 1009 (Han-earl Park: guitar; Dominic Lash: double bass; Mark Sanders: drums; and Caroline Pugh: voice and electronics) perform as part of Brilliant Corners, a festival of jazz presented by Moving on Music. With support from FAINT+ (Franziska Schroeder: saxophones; Pedro Rebelo: piano and ‘instrumental parasites’; and Steve Davis: drums; with Ricardo Jacinto: cello and electronics), the event takes place at the Sonic Arts Research Centre (Cloreen Park, Belfast BT9 5HN, N. Ireland). Tickets: £10 [get tickets…].

See the performance diary for up-to-date info. [Brilliant Corners page…] [Facebook event…]

details

Support: FAINT+

Faint has been playing free improvised music since 2007, recording their first album on the Creative Source label. For this performance the trio will be joined by Lisbon-based improviser Ricardo Jacinto, to make Faint+.

Sirene 1009

Sirene 1009 features improviser, guitarist and constructor Han-earl Park. The molten, musical core of the ensemble comprises of virtuosic bassist, composer and sound artist Dominic Lash, with arguably the most sought-after avant-jazz and free improvisation drummer of his generation, Mark Sanders. The experimental folk singer and electronics performer Caroline Pugh brings an additional layer of levity and exuberance to the already playful trio.

With such a diverse collection of performers, it is only wise to prepare for a performance that fragments and recombines musical lines, leaping unexpectedly between noise, melody, dissonance, harmony and rhythm.

Performed at the Sonic Arts Research Centre, Sirene 1009 will make full use of the cutting-edge audio space, for an experience that simply couldn’t be replicated in any other Belfast venue.

By Han-earl Park, Dominic Lash, Mark Sanders and Caroline Pugh

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.

Sirene 1009 is also performing…

March 1, 2017: Monmouth, Wales; March 2, London, England; and March 7 and May 19, 2017: Cork, Ireland. [Details…]

performance diary 01-08-17 (Belfast, Cork, Monmouth)

upcoming performances
date venue time details
March 1, 2017 Queens Head Inn
1 St James Street
Monmouth NP25 3DL
Wales
9:00pm Sirene 1009 (Han-earl Park: guitar; Dominic Lash: double bass; Mark Sanders: drums; and Caroline Pugh: voice and electronics).
Admission free. Presented with support from Music in Monmouth and Plancktone Club. [Queens Head page…]
March 7, 2017 Sonic Arts Research Centre
Cloreen Park
Belfast BT9 5HN
N. Ireland
8:00pm Sirene 1009 (Han-earl Park: guitar; Dominic Lash: double bass; Mark Sanders: drums; and Caroline Pugh: voice and electronics) as part of Brilliant Corners. Also performing: FAINT (Franziska Schroeder: saxophones; Pedro Rebelo: piano and ‘instrumental parasites’; and Steve Davis: drums) with Ricardo Jacinto (cello and electronics). Tickets: £10.
[Details…]
[Brilliant Corners page with ticket info…]
April 7, 2017 Venue TBC
Cork, Ireland
1:10pm Sirene 1009 (Han-earl Park: guitar; Dominic Lash: double bass; Mark Sanders: drums; and Caroline Pugh: voice and electronics) presented by FUAIM Music at UCC.
Admission free. Presented with funding from the Arts Council of Ireland. Arts Council of Ireland
Details to follow…
Autumn 2017 Europe I am seeking performance opportunities for the transatlantic trio Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Han-earl Park: guitar; and Catherine Sikora: saxophones). Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch! [Performance proposal…]

