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Life & Arts

Multi-instumental artist renders beats

by RUTHIE RODRIGUEZ
The Daily Cougar

Nameless Sound's 2007 concert season opened with a bang as a crowd of more than 150 concert-goers gathered Wednesday night at The Audley Society, a raw loft space, to witness Holland's hard-swinging drummer and multi-instrumentalist Han Bennink perform a solo concert. 

As a child, Bennink's first percussion instrument was a kitchen chair. Since then the Dutch percussionist has developed a knack for drumming on unlikely surfaces.

Although his methods may seem a bit unconventional, he's no stranger to the realms of free jazz, free improvisation and punk rock. 

At 60-years-old, Bennink is recognized for his unwavering ability to coax the most unusual sounds from his drums. He uses a variety of objects and debris for drumming on any surface imaginable. 

Bennink exhibited an impeccable sense of rhythm with a series of all-out drumming sessions in which he relentlessly played his kit as an extension of himself. He weaved in and out of fierce drumming attacks and light familiar grooves while displaying his wide range of dynamic.

His knack for drumming on unconventional objects surfaced when he began playing on the floor. When he began drumming on a plastic bag mid-air his keen sense of rhythm ceased to falter. 

Bennink's performance was only a portion of a larger contribution he gave to the Houston community. 

Tuesday afternoon Bennink participated in a workshop with homeless children from a shelter between the ages of 5 to 14 in which he encouraged the children to express themselves through creative music and other forms of self-expression. 

"It was just amazing to see the children dancing and showing off," Bennick said. The opportunity proved to be just as rewarding for the world-renown drummer as for the children. 

The workshop was part of an ongoing effort by Houston-based non-profit organizations Nameless Sound and ArtBridge to fight despair and other hardships of homelessness among youth by nurturing self-esteem and hope through creative expression. 
 

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