His principal outlet as a bandleader/composer since 2000, and one of his most admired, Parker's quartet features Lewis Barnes (trumpet), Rob Brown (alto saxophone) and Hamid Drake (drums). Critics have frequently compared the group to Ornette Coleman's groundbreaking quartet and note how the group advances Parker's claim to a post-bop experimentalism that swings" (Nate Chinen, JazzTimes) with the almost telepathic interaction and bubbling conversation between the four" (Stuart Broomer, Amazon.com). Its blend of tight inside and out playing, demon-possessed solos, and relentless groove delivers like no other band in jazz," declared AllAboutJazz.com's Jeff Stockton. JunkMedia.org's Troy Collins adds, This quartet exemplifies the art of jazz improvisation at its most telepathic level, a group that will easily go down in the history books as revered as Miles Davis' second quintet or John Coltrane's classic quartet."
Parker is among the most active and highly regarded musicians performing today. He has been called one of the most inventive bassist/leaders since Mingus" (The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, Eighth Edition), one of the true leaders in American music" (Bill Shoemaker, JazzTimes), avant-garde jazz's preeminent bassist" (A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia Inquirer) and an artist whose talent seems to have no limits" (James Taylor, AllAboutJazz.com). In March 2007, Time Out New York named him one of its 50 Greatest New York Musicians of All Time. His illustrious 30-plus year career includes several high-profile projects with an impressive array of creative music's most esteemed figures, including longstanding collaborations with Peter Brtzmann, Bill Dixon, Hamid Drake, Charles Gayle, Jemeel Moondoc, Matthew Shipp, Cecil Taylor and David S. Ware among many others. In addition to his quartet, Parker also leads the Raining On The Moon Sextet, The Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra and The Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield. His latest CD, the live orchestral recording Double Sunrise Over Neptune (Arts for Art/AUM Fidelity), will be released August 12th. He is also an educator, organizer, theorist and author.
For more information contact Improvised Communications.