Continue reading “performance diary 01-08-17 (Belfast, Cork, Monmouth)”

performance diary 09-28-16 (Belfast, Cork, Derby, Newcastle, Sheffield)

upcoming performances
date venue time details
November 10, 2016 Over The Top
78 Kingfield Road
Sheffield S11 9AU
England
8:00pm Josh Sinton (saxophone), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Dominic Lash (double bass).
[Details…]
November 13, 2016 Bridge Hotel
Castle Garth
Newcastle NE1 1RQ
England
8:00pm Josh Sinton (saxophone), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Dominic Lash (double bass) presented by Jazz North East. Also performing: Improvisers Workshop Ensemble. Tickets: £8 (£6).
[Details…] [Jazz North East page…]
November 15, 2016 The Bless
11–17 Chapel Street
Derby DE1 3GU
England
6:30pm Josh Sinton (saxophone), Han-earl Park (guitar) and Dominic Lash (double bass) presented by A Little Bit of Nothing/Corey Mwamba.
Admission: £10 (under 18s free).
[Details…] [Facebook event…]
March 7, 2017 Sonic Arts Research Centre
Cloreen Park
Belfast BT9 5HN
N. Ireland
TBC Sirene 1009 (Han-earl Park: guitar; Dominic Lash: double bass; Mark Sanders: drums; and Caroline Pugh: voice and electronics) as part of Brilliant Corners. Also performing: FAINT (Franziska Schroeder: saxophones; Pedro Rebelo: piano and ‘instrumental parasites’; and Steve Davis: drums) with Ricardo Jacinto (cello and electronics). Details to follow…
April 7, 2017 Venue TBC
Cork, Ireland
1:10pm Sirene 1009 (Han-earl Park: guitar; Dominic Lash: double bass; Mark Sanders: drums; and Caroline Pugh: voice and electronics) presented by FUAIM Music at UCC.
Admission free. Presented with funding from the Arts Council of Ireland. Arts Council of Ireland
Details to follow…
2017 Europe I am seeking performance opportunities for Sirene 1009 with Dominic Lash, Mark Sanders and Caroline Pugh. Interested promoters, venues and sponsors, please get in touch!

Continue reading “performance diary 09-28-16 (Belfast, Cork, Derby, Newcastle, Sheffield)”

Broken Families: Collectivism, Violence, Imagined Utopias and Improvisation (a twitter transcript)

Just Improvisation: workshop performance (Belfast, May 30, 2015). Photo copyright 2015 Translating Improvisation.
Just Improvisation: workshop performance (Belfast, May 30, 2015). Photo © 2015 Translating Improvisation. [Original…]

Simon Rose: “Did you know how loud you were?”
Han-earl Park: “Oh. Yes.”
Rose: “I thought you did.”

Thoughts and questions in response to Translating Improvisation’s symposium back in May from the POV of an institutionally unaffiliated, sometimes teacher, amateur scholar and anthropologist [previous twitter transcripts…]. Below the fold is an unedited twitter transcript of my observations from Just Improvisation. My original observations came in the form of tweets (some written ‘live’, most posted subsequently) via @hanearlpark that spanned the first panel discussions, Ellen Waterman’s keynote presentation, concert performances by Okkyung Lee and Maria Chavez, the Deep Listening Workshop with Pauline Oliveros, and the workshop-performance which forms the main subject of my discussions.

My questions and observations are indebted to discussions with @franzschroeder, @wildsong, @tomarthursmusic, @pauljstapleton, @MortButane, @olivep, @davekanemusic, @zeittraumism, @nickreynoldsatp and @JoshSinton both on- and off- the twitterverse.

The rants (and typos), however, are entirely my own 😉

Twitter transcript (unedited)

Responses to Symposium Day 1: Belfast, May 29, 2015

May 29: Let’s start this w/ informal, visible demographic survey (a la #isim2014 #amspittsburgh #rsa2014)… #amateuranthropology #justimprovisation

May 29: …Suits. Lots* of suits. #amateuranthropology #justimprovisation

May 29: …* ‘Lots’ may be relative.** #amateuranthropology #justimprovisation

May 29: …** ‘Relative’ may speak more to the prejudices of the observer. #amateuranthropology #justimprovisation

