노영심 - Park Sang-Won
Tzadik Henry Kaiser, Charles K.Noyes, Sang-Won Park :
Invite The Spirit (SKO,1983,re.2007)**°
I think I need to listen a few more times to this release to get a full grip on it. It surely is grounded in a mixture of free music improvisation and the sensibility of the playing on the Korean zither in Korean mode.
At first the group is very careful tuning in into one another with open space.
There are tried a few deliberate break-throughs at first with somewhat disturbing off-keys or produced sounds while remaining rooted in the rhythms and Korean melody mode of the very physical playing, this rhythmic pulse is engaging further and slightly developing, in tune with that and a bit taking off course with its own freedom at the same time.
The subtle chord between the trio is kept intact and thoroughly develops its own voice a bit despite its tendencies to either remain in safe tradition or break with it disharmoniously, some communicative field is developing slowly in between. We also hear some singing-saw like elements, percussive lead accents, slide guitar and such. And there’s also added some singing which fits very well.
The advantage of free music is that somehow a new world of expression can be discovered throughout its exploration. But because deliberately this never is intended to make any separate form of conclusion or preference, or is leading to the discovery area itself with extra structural thoughts, it also never expands that subtle now-area of coincidental meeting points always fused a bit deliberately by making chaos before the creation, resulting in that sort of balance that wins the moments but that also swallows them back in immediately.
http://www.tzadik.com/index.php?catalog=7622 :
Free improvisation meets the Korean shamanistic tradition in this historic and groundbreaking band that includes kayagum virtuoso Sang-Won Park, guitar legend Henry Kaiser and the enigmatic Charles K. Noyes on percussion. Digitally remastered for the first time direct from the original two track tapes, this is the complete 1983 double LP release by one of the most evocative and successful bands blending East and West. This historic and important classic recording is finally made available again and now sounds better than it ever has before.
http://www.allmusic.com/album/invite-the-spirit-1983-mw0000838756 :
"When not freely improvising with the likes of Derek Bailey or horsing around with inspired covers of avant rock classics, Henry Kaiser spent a great deal of time investigating the music of various non-Western cultures, often seeking common ground between native plucked instruments and American blues-based forms. Here he teams with the Korean kayagum master Sang-Won Park and percussionist Charles K. Noyes for an improvised session that refers equally to Eastern traditions and the avant-garde. The kayagum is a kind of 12-string zither, its bended-note properties often strikingly akin to blues guitar inflections. Kaiser wisely defers to Park, allowing him to lead the improvisations and thus keeping them largely within a serene, flowing framework. All of the selections tend toward the quiet and contemplative, with no flashy pyrotechnics or purposefully abrasive playing. Each musician instead contributes in a relaxed manner, sitting out when appropriate, commenting when the occasion requires. Invite the Spirit is a fine model of how this sort of international meeting can succeed with neither "side" attempting to overpower the other, but rather simply having a lovely, understated conversation. Recommended."
