MCA Live: The Bridge #3 with Hamid Drake and Harrison Bankhead
Images
Tsukasa Taiko, Reduction. Pictured: Hamid Drake
Photo: Ken CarlAbout
Organized by Hamid Drake and Harrison Bankhead, the Bridge is a cross-cultural experiment that brings together jazz musicians from Chicago and Paris who are inspired by the AACM. Joining Bankhead and Drake as featured guests from Paris are Benjamin Duboc (double bass) and Ramon Lopez (drums and percussion).
About the Artists
Harrison Bankhead is a native of Waukegan, Illinois, who has performed and recorded with numerous artists, including Oliver Lake, Fred Anderson, Von Freeman, Roscoe Mitchell, Malachi Thompson, Hamid Drake, Ernest Dawkins, and others. His debut album, Morning Sun Moon Harvest
Hamid Drake is a Chicago-based jazz drummer and percussionist who frequently tours internationally. His earliest collaboration was with legendary Chicago tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson. In 1977, he cofounded the Mandingo Griot Society with Foday Musa Suso, the celebrated kora player from Gambia, and composer-percussionist Adam Rudolph. Other regular collaborators include bassist William Parker, saxophonist David Murray, free-jazz saxophonists Peter Brotzmann and Ken Vandermark, and fellow drummer Michael Zerang. His latest projects include various configurations with Archie Shepp, the group Phat Jam, and human beat boxer and rapper Napoleon Maddox as part of the jazz/hip-hop group ISWAHAT. He plays frequently with Hungary's new wave of jazz leaders Viktor Tóth and Mihály Dresch. He has performed with Tatsu Aoki since the 1990s, when they first played together in the Fred Anderson Trio and Quartet. In 2013, Drake was the Artist-in-Residence for the Chicago Jazz Festival, performing with four different ensembles including Eigen Aoki and drummers from Tsukasa Taiko.