May 29: ‘Adversity’ noun: “difficulties; misfortune”… #justimprovisation

May 29: …Potential tripping hazard in interdisciplinary meetings? possible misunderstanding(s) (creative or otherwise)? … #justimprovisation

May 29: …What is, for eg, the relationship btwn ‘adversity’ and ‘struggle’? #justimprovisation

May 29: …‘Adversity’ is not a term afaik improvisers enroll in their discussions, but ‘struggle,’ yes, often, maybe always. #justimprovisation

May 29: …Also ‘difficulty,’ ‘problematic,’ ‘risk’—difficult/problematic terms w/ differing creative/social ramifications. #justimprovisation

May 29: …false friends? I doubt these terms say much about the specifics of the creative or the social… #justimprovisation [1/2]

May 29: …—or their corresponding discourses—but it may be tempting to draw simple correlations. #justimprovisation [2/2]

May 29: …Like I said, potential tripping hazards. #mistakenembrace #justimprovisation

May 29: “Start to grapple with that fluidity.” #justimprovisation

May 29: ‘Proceduralized.’ Good word. Potential #artspeak right there. #linguisticdetritus #randomactsofpoetry #justimprovisation

May 29: “We’ve seen an 18% increase…” I’d love to write program/liner notes w/ this language. #technocracy #artspeak #justimprovisation

May 29: …How do we reconcile the need for ‘fluidity’ when the rhetorical justification uses… #linguisticdetritus #justimprovisation [1/2]

May 29: …such technocratic, bureaucratic language? #linguisticdetritus #justimprovisation [2/2]

May 29: “Risk”; that word again. #artspeak #linguisticdetritus #justimprovisation

May 29: Improvisation as an “unruly domain”. #justimprovisation

May 29: …Improvisation as a ’domain’? as a ‘site’? (Not an act?) #performance #identity #sociality #justimprovisation

May 29: Didn’t multiculturalism die at the hands of diversity? … #genuinequestion #justimprovisation

May 29: …or at least did not diversity explode the problematics (and necessary violence) of multiculturalism? #justimprovisation

May 29: “Musically satisfying ensemble.” ‘Satisfying’ #hmm By what criteria? #justimprovisation

May 29: ‘Recognition’ as the mechanism of identity (w/ minorities)? What about whiteness? heteronormativity? #hegemony #othering #justimprovisation

May 29: Equality = refusal to recognize difference. #justimprovisation

May 29: ‘Authentic self’? Is there the trap of essentialism there? #justimprovisation

May 29: Is the mechanism of improvisation based on exchanges? #genuinequestion #justimprovisation

May 29: I’ll ask this again for emphasis: Is exchange the primary/necessary/root mechanism of improvisation? #genuinequestion #justimprovisation

May 29: “Identities are always contingent.” Yes. This. #justimprovisation

May 29: Do the musical terms dissonance/harmony correspond to social/power relationship? … #justimprovisation

May 29: …or are we falling back on (liberal humanist) bad habits of old musicology? #justimprovisation

May 29: “Unvoicing of ulterity.” #justimprovisation

May 29: I don’t buy the distinction btw ‘traditional’ and ‘creative’ improvised musics. #idiom #tradition #creativity #justimprovisation

May 29: …pretty much said the same in a discussion with @tomarthursmusic afterwards. #justimprovisation

May 29: More thoughts: everytime I see OL perform, I think, damn; she’s better than the rest of us put together. #justimprovisation

May 29: Much transducer based music or #soundart would be improved by judicious enrolling of highpass filters. #impedance #justimprovisation

May 29 [in reply to…]: .@nickreynoldsatp I just don’t buy the one-on-one correspondence of musical and social dissonance/harmony. Instead… #justimprovisation [1/2]

May 29: .@nickreynoldsatp …it strikes me that _making_ the distinction btwn dissonance & harmony is the political act. #justimprovisation [2/2]

