Note Productions present

Sikora/ Smyth Duo
Catherine Sikora – tenor saxophone
Paul G Smyth - piano

28th June 2018 at 8pm
St Finian’s Church. 23 Adelaide Road, Dublin 2
Tickets: €10 from eventbrite.ie

This promises to be a rare and intimate saxophone and piano duo from Ireland's most forward-thinking and compelling musicians.

Saxophonist, improviser and composer Catherine Sikora was born and raised in West Cork, Ireland. Self taught to begin with, she moved to New York City to study and play with great improvisers. Sikora works in a broad range of settings, from highly complex composed music, to folk songs, to free improvisation. She works regularly with Eric Mingus, Enrique Haneine, Brian Chase, Han-earl Park, Stanley Zappa, Christopher Culpo and Ross Hammond, as well as actively pursuing solo performance. In the past few years Sikora has toured in Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia. She was a featured soloist in Eric Mingus’ radical reimagining of Tommy by the Who (Adelaide Festival 2015), and was artist in residence at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris for the fall of 2014, working on a project inspired by stories from her female ancestors. Catherine's first solo album 'Jersey' is out now on Relative Pitch Records.

"Sikora resembles [Evan] Parker on tenor saxophone in that she has created a personal language in which she sublimates technique according to what she wants to achieve and maintains a discernible relationship to the free jazz tradition in her syntax; she recalls another English saxophonist, John Butcher, in her absolute control and deployment of overtones. Where she remains distinct from both Butcher and Parker is in how she incorporates such dissonance into a stream of delicate abstract lyricism." - New York City Jazz Record

For the last 20 years, pianist Paul G. Smyth has been carving a unique furrow in Ireland’s cultural landscape. Parallel to his past 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 vigorous improvised music scene.

Since touring with Charles Gayle in 1999, he has worked with such luminaries as Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, Peter Brötzmann, Keiji Haino, Barry Guy, Wadada Leo Smith, John Russell, Chris Corsano, Lol Coxhill, Charles Hayward, John Butcher, John Edwards, 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 18 countries. Smyth has released critically acclaimed duo albums with US drummer Chris Corsano, 'Psychic Armour', and English guitarist John Russell, 'Ditch School', on his label Weekertoft, which he co-founded with Russell in 2016.

"[Smyth is] one of the most exciting musicians working in Ireland at the moment" – GoldenPlec

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

"Paul G. Smyth performing live was one of the most mesmerising acts of musical ingenuity." - The Thin Air

Paul G. Smyth is kindly supported by Music Network's Music Capital Scheme, funded by The Department of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Music Network is funded by The Arts Council

For more info on Paul G Smyth’s upcoming concerts check weekertoft.com