Saturday 15 June 2024, 7.30pm
Hugely excited to welcome cellist, composer, and improviser, Okkyung Lee for three days of solo performance and collaborations with London-based and Korean artsts - her first residency here since 2019!
For the third and final nigh of her residency, Okkyung revisits her trio alongside saxophonist John Butcher, and bassist, John Edwards, who first performed together in 2013. Tonight they'll also be joined by Korean musicians Eunyoung Kim (piano) and Junyoung Song (drums) for a very special quintet set.
Okkyung Lee is a cellist, composer, and improviser who moves freely between artistic disciples and contingencies. Since 2000 she has worked in disparate contexts as a solo artist and collaborator with creators in a wide range of disciplines. A native of South Korea, Lee has taken a broad array of inspirations—including noise, improvisation, jazz, western classical, and her homeland’s traditional and popular music—and used them to forge a highly distinctive approach.
Although Okkyung is probably known best for her improvisational work utilizing visceral extended techniques on her instrument, she has been creating various types of compositions and site-specific works, responding to its architecture, audience, or objects surrounding her, producing an immersive experience that also challenges the built-in hierarchy in traditional concert settings. She has appeared on more than 30 albums, including the latest release 나를 (Na-Reul) on Corbett vs Dempsey, and Teum (The Silvery Slit), written for acclaimed Acousmonium by GRM and live cello, released on GRM Portraits/Editions Mego.
She has been commissioned to compose music and assemble projects for Explore Ensemble (London, UK), Time Spans Festival (New York, USA), Groupe de Recherches Musicales (Paris, France), Sonic Acts Festival (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Borealis Festival (Bergen, Norway), Donaueschingen Music Festival (Donaueschingen, Germany) and Nam June Paik Art Center (Yong-In, South Korea). She has performed in Museum of Modern Art (New York), Whitney Museums of American Art (New York, USA), The Met Breuer (New York, USA), Museum Tinguely (Basel, Switzerland), Museo del Novecento (Milan, Italy), Serpentine Galleries (London, UK), White Cube Galleries (London, UK) and many others.
Butcher is well known as a saxophonist who attempts to engage with the uniqueness of time and place. His music ranges through improvisation, his own compositions, multitracked pieces and explorations with feedback and unusual acoustics. Since the early 80s he has collaborated with hundreds of artists – including Derek Bailey, Rhodri Davies, Andy Moor, Phil Minton, Christian Marclay, Eddie Prévost, Magda Mayas, Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Sophie Agnel, Gino Robair, Mark Sanders, John Tilbury, Okkyung Lee, John Edwards, Chris Corsano, Polwechsel and Steve Beresford.
Alongside long term projects he values occasional encounters; from large groups such as the WDR Sinfonieorchester & Butch Morris’ “London Skyscraper”, to duo concerts with Joe McPhee, Fred Frith, Akio Suzuki, Paal Nilssen-Love, Keiji Haino, David Toop, Angharad Davies, Otomo Yoshihide and Matthew Shipp.
Recent compositions include “Penny Wands” for Futurist Intonarumori, three HCMF commissions for his own groups, “Good Liquor Caused my Heart for to Sing” for the London Sinfonietta and “Tarab Cuts”, a response to recordings of early Arabic classical music which was shortlisted for a British Composer’s Award.
“English saxophonist John Butcher may be among the world’s most influential musicians, operating at the cutting-edge of improvisatory practice since the ‘80s. Whenever an acoustic musician starts to sound like a bank of oscillators, a tropical forest, a brook or an insect factory, Butcher’s influence is likely nearby.” – New York City Jazz Record.
John Edwards is a true virtuoso whose staggering range of techniques and boundless musical imagination have redefined the possibility of the double bass and dramatically expanded its role, whether playing solo or with others. Perpetually in demand, he has played with Evan Parker, Sunny Murray, Derek Bailey, Joe McPhee, Lol Coxhill, Peter Brötzmann, Mulatu Astatke and many others.
"I think John Edwards is absolutely remarkable: there’s never been anything like him before, anywhere in jazz." - Richard Williams, The Blue Moment
Eunyoung Kim is a pianist, composer, and improviser in Seoul, Korea. Building her musical foundation based on her earlier training in classical and church music, she incorporated jazz into her musical framework. During her studies in the US, her exposure to improvised music expanded the breadth of her musical inspiration.
Since returning to Korea in 2013, Kim has performed as a leader and sideman at various Asian festivals such as Beijing World Music Week, Beishan World Music Festival, Kumamoto Street Art-flex Jazz Festival, Jarasum Jazz Festival, and JazzKorea Festival.
In 2018, she released her debut album titled Silent Child, as the leader of the KEY Trio presenting her original compositions, while the most recent album Earworm, is her first solo piano album establishing her identity as an improviser. Additionally some of the tracks from Earworm have been featured on BBC Radio program Freeness.
Eunyoung was recognized as the 2016 Rising Star Pianist by Jazz People Magazine in Korea and appeared on the prestigious Korean national broadcast music program EBS space Gonggam as the New Face of Jazz in 2019. She also continues collaborating with K-pop musicians such as Jung Mijo and Parc Jae Jung as pianist and arranger.
Junyoung Song is a prolific drummer based in Seoul, South Korea, working primarily in jazz and free improvisation. He has released two albums as a solo artist titled Solo and Solo
Live, showcasing his passion for unaccompanied drum music. After moving back to Korea upon receiving his degrees from Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, he has collaborated with numerous Korean musicians from both jazz and pop music, most notably with Sunjae Lee, Jongshin Yoon, Lucid Fall, Mijo Jung, and Mid-air Thief. His versatility and talent have established him as a respected figure in the Korean creative music scene.
