kioku + local lingo November 28, 2007

As part of its artist-in-residency at Issue Project Room, KIOKU will be hosting and collaborating with Jason Kao Hwang and Sang Won Park of Local Lingo.

The music of Local Lingo is an expression of innate instinct. Through empathic listening, instincts guide a dialogue where cultural traditions are wholly transmuted. This is the creative journey Sang Won Park (kayagum, ajang, voice) and Jason Kao Hwang (violin, composer) have traveled over the past sixteen years, first with The Far East Side Band, and now, as a duo. The compositions of Jason Kao Hwang inspire revelatory improvisations with Sang Won Park, creating a dynamic American music that is their Local Lingo.

Jason Kao Hwang (composer, violinist) has created works ranging from jazz, classical, "new" and world music. Mr. Hwang's new CD of his jazz quartet, EDGE (Asian Improv Records), has received glowing reviews. His chamber opera, The Floating Box, A Story in Chinatown (New World Records), was named one of the top ten opera recordings of 2005 by Opera News. Mr. Hwang's seminal ensemble (1990-2004), The Far East Side Band, released two CDs, Urban Archaeology (Victo Records) and Caverns (New World Records). They performed at World Music Institute (NYC), Jazzgalerie Nickelsdorf Konfrontationen (Austria), the duMaurier Ltd. International Jazz Festival (Canada) and many others. As a violinist, he has performed on recordings including Anthony Braxton's 1996 Sextet (Istanbul) and 1995 Octet (NYC), Dominic Duval's The Navigator (Leo); Henry Threadgill's Come Save the Day (Columbia) and many more. Over the years, he has performed with numerous artists including Vladamir Tarasov, Borah Bergman, William Parker, Sirone, and Makanda Ken MacIntyre. As composer, he has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts and New Jersey State Council on the Arts. (jasonkaohwang.com)

Sang Won Park (kayagum, ajang, voice), a native of Seoul, was a founding member of the Far East Side Band with composer/violinist Jason Kao Hwang, recording two acclaimed CDs, Caverns(New World Records) and Urban Archaeology(Victo Records). Mr. Park made his western debut at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1979, followed by a tour of both the U.S. and Europe. Les Amis De L'Orient and Sono Disc in Paris have produced an album entitled Le Kayagum de Park Sang Won. He has recorded with Henry Kaiser, Charles K. Noyes(OAO/Celluloid) and Laurie Anderson(Warner Brothers). He was featured in Rhythm of the World, a documentary produced for BBC-TV and Improvisation. His life and music have been documented in Old Tradition and New Sound, a program narrated by Judy Collins for National Public Radio. He has also appeared in Nam Jun Paik's acclaimed satellite spectacular Bye Bye Kipling on PBS. (www.sangwonpark.com)

KIOKU is an experimental trio consisting of taiko and percussion (Wynn Yamami), live electronics (Chris Ariza), and saxophones (Ali Sakkal).

Wynn Yamami is a taiko drummer, percussionist, and composer whose work recontextualizes Asian traditional music. He has collaborated with such artists as Toshiko Akiyoshi, Badal Roy, Giovanni Hidalgo, and Arturo O’Farrill, and has performed in Europe, Japan, and across the US. He currently lives in Manhattan, where he practices Japanese dance, performs with the traditional group Soh Daiko, and leads the Japanese street music band HAPPYFUNSMILE.

Christopher Ariza is a composer and programmer of sonic structures and systems. He has composed for theatre, film, concert hall, and interactive media, and has been the recipient of numerous fellowships, awards, and commissions. His web-based media and systems include the babelcast, the telequalia, Post-Ut, algorithmic.net, and envl.net. His music, software, and research are distributed via www.flexatone.net.

Saxophonist Ali Sakkal draws from a dynamic blend of musical influences. He has studied with Branford Marsalis, Oliver Lake, classical virtuoso Greg Dufford, and European free-jazz pioneer Evan Parker. Active in both San Francisco and New York City, he has performed nationally and internationally with Heftpistole, fAt kiD, HAPPYFUNSMILE, and Fish Knuckle. Ali has spent the past few years as a music educator in New York City.

8pm $10

Official Website: http://www.issueprojectroom.org/events.html