Responses to Symposium Day 2: Belfast, May 30, 2015

May 31: 0. Some more thoughts from the #justimprovisation symposium coming up…

May 31: 1. Find myself (my accident, of course) sitting next to @olivep during the Deep Listening workshop… #justimprovisation

May 31: 2. …and learned that I can not only listen thru the soles of my feet, but… #justimprovisation #body #physiology #listening

May 31: 3. …that I can triangulate the source of the vibration w/ two feet. Stereo! #justimprovisation #body #physiology #listening

May 31: 4. During the course of discussions, an improvising ensemble is frequently compared to that of a family… #justimprovisation

May 31: 5. …but escaping familiar relations are by degrees of magnitude so much harder than leaving an ensemble. #justimprovisation

May 31: 6. I am, however, reminded of the oft used terms ‘leader’ & ‘collective’ in the context of improvising micro-societies. #justimprovisation

May 31: 7. And tho we often idealize one form over another, ‘leader’ & ‘collective’ denote only 2 possible ways of organizing… #justimprovisation

May 31: 8. …each problematic, each utopian, in their way; neither quite fully descriptive of the dynamics of social play. #justimprovisation

May 31: 9. Leaders: such strong personalities (egos?) holding ensembles together… #justimprovisation

May 31: 10. …Ellington? Mingus? Bley? Guy? Mitchell? Paternalistic, nurturing, playful, autocratic, managerial, or bullying… #justimprovisation

May 31: 11. …Were we waiting for (or in need of) the ‘leader’ (such as @olivep) in the #justimprovisation ensemble…?

May 31: 12. In contrast to Call Them Improvisors! in 2011 in which we all bowed down to EP? #justimprovisation

May 31: 13. (Aside: but there may be no leaders, just those willing to be lead. We can too easily mistake effect for cause.) #justimprovisation

May 31: 14. Collective: idealized, utopian, but how do these work? How does collectivism work w/out violence to diversity…? #justimprovisation

May 31: 15. …afaik, closest to coop/‘family’ improvised musics was the AEC. But that ensemble emerged from Mitchell’s group… #justimprovisation

May 31: 16. …Felt as tho the #justimprovisation group desired (or felt we _should_ desire) a collective, but we were so polite (and yet so violent)…

May 31: 17. “Fuck you.” Someone says during the post-workshop discussions. ‘Yeah,’ I think, ‘exactly: “fuck you.”’ #justimprovisation

May 31: 18. Be back later with more thoughts on violence, alliances, autocracy and sociality coming up. #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 19. More thoughts on violence, alliances, autocracy and sociality from @translat_improv’s #justimprovisation symposium coming up…

Jun 24: 20. During #justimprovisation an improvising ensemble is frequently compared to that of a family… http://twitter.com/hanearlpark/status/604953995489234944

Jun 24: 21. …but familial relationships often seem less about choice of partners than, generally, a musical ensemble… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 22. …we choose our bands in a way we can’t always choose our families (or we get paid)… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 23. …that aside, are dysfunctions similar in both groups? Maybe (but how you solve/escape them are radically different). #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 24. What happens in an ensemble is brought together w/ radically different agenda, desires, skills, character, or power…? #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 25. …And what happens when those social/musical dissonances/discords are not discussed…? #justimprovisation http://twitter.com/hanearlpark/status/605081182133465088

Jun 24: 26. I want to unpack this (realize this is prob directed at a certain guitarist): http://twitter.com/davekanemusic/status/605734075446513665 #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 27. …I had certain problems w/ the amplified, steady-state ‘drone’ proponents in the #justimprovisation ensemble. I had difficulty…

Jun 24: 28. …hearing the unamplified string players in the #justimprovisation group. (It seemed to me, in such a large ensemble, the…

