Note Productions presents
PAUL G. SMYTH / CHRIS CORSANO DUO
Kevin Barry Room, The National Concert Hall
Thursday 30th April . 8.30pm
 
For the fourth concert in his series for Note Productions, Irish pianist Smyth has re-ignited his duo with one of the most vital and exciting drummers working today. Corsano’s exceptional technique and range has placed him in a myriad of settings - from noise to free jazz to touring and recording with Björk - always communicating an ecstatic joy with relentless invention. This duo’s first concert together in nine years presents an opportunity not to be missed.

Chris Corsano
 

Chris Corsano is a multi-faceted drummer, a list of his collaborations attests to this fact. He’s recorded and gigged with (among others) Paul Flaherty, Michael Flower, Björk, Jim O’Rourke, Thurston Moore, Joe McPhee, Evan Parker, Heather Leigh, Nels Cline, Jessica Rylan, Six Organs of Admittance, Sunburned Hand Of The Man, MV&EE, Keiji Haino and Christina Carter.

“Corsano, despite being arguably the most riotosly energetic and creative drummer in contemporary free jazz, does far more than merely bash his kit into submission. Play- ing loud does not mean abandoning subtlety, and Corsano’s sudden shifts of texture and dynamics are a wonder to behold” - The Wire

First spellbound by free improvised music in the mid ’90s after witnessing performances by TEST, William Parker, Cecil Taylor and others, Corsano began a long- standing high-energy partnership with Paul Flaherty in 1998. A move from western Massachusetts, USA to Manchester, England in 2005 and then Edinburgh, Scotland a year later shifted Corsano’s focus to devel- oping an expanded solo percussion music of his own, incorporating sax reeds, violin strings and bows, pot lids, adhesive tape and other household devices into his drum kit. Since then he has moved back the USA and is an in-demand player.

Paul G. Smyth

For the last 20 years, pianist Paul G. Smyth has been carving a unique furrow in Ireland’s cultural landscape. Parallel to his involvement with The Jimmy Cake (described by the Irish Times as “the most powerful musical force in Ireland”), Smyth has also set himself apart as a singular voice in Europe’s vigourous improvised music scene.

“considerable gifts as an improvisor … a genuinely cathartic listening experience … such fuck-you intensity” - The Wire

ince touring with Charles Gayle in 1999, he has worked with such luminaries as Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, Keiji Haino, Barry Guy, Wadada Leo Smith, John Russell, Chris Corsano, Lol Coxhill, Charles Hay- ward, John Butcher, John Edwards, Hannah Marshall, Alan Wilkinson, Mark Sanders and Damo Suzuki, among many others, been a member of synth trio Boys Of Summer (“the sound of John Carpenter being buried alive” - Le Cool Magazine), a featured composer in the National Concert Hall, written music for theatre, and performed in 17 countries.

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Kevin Barry Room, The National Concert Hall
Thursday 30th April . 8.30pm
Tickets: €15 a/v from www.nch.ie