Fire Museum Presents :
Li Daiguo/Rick Parker duo & Fursaxa
Li Daiguo/Rick Parker Duo:
Li Daiguo is one of the leading figures in China’s experimental and traditional music communities. Within the past decade, he has carved out a singular niche that few others occupy, that of skilled improvisational artist (he has a reputation for leaving jaws on the floor, layman and critic alike), musical polymath (proficient at a dozen different instruments alongside throat-singing and beatboxing) and dynamic live performer known for his eclectic collaborations with a seemingly limitless roster of colorful characters and ensembles, including transgressive Japanese butoh dancers, fellow all-star musicians (marquee names like Sainkho Namtchylak, Peter Scherr, FM3, Eyal Maoz, Shanir Bloomenkrantz, Kink Gong, Satoko Fujii, Sato Yuki, Yan Jun, and Dickson Dee) and other lunatics that he meets when he is busking, an activity that he does anonymously from time to time.
Born in 1981 in Oklahoma, USA, to Chinese/Taiwanese parents, Li Daiguo received training in music from the age of 5, beginning with western classical music on violin and expanded to bluegrass, Chinese classical music (erhu, pipa) and double bass by the time he entered University. Li studied Literature and music at San Diego State University,focusing primarily on literary theory, world music (Finnish folk music, Chinese classical, Carnatic music), and contemporary classical composition and improvisation
After graduating in 2003 and relocating to mainland China in 2004, Li began to develop his compositional style and blend of extended techniques for bowed and plucked instruments, influenced largely by his studies of different traditions of music. In 2008 he also began to study the Shona mbira and has traveled to Zimbabwe to deepen his understanding of polyrhythms and ritual trance.
Combining jazz, experimental, electronic and rock, Rick Parker casts a broad net with his trombone playing augmented by electronics and synthesizers. His music has been described as “an expressive new-breed fusion, informed by a few generations of downtown experimentation.” (Nate Chinen, New York Times) and his sound described as “a seductive, burnished tone that’s animated by conversational improvisations.”
(John Murph, Downbeat Magazine).
Parker has resided in New York City since 2001 when he began studies for a masters in jazz performance and composition at NYU. He has worked with a large cross section of notable musicians and groups including Tim Berne, Mingus Big Band, Darcy James Argue Secret Society, Charli Persip, Frank Lacy, Super Hi-Fi, Tim Kuhl, Beninghove’s Hangmen, hip hop legends the Wu Tang Clan, Ghostface Killah and DMC and Mexican pop stars Ximena Sarinana and Natalia LaFourcade. Since 2012 he has been a member of Ravish Momin’s Tarana. Parker’s innovative use of electronics with the trombone have allowed him to cross through many musical genres and even garnered the attention of manufacturers Electroharmonix and Eventide with whom he has consulted on the development of new pedals and effects.
Fursaxa:
After playing in bands like UN with Marcia Bassett (Double Leopards), Tara Burke began her solo project Fursaxa at the turn of the century. Taking a page out of Philadelphia’s Ambient Consortium and the Bardo Pond school of acid-folk space exploration, Fursaxa also brings to mind elements of religious music, from church choirs to raga drones. Burke employs guitar, casio, Farfisa organ, accordian, dulcimer, effected vocals, drums, bells, flutes, and the kitchen sink without ever losing her otherworldly focus.- Jason Sigal/WFMU
