Kevin McHugh (musician)
Encyclopedia
Kevin McHugh is an American pianist
, composer and improviser. He has performed in a variety of groups and with notable musicians and teachers ranging from jazz drummer Billy Hart
, saxophonist Gary Bartz
, trumpeter Marcus Belgrave
, trombonist Robin Eubanks
, Salah Ragab
(Egyptian drummer for Sun Ra
), trumpeter Peter Evans
, Jovino Santos-Neto
(flutist and pianist with Hermeto Pascoal
), to Fugazi bassist Joe Lally
, Japanese improvisers Tetuzi Akiyama
and Hiroshi Hasegawa (Astro
), punk bassist Mike Watt
(The Minutemen
, The Stooges
) and Brazilian singer Zé de Riba. Besides working on blues, solo electronic music, noise rock, ballet and tap dance accompaniment, and musical improv comedy, Kevin has also performed and recorded with the avant metal jazz everything band Capillary Action
, the San Francisco Mime Troupe
and BATS Improv
.
Kevin McHugh has lived in or around cities including Seattle, Berlin
, San Francisco, New York
, Tokyo
, Shanghai
, São Paulo
, Mumbai
and Cairo
, performing as a leader or sideman in many prominent venues, and has toured over 20 countries and 100 cities in the United States. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from Oberlin College
and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music
. In 2006 he won a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship
to research the sound and music of megacities. He currently lives in Tokyo.
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, composer and improviser. He has performed in a variety of groups and with notable musicians and teachers ranging from jazz drummer Billy Hart
Billy Hart
William "Billy" Hart is a jazz drummer and educator who has performed with some of the most important jazz musicians in history.-Biography:Early on Hart performed in Washington, D.C...
, saxophonist Gary Bartz
Gary Bartz
Gary Bartz is an American alto and soprano saxophonist and clarinetist.Bartz graduated from the Baltimore City College high school and The Juilliard School...
, trumpeter Marcus Belgrave
Marcus Belgrave
Marcus Belgrave is a jazz trumpet player from Detroit, born in Chester, Pennsylvania. He has recorded with a variety of famous musicians, bandleaders, and record labels since the 1950s. Notable among them are: Ray Charles, Charles Mingus, Gunther Schuller, Motown Records, Tribe Records, Blue Note...
, trombonist Robin Eubanks
Robin Eubanks
Robin Eubanks is an American jazz and jazz fusion slide trombonist, the brother of guitarist Kevin Eubanks and trumpeter Duane Eubanks.-Biography:...
, Salah Ragab
Salah Ragab
Salah Ragab was an Egyptian drummer and musician credited with founding Egyptian jazz.-Early life:A Major in the Egyptian Army through the 1960s, he first attempted to form a jazz band in 1964, with American saxophonist Mac X. Spears...
(Egyptian drummer for Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
), trumpeter Peter Evans
Peter Evans (musician)
Peter Evans is an American trumpet player based in New York, who specializes in improvisation and avant-garde music. Evans has been a member of the New York City musical community since 2003, when he moved to the city after graduating from The Oberlin Conservatory of Music...
, Jovino Santos-Neto
Jovino Santos-Neto
Jovino Santos-Neto is a Brazilian American jazz pianist, flutist, composer, arranger, educator and producer....
(flutist and pianist with Hermeto Pascoal
Hermeto Pascoal
Hermeto Pascoal is a Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist. He was born in Lagoa da Canoa, Alagoas, Brazil. Pascoal is a greatly beloved musical figure in the history of Brazilian music, known for his abilities at orchestration and improvisation, as well as being a record producer and...
), to Fugazi bassist Joe Lally
Joe Lally
Joe Lally is a bass guitar player, vocalist and label owner, best known for his work with Fugazi.-Fugazi:...
, Japanese improvisers Tetuzi Akiyama
Tetuzi Akiyama
Tetuzi Akiyama is a Japanese guitarist, violinist, and instrument-maker.Akiyama formed the improvisation group Madhar in 1987, and the classical ensemble Hikyo String Quintet in 1994 . In 1995, Akiyama and Sugimoto formed a guitar duo, and played at venues in New York City, Chicago, and Detroit...
and Hiroshi Hasegawa (Astro
Astro (band)
Astro is the project of Japanese musician Hiroshi Hasegawa of the influential noise music group C.C.C.C. Astro's music is made using assorted analog equipment including Moog, EMS, and Flower Electronics synthesizers...
), punk bassist Mike Watt
Mike Watt
Michael David Watt is an American bassist, singer and songwriter.He is best known for co-founding the rock bands Minutemen, dos, and Firehose; , he is also the bassist for the reunited Stooges and a member of the art rock/jazz/punk/improv group Banyan as well as many other post-Minutemen...
(The Minutemen
Minutemen (band)
Minutemen were an American hardcore punk band formed in San Pedro, California in 1980. Composed of guitarist D. Boon, bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley, Minutemen recorded four albums and eight EPs before Boon's death in an automobile accident in December 1985...
, The Stooges
The Stooges
The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...
) and Brazilian singer Zé de Riba. Besides working on blues, solo electronic music, noise rock, ballet and tap dance accompaniment, and musical improv comedy, Kevin has also performed and recorded with the avant metal jazz everything band Capillary Action
Capillary Action (band)
Capillary Action is an American avant-rock/experimental music group formed at Oberlin College in 2004 by Jonathan Pfeffer, the group's sole constant member....
, the San Francisco Mime Troupe
San Francisco Mime Troupe
The San Francisco Mime Troupe is a theatre of political satire which performs free shows in various parks in the San Francisco Bay Area and around California. The Troupe does not, however, perform silent mime, but each year creates an original musical comedy that combines aspects of Commedia...
and BATS Improv
BATS Improv
BATS Improv is a non-profit improvisational theatre company in San Francisco. Founded in 1986, their unique style of acting-based improvisational theatre is well-known in improv circles around the world...
.
Kevin McHugh has lived in or around cities including Seattle, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, San Francisco, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
and Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, performing as a leader or sideman in many prominent venues, and has toured over 20 countries and 100 cities in the United States. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music
Oberlin Conservatory of Music
The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, located on the campus of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, was founded in 1865 and is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. Students of Oberlin Conservatory enter a very broad network within the music world, as the school's alumni...
. In 2006 he won a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship
Thomas J. Watson Fellowship
The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship is a grant that enables graduating seniors to pursue a year of independent study outside the United States. The Fellowship Program was established by the children of Thomas J. Watson, the founder of IBM....
to research the sound and music of megacities. He currently lives in Tokyo.
Discography
- With Polylis: Forthcoming (2011)
- With Loolowningen: Self Titled (2011)
- With Kojun Sato/Pat Glynn: Ballads (2010)
- With Polylis: "Poly One" (2010)
- With the North Atlantic Tonal Organization: NATO(2008)
- With Kojun Sato: Weavers (2008)
- With Capillary ActionCapillary Action (band)Capillary Action is an American avant-rock/experimental music group formed at Oberlin College in 2004 by Jonathan Pfeffer, the group's sole constant member....
: So Embarrassing (2007) - With the Kevin McHugh Trio: WM 2006 (2006)
- With the Kevin McHugh Trio: Der Hagen (2005)
- With the Andy Hunter Quartet: The Slow Road to Shanghai (2005)