Konrad Park Sticks It Higher

Konrad Park is a household name in percussions in Australia, and dubbed a “powerhouse drummer”, among other superlatives in Tasmania. Fiesta Tasmania catches up with him in Take Five after hearing there’s going to be a performance of his like no other at the 2023 Clarence Jazz Festival or CJF, taking place from 1-5 February.

Konrad Park’s quintet performs “Vital Transformation: A Mahavishnu Tribute” on Saturday 4 February, 5.20pm at CJF’s Big Day @Kangaroo Bay stage. Be prepared for technique overload as the jazz heavies pay tribute to the iconic rock, Indian classical and jazz fusion group—the Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Hi Konrad, so good to be in touch with you. You’ve performed numerous different concerts at jazz festivals. Why did you decide to stage a Mahavishnu Orchestra tribute at this year’s CJF?

Konrad Park’s quintet takes to the stage at #CJF23 performing a tribute to the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Pic by Phil Millner.

Firstly, this music has reached a lot of people since the early seventies. I think what fans find most memorable, is the mixture of rock and jazz energy. Each of the Mahavishnu Orchestra arrangements are so different and give audiences a musical trip of epic proportions. This is the music of my early teens, so I had a primal need to tackle the music and share it with others. I also feel that there are some younger folk who may not have heard this music and I would love to introduce it to them, in a live setting.

What tracks will we hear?

We are performing tracks from the first two albums. Birds of Fire, offers a collision of blues lines over an unusual harmony. Dance of Maya is a blues excursion that invokes intense darkness while the blues melodies provide a sense of humour, laughing out loud against musical trauma. “I Wonder” is a beautiful vamp that will include the singing voice of Sarangan Sriranganathan, trading solos against the soprano sax and a recitation of Ghandi’s words from Sandy Evans.

What special sounds or effects await us? 

For the uninitiated, the Mahavishnu Orchestra is a rock rhythm section with a violin, which grabs everyone’s attention! The violin and guitar are lead instruments—when played together, they create anything from a wild scream to an intimate acoustic conversation. This band will sometimes use modern effects to mutate the sound of acoustic instruments like the gong and violin.  This helps to bring the original sound of the Mahavishnu Orchestra into a modern context.

The Mahavishnu Orchestra defies definition of the sound generated in music genres because of complex improvisations.

 You’ve been playing the drum kit for a long time. Just how long? What else do you play?

I’ve been playing the drum kit for 45 years and it’s been quite a ride! I also play the 10-string tapping instrument, the Chapman Stick. Think of it like a guitar and a bass in one neck. As a 1970s preteen, what matters most to me is that music should offer new and creatively bold sounds. If I’m not doing that then, I may as well not be doing this at all. The stick is an extension of the creative spirit of the seventies and it allows me to write new music because it’s a new musical interface. If I’m playing an instrument that’s different to everything else around me, then I’m already thinking outside the box.

Playing the Chapman Stick presents to Konrad Park a whole new dimension in music playing and composing. Pic by Fiesta Tasmania on kunanyi/Mt Wellington.

If you're not performing, what are the things you like to do?

Lately, I’ve gotten back into bike riding on the Pipeline Track of kunanyi. I have a growing interest in muscular health, yoga and other forms of resistance exercise. I’m also passionate about the changes in global thinking, of spiritual practices and the practitioners who offer new methods to raise our thinking and behaviour out of the accepted defaults or cultural norms. I like to spend part of each day in silence and aim to cultivate spiritual power, understanding and to declutter my mind. Silence is for the soul what air is for the lungs.

Well we have come to the end of Take Five, which essentially poses just five questions. Oh, hang on. What? You’ve more to say?

Yeah, I’d really like to talk about John McLaughlin who helmed the Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Oh. Alright. What about McLaughlin you’d like to talk about?

(In the middle) British guitarist John McLaughlin founded a high-powered rock-jazz fusion band in 1971, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, that continues to sway many musicians today.

Listening to someone as great as John McLaughlin for over four decades, I’ve witnessed his development and have been deeply inspired by his musical trajectory.  I started listening to this music at the time it was released, so naturally I have a certain attachment to these sounds; they’re in my musical DNA.  John McLaughlin’s offering as a truly original and great musician, is a prime motivation in my musical life. My colleagues and I keep uncovering new details of his music, continuing to be inspired by his compositions and how far he has pushed the guitar forward into new territory.

So Konrad, it is just like you to give us more than we expect! Fiesta Tasmania is dedicated to hearing what artists have to say about themselves, their work and passion. Thanks lots for speaking to us. So excited to hear your band play this Saturday at #CJF23.

Thank you, Mallika, for your dedication in starting this fantastic new publication, Fiesta Tasmania.

Related articles:

Festival directors of Clarence Jazz Festival 2023 tell us what’s happening behind the scenes, and what to expect over the four days of fine concerts.

Spotlight of Clarence Jazz Festival 2023.