Jun 24: 29. …only ones who should have free license to play continuous sustained gestures were the unamplified strings/flute)… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 30. …the rest of us would have to be more careful (we could be loud, but those gestures would have to be short)… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 31. …talking to one of the drone proponents during the break, he responded that he wanted everyone to play drones… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 32. …so the question: http://twitter.com/hanearlpark/status/605080336385617921 #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 33. …favorite pt of #justimprovisation may have been @MortButane (musical) response to Bennett Hogg: unexpected, oblique, left-field…

Jun 24: 34. …different, idiomatically discordant; recontextualizing Hogg’s playing (never to be heard the same way again)… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 35. …how does one catalyze such (transformative) interactions and choices…? #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 36. …catalyze w/out ‘fixing’ the group (reminded of @JoshSinton: he’s not in the business of ‘saving’ an improvisation)… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 37. When #justimprovisation group w/out the full complement of players (sans many quieter voices) start our performance in the afternoon

Jun 24: 38. …the ensemble launches into full-scale drone-works. I give up. It’s prob. unforgivable, but I walk off stage… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 39. …I remember thinking: ‘I do not want to be part of this drone warfare.’ (ironic considering what is to follow)… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 40. …If I have a problem w/ how those drones were articulated, it wasn’t the loudness of it as such, but how it subsumed… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 41. …how it absorbed diversity and made it part of its identity. Which may be a kind of collectivism, but… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 42. …not a collective I wanted to be part of. #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 43. Feel it’s disrespectful to walk off stage, but done it x2 since an experience some years ago: http://improvisingguitar.blogspot.ie/2007/02/mob-behavior-and-hegemonic-impulse.html #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 44. …If leaving the stage is unforgivable, then rejoining it seems like, at best, very poor manners… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 45. …Essentially doing a pick’n’mix on what you decide to participate it. Where is the collective? collectivism? family? #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 46. In retrospect, going back on stage was a mistake, but once there, tried 2do what is the best role for the e. guitar… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 47. …nudge, push and pull, and catalyze the existing elements that are ‘desirable’… #machiavellian?… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 48. …but when those totalizing drones started up again for the umpteenth time, I exercised the nuclear option… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 49. …Nuclear option? I floored it: volume pedal toe down, playing at eleven… #justimprovisation? or #unjustimprovisation?

Jun 24: 50. …Nuclear option: did I say evoking drone warfare was ironic? http://twitter.com/hanearlpark/status/613656187708510208 #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 51. …I did American Foreign Policy—indiscriminate, “bomb them back into the Stone Age”—on the collective… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 52. …second time I’ve ever exercised the nuclear option, and, unlike last time, I’m _certain_ it was wrong wrong, wrong… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 53. …Despite what @wildsong @olivep said, feel my response really was… immoral? Maybe. Unethical? Probably. Wrong? Wrong… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 54. …Deniz Peters: “You autoerotic guitarist, you.” Ironic following statements about the non-semiotic nature of music? #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 55. …Simon Rose: “Did you know how loud you were?” “Oh. Yes.” “I thought you did.” #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 56. …Should someone ask for one (not that I expect anyone to), I would give my unconditional apology for what I did… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 57. …but my question is: given the (latent/overt/potential of) violence in the ensemble (as discussed in this thread)… #justimprovisation

Jun 24: 58. …what _should_ I have done? #justimprovisation

Jun 26 [in reply to…]: .@JoshSinton No. Didn’t expect them to, but… your Q gets me asking who they should have apologized to (if at all)… #justimprovisation [1/2]

Jun 26: .@JoshSinton …to those whose voices got absorbed into the hive, or those who had difficulty hearing those voices? #justimprovisation [2/2]

Jun 26 [in reply to…]: .@JoshSinton Good question. Hmm… maybe no apologies are necessary (just some group counseling). #justimprovisation

Jun 26: .@JoshSinton As for my initial statement, for me, it’s the fact that I dropped (the musical equivalent of) nukes… #justimprovisation [1/2]

Jun 26: .@JoshSinton …wrong is wrong regardless of the reasons that compelled it. #justimprovisation [2/2]

update: Just Improvisation, Belfast

Just Improvisation (flyer copyright 2015 Translating Improvisation)
© 2015 Translating Improvisation

May 29 and 30, 2015: as previously posted, I’ve been invited to participate in Just Improvisation: Enriching child protection law through musical techniques, discourses and pedagogies. See below for the program including the list of musicians involved. The symposium, organized by Translating Improvisation, takes place at the Sonic Arts Research Centre (Queen’s University, Belfast, N. Ireland). Admission is free, and the event is open to the public.

