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Michael Zerang (April 2005 Issue)
Percussion Without BordersMichael Zerang has
become a first-call player on the international "free music"
scene,
playing with such artists as Peter Br'tzmann, Ken Vandermark, Mats
Gustafsson, Jaap Blonk, Sten Sandell,
Axel Dorner, and many others. MD
spoke with the percussionist before a duo concert with British
saxophonist John
Butcher in Milwaukee. "I was in Paris with John two
weeks ago," Michael recalls. "We were playing with cellist
Fred
Longberg-Holm, with whom we'll be playing and recording in Chicago.
I've been getting more opportunities to
tour, and soon I'll be in
England and Scotland touring with saxophonist Tony Bevan."
Ever expanding the
boundaries of percussion, Zerang has written
numerous commissions for theater in Chicago and recently did a series
of
concerts with dancers Shirka Urechko from Canada and Lotta Mellin
from Sweden. "I love dancers. I'll be touring in Sweden
this fall with
Lotta. The feedback from the dance and theater people is interesting.
It's a different audience. Percussion is
new to them."
Michael also takes a different teaching approach to the typical drum
workshop. "At my workshops
nobody plays for the first four hours," he
says. "No one touches a drum. Percussionists are so used to playing
rhythms
instead of thinking about the sonic aspects like decay and how
things work. We cover those things first."
Keep
current on Zerang's activities at: www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/7760/index.htm.
Michael Bettine
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