Collaboration Globalism and Music

Recently, I have had the good fortune to work on music with Wesley Ueunten, who is a singer and performer on the sanshin (3 string Okinawan lute). Wesley is also a scholar, starting recently as a Professor in Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University. He is providing a wonderful perspective on Okinawan music and how it has been traveling through our global culture. In recent performances together at State and Mt. Edea Tea Garden (for the National Japanese American Historical Society), Wesley has talked about the journey of the song Shima-uta, which became a hit song in Argentina, and the need to retain the meaning of the song. An interesting challenge on the issue of cultural preservation in our global society. In any case, come check him out on Thursday, Sept 27 at ODC Theater in SF, Wesley, me, bassist John Carlos Perea and percussionist Dohee Lee will be performing some of this music.

Composition/Improvisation and Living Memory

Compositions are vehicles for memory – improvisation keeps these memories alive, vital and everchanging.

As a composer and a performer in the creative music tradition, I see integrating composition and improvisation in my works as a means to contribute to collective memory in our communities. So, for example my versions of "Great Wall" or "Autumn Moon Reflected on the Lake" retain the root of where these songs come from in their sound but represent the telling or Re: Telling of these stories in a NOW or moment to moment context. My original works, such as the components of my recent Shanghai 1948 (parts of which my ensemble will perform on September 29) or Diaspora Tale #1, are efforts to make vessels for my family's history as part of the greater collective memory of a community's experience in diaspora.

Traditions Transformations

Our theme of Traditions Transformations reflects Asian Improv's desire to respect traditions, to root ourselves while exploring innovation as a means to make our traditions a living culture. And as a living culture, continue to have a vital impact on the life of our communities. That why it is really exciting to work with artists Melody Takata, Tatsu Aoki, Dohee Lee and Sabrina Hou - artists who grew up in their respective traditions and are seeking to preserve the core value of these traditions through the integration of contemporary perspectives into the work.

For example in Melody's upcoming work, "Shimenawa", she explores how the practice of classical Japanese dance, taiko drumming and shamisen music can serve the need for greater cultural cohesion and creativity in San Francisco Japantown, which faces an uncertain future due to the recent purchase of large chunks Japantown real estate by outside developers. Moreover, "Shimenawa", as a new work, represents an extension of tradition.

As such, Asian Improv's involvement in communities today is to facilitate new ways to utilize our intangible cultural assets to build stronger, healthier communities.

20 Years of Asian Improv aRts

Hi all!!!!

I thought I will start a little blog this week to express some of my thoughts about Asian Improv aRts' 20th Anniversary. It's been a fantastic journey. As I was explaining on Art Sato's KPFA program yesterday, when Jon and I started Asian Improv Records, we only saw it as a transitional phase to when we would be signed to a "real" record label and eventually get a booking agent, etc. Little did we think that Asian Improv Records (now under the direction of Chicago musician Tatsu Aoki) would have perhaps the largest catalog of titles by Asian American creative musicians (over 70 and growing). And of course Asian Improv has become much than a recording label - and more than a presenting organization. Perhaps our key role has been to support artists at various points in their career, whether it was providing artistic or professional mentorship, writing grant proposals, press releases, producing concerts or recordings, in other words, whatever it took.

We are really excited about what we have been doing, especially the spectrum of artists we have supported in recent years, including:
- Jon Jang's commissioned works including the Chinese American Symphony No. 1, Paper Son, Paper Songs and the upcoming “Unbound Chinatown: A Musical Tribute to Alice Fong Yu”
- Author/performer Genny Lim's True Freedom Project through a grant from the Creative Work Fund
- Dancer/choreographer/taiko artist Melody Takata's recent Satori Project and upcoming "Shimenawa" Project (also supported by a grant from the Creative Work Fund).
- My recent Shanghai 1948 project (supported by grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
- Works by immigrant artists Dohee Lee (Korean percussionist/dancer), Shuang Sabrina Hou (Kunqu opera artist)

Well, that's it for now, stay tuned, hope to see you at the shows this week at ODC. You can find the info at www.asianimprov.org

Francis Wong
Creative Director and Co-Founder