See the performance diary for up-to-date info. [Translating Improvisation page…]

Program

Fri 29 May 2015

2:00pm: Welcome & Introduction (Paul Stapleton and Sara Ramshaw)

2:15pm: Panel 1: ‘Child Protection as Social Practice: Challenges and Possibilities’
Chaired by: Marcella Leonard (Independent Social Worker) with: Denise McBride QC (Senior Barrister) and John Devaney (Senior Lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast – School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work)

3:45pm: Coffee/Tea Break

4:00pm: Keynote 1: Ellen Waterman, ‘Improvisation and the Audibility of Difference’

5:00pm: Wine Reception

5:30pm: Double-bill concert: Okkyung Lee and Maria Chavez

Sat 30 May 2015

9:45am: Coffee/Tea

10:00am: Deep Listening Workshop (led by Pauline Oliveros)

11:00am: Parallel Workshops: Musical Improvisation / Hydra (Legal Improvisation)
Improvisation workshop musicians: Paul Stapleton, Adnan Marquez-Borbon, Maria Chavez, Okkyung Lee, Pauline Oliveros, Ellen Waterman, Tom Arthurs, Matt Bourne, Dave Kane, Steve Davis, Phil Smyth, Simon Rose, Michael Speers, Dennis Peters, Han-earl Park, Ed Devane, Bennett Hogg and Rachel Austin

1:00pm: Lunch break

2:00pm: Panel 2: Informal performances and open discussion about workshops

3:00pm: Keynote 2: Pauline Oliveros, ‘The Ethics and Practice of Listening’

4:00pm: Coffee/Tea

4:15pm: Panel 3 & Plenary Discussion: ‘Imagining the Future’
Chaired by Georgina Born (Professor of Music and Anthropology, Oxford) with: Siobhan Keegan QC (President of the Family Bar Association of Northern Ireland)

5:15pm: Closing Remarks (Sara Ramshaw and Paul Stapleton)

site update: scrapbook redux

web audio player widget
Just a summary of the updates that have been accumulating in my scrapbook since the last overhaul. Here’s some of the more recent additions. Enjoy! All music and audio recordings © + ℗ their respective owners.

Eris 136199 (Nick Didkovsky: guitar; Han-earl Park: guitar; and Catherine Sikora: saxophones).

Music by Eris 136199.
Recorded live, June 5, 2013 at Douglass Street Music Collective, Brooklyn.
Recorded by Scott Friedlander.

[About this project…]

Numbers: Richard Barrett (electronics) and Han-earl Park (guitar).

Music by Richard Barrett and Han-earl Park.
Recorded March 10, 2011 at the Institute of Sonology, Den Haag.
Audio clip courtesy of Creative Sources Recordings. ℗ 2012 Creative Sources Recordings.Han-earl Park
Recorded by Richard Barrett and Han-earl Park. Mixed by Richard Barrett.

[About this project…] [Get the CD…]

Ingrid Laubrock (saxophone) and Han-earl Park (guitar).

Music by Ingrid Laubrock and Han-earl Park.
Recorded live, May 16, 2013 at Douglass Street Music Collective, Brooklyn.
Recorded by Don Mount.

Han-earl Park (guitar), Catherine Sikora (saxophones) and Josh Sinton (clarinet and saxophone).

