8:30 pm | IZUMI KIMURA & GERRY HEMINGWAY
This duo began in 2016 as a series of residencies, rehearsals and performances in Ireland, and further evolved in 2018 in the context of a trio with bassist Barry Guy with the release of the recording “Illuminated Silence”. Both the duo and trio have since co-existed but it is the duo that has become a central platform for both players. There is by now a shared and well understood language between them that moves seamlessly between formal structures, spontaneous invention, as well as their unique interpretations of song. The release of “Kairos” in 2023 debuts this array of possibilities which continue to grow as a rich and varied performance platform for both musicians.
"Dublin based Japanese pianist lzumi Kimura and Connecticut born, Switzerland based percussionist/vocalist Gerry Hemingway have recorded previously with Barry Guy, but Kairos is their first duo effort. While each brought a piece to this session, most of it is jointly credited, but it does not sound like a product of free improvisation so much as an investigation in how each can support the other's strengths. Even in free moments, the pianist is inexorably drawn to melodies, which Hemingway abets with complementary tonal lines on his vibes and drum kit. And Kimura, who combines preparations with conventional keyboard sounds, uses a staccato attack to reinforce the drummer's intricate constructions. lt's a complementary partnership."
– Bill Meyer / Jazz & Improv - The Wire October 2023
9:30 pm | THE SECRET LIVES OF COLOUR
François Houle clarinet, basset clarinet, composition
Gordon Grdina oud, guitars
Myra Melford piano
Joëlle Léandre double bass
Gerry Hemingway percussion
Canadian clarinetist, composer, and improviser François Houle leads a world renowned all star supergroup, presenting a suite of new compositions and arrangements inspired by British author Kassia St. Clair’s writing on colour. From ivory to obsidian, Houle explores the colour spectrum and its close historical connections to music, weaving a rich and suggestive tapestry of sounds.
“Reading these stories and historical facts surrounding colors made me think immediately about how colour play a significant role in the arts, and in particular ways musicians use them to describe music. The music for this project therefore draws from this symbiotic connection to convey a sense of what I hear and feel when I read these stories”.
French double bass player, improviser and composer Joëlle Léandre is one of the dominant figures of the new European music. Trained in orchestral as well as contemporary music, she has played with L’Itinéraire, Ensemble 2e2m and Pierre Boulez’s Ensemble intercontemporain. Joëlle Léandre has also worked with Merce Cunningham and with John Cage, who has composed especially for her — as have Scelsi, Fénelon, Jolas and Clementi. As well as working in contemporary music, Léandre has played with some of the great names in jazz and improvisation, such as Derek Bailey, Anthony Braxton, George E Lewis, Evan Parker, Irène Schweizer, Steve Lacy, Fred Frith and John Zorn. She has written extensively for dance and theatre, and has staged a number of multidisciplinary performances. Her reputation is international, and her work as a composer and a performer, both in solo recitals and as part of ensembles, has put her under the lights of the most prestigious stages of Europe, the Americas and Asia. Joëlle Léandre also has more than a hundred recordings to her credit.
Pianist, composer, bandleader and educator Myra Melford—whom the New Yorker called “a stalwart of the new-jazz movement”—has spent the last three decades making brilliant original music that is equally challenging and engaging. Culling inspiration from a wide range of sources including Cecil Taylor, the blues and boogie-woogie of her native Chicago, the poetry of Rumi, the AACM and yoga, she’s explored an array of formats, among them ruminative solo-piano recitals, deeply interactive combos and ambitious multidisciplinary programs.
Since debuting on record as a bandleader in 1990, Myra Melford has built a discography of more than 20 albums as a leader or co-leader, and has collaborated with such luminaries as Dave Douglas, Marty Ehrlich, Liberty Ellman, Erik Friedlander, Ben Goldberg, Joseph Jarman, Leroy Jenkins, Ron Miles, Nicole Mitchell, Tyshawn Sorey, Chris Speed, Stomu Takeishi, Cuong Vu and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
Juno award winning oud/guitarist Gordon Grdina with a unique sound combining mainstream jazz, free/improv and Arabic music. Haram, Peregrine Falls, The Gordon Grdina Quartet with Oscar Noriega, Russ Lossing, and Satoshi Takeishi, Nomad Trio w/ Matt Mitchell and Jim Black, Square Peg w/ Christian Lillinger, Mat Maneri and Shazad Ismaily, The Marrow with Mark Helias, Hank Roberts, Hamin Honari, and many more.
Gerry Hemingway has been creating and performing solo and ensemble music since 1974. He has led a number of quartet & quintets since the mid 80’s as well as being a member of a wide array of collaborative groups including BassDrumBone (whom celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2017), Brew w/Reggie Workman & Miya Masaoka, a trio with Georg Graewe & Ernst Reijseger, the Swiss based WHO trio with Michel Wintsch and Baenz Oester, Tree Ear with Sebastian Strinning and Manuel Troller, as well as numerous duo projects with Izumi Kimura, Marilyn Crispell, Samuel Blaser, Thomas Lehn, John Butcher, Ellery Eskelin, Jin-Hi Kim, a o. Mr. Hemingway is a Guggenheim fellow and has received numerous commissions for chamber and orchestral works. He is well known for his eleven years in the Anthony Braxton Quartet, his ongoing participation in projects with Reggie Workman including the collective trio Brew, along with his work with some of the world’s most outstanding improvisers and composers including Cecil Taylor, Mark Dresser, Anthony Davis, Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, Wadada Leo Smith, Frank Gratkowski, Simon Nabatov and many others. He currently lives in Switzerland having joined the faculty of the Hochschule Luzern between 2009 and 2022.
Thursday Late Show Ticket:
$25 advance / $30 door (1 event, 2 sets)
Thursday Evening Pass:
$38 advance / $45 door (6:00 + 8:30 pm shows, 2 events/4 sets)
Festival Weekend Pass:
$100 (7 ticketed events, 16 sets, up to $235 value)
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E-transfer (no fee) tix@zulapresents.org or EVENTBRITE (+fee)
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No one will be refused admission for lack of funds
In our 12th year of operation, as Zula Presents Something Else!, we are most grateful to Canada Council for the Arts, Department of Canadian Heritage, and The City of Hamilton for their financial support to make these festival events possible. We would also like to acknowledge and thank our partners Hamilton Public Library and Open Streets for their kind support and enthusiasm.