Thomas Lehn & Gerry Hemingway
In June of 1997 Thomas Lehn and Gerry Hemingway came together for a duo tour
in Germany that had originally been planned as a quartet with Mats Gustafsson
and Barry Guy. But the budget was meager and salvaging the tour seemed the best
option and so the tour went on as a duo. Thomas recorded all of the concerts
and the extensive recordings were edited into what a double CD that came out
at the end of November of 1999 on Erstwhile
Records. The recordings have proved so compelling that the duo toured again
in the United States in March 2000. From that tour we distilled a second recording
"Fire Works " released on Umbrella
Recordings
NEXT TOUR !!! March 7-12th, 2004
US Tour
March 7-Smokebrush, Colorado Springs, CO
March 8- Dulcinea's 100th Monkey - Denver, CO (sponsored by Creative Music Works)
March 9-Christman Studio, 6014 Kingsbury Ave., St. Louis, MO, 8pm (sponsored by New Music Circle)
March 10-Houston, TX (workshops/no concert)
March 11-Pauline Oliveros Foundation, Houston Texas
March 12-Clemente Soto Velez, NYC, NY 10pm
For
Bookings Email Gerry Hemingway at:
gh@gerryhemingway.com
For the past twenty years or so, drummer/percussionist Gerry Hemingway has shown himself to be a willing participant in any creative situation. His discography contains all sorts of unusual collaborations. But Tom & Gerry, done in collaboration with German synthesizer player Thomas Lehn is among the most unusual.
Lehn hails from Cologne and his equipment consists only of analogue synthesizers. Cologne was the center for Stockhausen's early electronic experiments so one wonders if Lehn's attraction to these now largely unused instruments stems from some early unconscious environmental experience. Was electronic music always in the air (or water) in Cologne when he was younger? Whatever the motivation, Lehn's command of these notoriously difficult instruments is impressive (even more so in concert). The thirteen tracks on this double disc are edited highlights of a tour but they all have the feel of complete entities.
There's a true communication between Lehn and Hemingway. Consequently, the group dynamic is constantly shifting. Given the instrumentation, one would expect the rhythmic and percussive impetus to come from Hemingway and the sonic elements to come from Lehn. That is not always the case. At times, Hemingway will bow his cymbals or scrape his drums, eliciting electronic sounds, and Lehn will respond with a sharp percussive attack. Both musicians take care of the textural elements of the music. Tom & Gerry is a true contemporary duet that nods to the past while being very much a part of the present (and perhaps even the future.) Robert Iannapollo, Cadence 7/00
"With
the release of Erstwhile 004, Abbey provided the first substantial
(and accessible) recording of analog-synth player Thomas
Lehn. Tom & Gerry, a phenomenal pairing of the widely
regarded but rarely recorded Lehn with premier percussionist
Gerry Hemingway, is an indispensable document. Lehn, a key
player in Keith Rowe's all-star Movement in Music Electronic
Orchestra (MIMEO) and an important figure among electro-acoustic
improvisers, differs from many of his contemporaries in that
he often uses the synth as a discrete instrument. Whereas other
improvisers tend to intertwine electronics and acoustics,
Lehn's instrumental voice stands apart in its disciplined
yet exceptionally expressive articulation."
Gil Gershman, Signal To Noise
"Thomas Lehn's duets with drummer Gerry Hemingway count to the most successful attempt to merge an aestethic of sound, which extends from the techno of today, into a rhythmical drive more suggestive of jazz. Hemingway's approach, informed by contemporary (new) music as well as by west-african percussion ensembles, harmonizes in a dream-like way with the crackling sounds by Lehn." Felix Klopotek, StadtRevue Koeln, April 2000
"Thomas Lehn's Duette
mit dem Schlagzeuger Gerry Hemingway zaehlen zu den gelungensten
Versuchen, eine Soundasesthetik, die bis in den Techno der Jetztzeit
hineinreicht, mit einem rhythmischen Drive zu verschmelzen, wie
er im Jazz bekannt ist. Das Spiel Hemingway's, an Neuer Musik
wie an westafrikanischen Perkussionsensembles geschult, harmoniert
auf traumwandlerische Weise mit den knisternden, flirrenden Klaengen
von Lehn."Felix Klopotek,
StadtRevue Koeln, April 2000
The American-German Duo of Gerry Hemingway and Thomas Lehn gave a special concert in the series "Unheard in the Neuen reformierten Kirche [New Reformed Church]. Both artists offered a program of largely improvised music that revealed significant references to the tone creations of Karlheinz Stockhausen from the 50's. At that time, he experimented and composed on the basis of synthetic sound production with electronic tone sources. That the possibilities of creating tones in this manner have no bounds was proven by Thomas Lehn with his analogue synthesizer. This instrument's unbelievable spectrum of sound and static from a simple sinus tone to colorful noises made for an exciting combination with the dynamically highly sophisticated percussion performance of Gerry Hemingway. This combination allowed both artists to build large tensioned arcs and bizarre sound structures (impulse sequences, static), which were skillfully and convincingly resolved in the end.
Both musicians complemented each other superbly, whereas on the surface Gerry Hemingway acted a little reservedly. In contrast, Lehn "processed his analogue synthesizer as if in a rage with impressive facial play and gestures, and exactly this connection of the optic and acoustical impressions made up the appeal of this music.
Daniel Schraad, Westdeutsche Zeitung [West German Newspaper], Dusseldorf (Bruce Carnavale translation)
Mit einer Performance gestaltete das amerikanisch-deutsche Duo Gerry Hemingway und Thomas Lehn ein Sonderkonzert der Reihe "Unerhoert" in der Neuen reformierten Kirche. Die beiden Kuenstler boten ein Programm mit weitgehend improvisierter Musik, die deutliche Bezuege zu den Tonschoepfungen Karlheinz Stockhausens aus den 50er Jahren aufwies. Dieser experimentierte und komponierte damals auf der Grundlage der synthetischen Klangerzeugung mit elektronischen Tonquellen. Dass die Moeglichkeiten der Tonherstellung auf diesem Wege ins Unermessliche gestiegen waren, bewies auch Thomas Lehn mit seinem Analogsynthesizer. Das unglaubliche Klang- und Geraeuschspektrum dieses Instrumentes vom einfachen Sinuston bis zum "farbigen" Rauschen bildete mit den dynamisch sehr differenzierten Perkussions-Darbietungen Gerry
Hemingways eine reizvolle Kombination. Sie ermoeglichte es den Kuenstlern, in jedem der Stuecke grosse Spannungsboegen und bizarre Klangstrukturen (Impulssequenzen, Rauschen) aufzubauen, die zum Ende hin sehr gekonnt und einleuchtend wieder aufgeloest wurden.
Beide Musiker ergaenzten sich vortrefflich, wobei Gerry Hemingway aeusserlich meist ein wenig zurueckhaltender agierte. Lehn hingegen "bearbeitet" seinen Analogsynthesizer wie entfesselt mit beeindruckender Mimik und Gestik, und gerade die Verbindung von optischen und akustischen Eindruecken machte den Reiz dieser Musik aus.
Daniel Schraad, Westdeutsche
Zeitung, Duesseldorf