Esmond Choi. Derek Pascoe. Nexus Arts. 1 May 2026

 

For the second and final concert in Adelaide pianist Esmond Choi’s The Adventurous Project: Graphic Scores of Austin Engelhardt, Choi performed at the piano together with renowned saxophonist and saxophone teacher Derek Pascoe. This was a meeting of minds and musical hearts that produced enchanting results. (This review should be read together with Kym Clayton’s review of concert 1, here)

 

Choi’s printed program detailed Engelhardt’s instructions on the use of his Book 1, which comprises 26 graphic scores “created to inspire creative thought for improvisors”. For example, “pages may be viewed in any orientation and in any order”; where only a few pages are to be performed, “care should be taken to choose pages that feel as though they contrast well with each other”; and, “a dialogue among the players is an essential part of the rehearsal and execution…”. In their introductory remarks, Choi and Pascoe indicated that they had engaged in extensive such dialogue.

 

Choi and Pascoe performed from five of Engelhardt’s scores over a total of 45 minutes. For the benefit of the audience, the scores were projected onto a screen adjacent to the performers. Each score is a simple, fixed image—a few gestural strokes or splashes of paint, or a handprint—that serves as a trigger to the performers’ imaginations, possibly suggesting a sonic palette.

 

Classically trained Choi has illuminated the Adelaide music scene with his performances of contemporary solo piano music and especially the music of George Crumb, but he has had comparatively little experience with improvisation.

 

Pascoe, who has wide experience in jazz, experimental, and popular music, is adept at improvisation and, for example, teamed with jazz pianist Chris Martin to create the 18 CD box set of hour-long improvisations entitled Here Comes Everything (2025).

 

Responding to the first graphic score, Choi began by using a percussionist’s mallet to tap the piano’s strings while Pascoe played short phrases. Choi variously plucked or strummed the piano’s strings and employed a range of extended piano techniques typical of contemporary piano repertoire, exploring all the piano’s sonic possibilities, and he also played short phrases, using the piano both as a melodic and a percussive instrument.

 

Pascoe’s melodic passages initially anchored the music, framing its overall direction and pace, and he added dramatic flourishes. As the performance developed, Pascoe and Choi seemed to work instinctively in tandem, each stimulating a response in the other.

 

The graphic score is merely a trigger, a starting point. Gestural, arhythmic and often chromatic, the music rises and falls in volume and intensity. Choi’s playing is inventive and pianistic and his experience as a composer of piano music shows through. Some fragmentary piano passages recalled the character of Pierre Boulez’s Three Piano Sonatas (1957). One would not have guessed that Choi was so new to improvisation. At one point, Pascoe played the opening phrase from God Save the King, adding a little humour to the mix.

 

Their performance obliquely recalls the music of the legendary improvisers, The Necks, and Free Jazz artists such as Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra’s Arkestra, but this was not jazz and Choi and Pascoe did not adhere to any perceptible rhythmic pattern. In the absence of structure and thematic material, the art is in spontaneous musical invention and phrasing, which emerged fluidly and coherently, and they developed a most absorbing orchestration.

 

The listening experience is quite unique, as one listens much more deeply, becoming acutely aware of the sounds, resonances, textures, and the shaping of the music as it emerges. It was fascinating throughout.

 

The combination of Choi and Pascoe, with their diverse experiences and musical sensibilities, made for an engrossing musical cocktail. Their combined sound is thoroughly engaging and original, and The Adventurous Project has provided a firm foundation for future exploratory musical adventures.

 

Chris Reid

 

When: 1 May 2026

Where: Nexus Arts

Bookings: Closed