Music by Han-earl Park, Catherine Sikora and Josh Sinton.
Recorded live, March 26, 2013 at Freddy’s Bar, Brooklyn.
Performance presented as part of On The Way Out curated by Michael Evans and Anders Nilsson.
Recorded by Don Mount.

[About this project…]

Michael Evans (drums), Louise Dam Eckardt Jensen (saxophone and flute) and Han-earl Park (guitar).

Music by Michael Evans, Louise Dam Eckardt Jensen and Han-earl Park.
Recorded live, January 20, 2013 at Downtown Music Gallery, New York.
Recorded by Kevin Reilly.

Mark Trayle (electronics), Gascia Ouzounian (violin), Chris Brown (piano), Paul Stapleton (percussion), Dan Goren (trumpet), Don Nichols (percussion), Simon Rose (saxophone), Gustavo Aguilar (percussion), Han-earl Park (guitar), Ulrich Mitzlaff (’cello), Tasos Stamou (zither), Dominic Lash (double bass), Christopher Williams (double bass), Nuno Rebelo (guitar), Richard Scott (synthesizer), Steven Davis (drums), Pedro Rebelo (piano), Justin Yang (saxophone) and Franziska Schroeder (saxophones).

Ensemble led by Evan Parker.
Recorded live, November 7, 2010 at the Sonic Arts Research Center, Belfast.
Performance presented as part of Sonorities 2010.

video: Call them Improvisors! at Sonorities 2010

Pedro Rebelo has just posted a video of ‘Call them Improvisors!,’ an Evan Parker-led ensemble performance that took place at the Sonic Arts Research Center, Belfast, November 7, 2010 [details…] [Sonorities page…].

The performers were Mark Trayle (electronics), Gascia Ouzounian (violin), Chris Brown (piano), Paul Stapleton (percussion), Dan Goren (trumpet), Don Nichols (percussion), Simon Rose (saxophone), Gustavo Aguilar (drums), Han-earl Park (guitar), Ulrich Mitzlaff (’cello), Tasos Stamou (zither), Dominic Lash (double bass), Christopher Williams (double bass), Nuno Rebelo (guitar), Richard Scott (synthesizer), Steven Davis (drums), Pedro Rebelo (piano), Justin Yang (saxophone) and Franziska Schroeder (saxophone). Shortly after the performance, I wrote:

Thanks in to the members of my local trio (as Richard pointed out, it’s very hard not to feel the pull of tribalism), Ulrich Mitzlaff and Gascia Ouzounian; to the emergent section leader of the neighboring trio Pedro Rebelo (with whom, during the rehearsal/trial run, I would share looks when things (creatively) self-destructed); to the Simon Rose-Dan Goren-Paul Stapleton unit which, in the best possible sense, seemed to have an agenda entirely their own; to the two bass players, Dom Lash and Christopher Williams, who entertained my left ear; to the remarkable drummers, Gustavo Aguilar and Steve Davis, who always knew, better than the rest of us put together, how to push/pull such a large ensemble during free play; to Franziska Schroeder for soaring over the group; Chris Brown for the asymmetrical hocket between Pedro, Justin and myself; to the electro-dudes, Mark Trayle and Richard Scott, who always sounded like themselves (especially the bass sample, Richard) and who generously gave visual/physical cues in relation to their performance; to the other guitarist, Nuno Rebelo, who artfully avoided collisions—I think we played well together, even if we rarely played at the same time; and to Justin Yang for creating, with Gustavo, that all too brief Shepp/Sanders moment—a moment of ascension—that helped to remind me what this was all about.

And of course, thanks to Pedro, Steve and Franziska for hosting, organizing and inviting, and to Evan Parker for taking time to guide us and the music.

I feel privileged to have been part of a large ensemble of improvisers of that caliber… and to have, through necessity and accident, found myself seated in the ideal position on stage (right in the middle—between the two pianos, the two drummers). I’m still thinking through the implications of tactics within such a context (especially in open improvisation), and am itching to do it again. [Original article…]

One for the Scrapbook…