Friday 25 August 2017, 7.30pm
The incendiary pairing of bassist William Parker and saxophonist John Dikeman is joined by the spectacular Dutch drummer Onno Govaert for this very special trio performance.
William Parker is an improviser, and composer. He plays the bass, shakuhachi, double reeds, tuba, donson ngoni and gembri. He entered the music scene in 1971, and quickly became a sought after bass player in the New York music scene. He has played with many musicians from the avant-garde such as, Bill Dixon, Sunny Murray, Charles Tyler, Alan Silva, Frank Wright, Rashid Ali, Donald Ayler, Sonny Simmons, Jeanne Lee, Don Cherry, Cecil Taylor, Jimmy Lyons, Milford Graves and with traditionalists like Walter Bishop, Sr. and Maxine Sullivan.
"William Parker, the former Cecil Taylor sideman, exhibits a fearlessness, double-bass virtuosity and tough lyricism that perhaps makes him the closest bassist/composer equivalent to the late Charles Mingus." John Fordham, The Guardian
William’s early collaborations with the dancer and choreographer Patricia Nicholson created a large repertoire of composed music for ensembles ranging from solo works to big band projects. Parker played in the Cecil Taylor Unit from 1980 through 1991. He has also performed with musicians from the AACM such as Muhal Richard Abrams, Roscoe Mitchell, Henry Threadgill, Anthony Braxton, Wadada Leo Smith, Ernest Dawkins, and The Art Ensemble of Chicago.
In addition to his work with artists in the United Stated, William Parker has developed a strong relationship with musicians in the European Improvised Music scene such as Peter Kowald, Peter Brotzmann, Han Bennink, Tony Oxley, Derek Bailey, John Tchicai and Louis Moholo.
John Dikeman is an American saxophonist currently residing in Amsterdam. Drawing inspiration from a wide range of sources, John's playing runs the gamut of improvised music and technique, ranging from reductionist extended technique based improvisation to full throttle free jazz. The underlying characteristic of his music is an unnerving commitment, a total abandonment to sound.
While still in high school Onno Govaert (1987, Kaatsheuvel, NL) was already playing with such well-known Dutch jazz musicians as Eric Vloeimans and Harmen Fraanje. He moved to Amsterdam to study jazz drums and graduated cum laude from the Conservatorium of Amsterdam in 2009.
His playing has variously been described as ‘innovative’, ‘spectacular’, ‘relentless’, ‘possessed by the devil’ and ‘post Jim Black’. ‘Onno Govaert stokes the band’s fires with spazzy rumbles and unflagging motion’, commented Chicago Reader, and Volkskrant described his style as ‘full of initiative and uninhibited.’
Beside his regular ensembles – Cactus Truck, Stadhouders/Goavert/deJoode, Feecho – Onno plays with a broad spectrum of creative musicians, including Ab Baars, Terri Ex, Andy Moore, Ken Vandermark, Theo Loevendie, Dave Rempis, Peter Jacquemyn, Joost Buis and Ig Henneman.
