Sylla | Hoogland | Rosaly
Mola Sylla – voice, m’bira, xalam, percussion
Oscar Jan Hoogland – electric clavichord
Frank Rosaly – drums, percussion
Biography
Mola Sylla, Oscar Jan Hoogland and Frank Rosaly form The Triangle. Rosaly has been involved in the improvised and experimental music community since 2001 when he became an integral part of Chicago’s musical fabric, navigating a fine line between the vibrant improvised music, experimental, rock and jazz communities. Like Rosaly, singer and percussionist Mola Sylla is in many ways a musical explorer. Born and raised in Dakar, Senegal, he grew up in the tradition of the griots. Griots convey stories – sometimes decorated with music, theatre and dance – and play an important role in the culture of West Africa. Sylla’s rhythm and melodic compositions differ from the recognised western patterns and provide surprising twists. Oscar Jan Hoogland is the sound of Amsterdam in person. He is an instant composer and inventor of his own instrument by joining a clavichord, a keyboard instrument from the 17th century, to 220 Volt electricity. As the last student of the late pianist, composer and improvisor Misha Mengelberg he tears like a tornado through the Amsterdam jazz and impro scene.
A Dakar griot singer – an Amsterdam improviser – a Chicago jazz drummer. That’s the triangle of authenticity that shapes the uncompromising music of Sylla | Hoogland | Rosaly.