Poster by Cala Martinez
DATES AND TIMES: Sunday August 17th, 2025 @ 1:00-2:00
FREE
LOCATION: Harvestworks Art and Technology Program Building 10a, Nolan Park, Governors Island
The West Harlem Art Fund in partnership with Harvestworks presents William Hooker in solo and duo performances featuring drums, poetry and the electronic/guitar of special guest Kevin Ramsay. Come out to the island and enjoy an afternoon of experimental jazz with us in the oldest “neighborhood” on Governors Island, with military houses dating back to the mid-19th century.
“William Hooker is considered an iconoclast and one of the most innovative musicians and drummers of his generation, unconstrained by genre, constantly searching for new musical forms, always with the intention of inspiring others. ” ——The WIRE
“William Hooker is an artistic whole, a vast circle of vision and execution. A body of uninterrupted work beginning in the mid-seventies defines him as one of the most important composers and players in jazz.” – Thomas Stanley, SIGNAL TO NOISE
• BIOS –
William Hooker (drummer, composer and poet) has created works that range from jazz and “new” music to experimental genres. He has released over 70 CDs as a leader. Mr. Hooker has performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Edgefest Jazz Festival, The Vision Festival, The David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, The Wadsworth Atheneum, Queen Elizabeth Hall, The Walker Art Center, the first on MTV, The Kitchen, Roulette, Real Art Ways. He has also presented his work at the JVC Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Vancouver Jazz Festival, CMJ Music Festival, Vilnius Jazz Festival, Experimenta Argentina, The Knitting Factory and the Victoriaville Music Festival. William Hooker has received commissions and support from the New York State Council on the Arts, Meet the Composer, Tokio Marine Insurance Company and colleges and universities such as Oberlin, Fordham, Columbia, New York University, Boston University, Princeton, Dartmouth and many more. Accompanying musicians have included Billy Bang, David Ware, William Parker, Thurston Moore, David Soldier, Roy Campbell, DJ Spooky, Steven Bernstein, Zeena Parkins, Lee Ranaldo, Jason Hwang, Sabir Mateen, Elliot Sharpe, David Murray, Ted Daniel, JD Parren and many more. https://www.williamhooker.com/
Kevin Ramsey: Kevin Ramsay is a composer, producer, recording/mixing/mastering/sound engineer, and musician on several critically acclaimed international albums. Brooklyn born and based, Ramsay’s work focuses primarily on theoretical, practical aspects of sound recording/reproduction with unpredictable pairings of acoustic and electronic instruments. Kevin’s current works explore new ways to capture, mix, and process immersive audio for playback, on multichannel sound systems. Ramsay serves as Lead Sound Engineer at Harvestworks Digital Media, he continues to collaborate with a variety of international artists committed to using sound as their main creative medium. Kevin has worked with notable artist such as Michael Byron, Henry Threadgil, Art Jones, Joan Jonas, Pauline Kim- Harris and Conrad Harris (String Noise), Anne Tardos, Danilio Correale, Maria Grand, Prince Harvey, Emilio Vavarella, Malik Ameer Crumpler, Daniel Belquer, Jon-Carlos Evans and many others. https://www.kevinramsaysound.com/