Johnny Griffin, Sun-Mi Hong, Marike van Dijk
Saturday 30th November 2024, 14:00 – Past, Present & Future.
*Tenorist Johnny Griffin recorded an album for the Riverside label in February 1958: Way Out! A quartet line-up with pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Wilbur Ware and drummer ‘Philly’ Joe Jones.
*In September 2023, the BIDA Orchestra, led by percussionist Sun-Mi Hong, played at the Amsterdam BIMHUIS. The recording was released on BIMHUIS Records.
*Also, live from the BIMHUIS (July 2022): three pieces by Marike van Dijk.
In the second half of the 1950s, Johnny Griffin’s career took off. He became one of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, performed on stage and in the studio with Thelonious Monk. He also recorded an album with John Coltrane. Griffin opens this hour with three pieces from the album Way Out! – the last being the standard Cherokee. He tackles it in his infamous breakneck tempo. The theme is sharply designed: the successive use of bass, drums and piano respectively accentuates the different parts of the song form. Pianist Kenny Drew matches Griffin’s speed in his solo, at the expense of the articulation. But then again, try to match Griffin’s solo rhythm.
Korean Sun-Mi Hong has been in the Netherlands for about ten years now. She started studying percussion here, and in a few years she grew into an improviser, composer with her own signature, band leader and international stage personality. Her current BIDA Orchestra features two saxophonists, a trumpet player, pianist and bass player. Hong’s compositions rarely lack ostinato passages: repetitive rhythmic/melodic figures, consisting of simple rhythms and only a few notes. They function as a ‘background’ for improvisations, but the soloing wind instruments also sometimes find each other in unison playing: doing the same thing together in unison. They seek each other out, they part ways. Tight metric runs out in no time, and vice versa. These compositional elements are of course no guarantee for captivating music. A high-quality, musical brain is required for that, and the right – combination of – musicians. Both present!
The title of the album Stranded, by saxophonist Marike van Dijk (photo), refers to her period of lockdown in Australia, during the corona pandemic. Perhaps that forced confinement stimulated her creativity, because the collection of pieces is something to behold! Changes takes you, after a ‘searching’ intro, directly into a tight beat. That beat – a keeper – is the prelude to a colourful, layered theme section. Improvisations and ensembles alternate, then follows the reprise of the theme section. Cheerful.
Sun also has that right balance between solos and ensembles. The electric guitar adds a sharp colour accent. All the pieces, including the closing Stranded, are immediately convincing. Imaginative themes, rich colour palette – nine musicians – that allows for layering, instrumentation, design… Perfect.
Programme and line-ups in the Guide
Past, Present & Future – Jaap van de Klomp
