Jazz Articles about Evan Parker

A Fireside Chat with Evan Parker

by AAJ Staff
February 21, 2004

In 1968, poet and noted authority on black music Amiri Baraka wrote, “Most jazz critics have been white Americans, but most important jazz musicians have not been." Politics of race aside, in 1968, Baraka's words were not opinion, but fact. John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Charlie Parker, Ornette Coleman, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Cecil Taylor, Art Blakey, Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, Eric Dolphy, Thelonious Monk, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, and Roy Haynes (all of whom he mentions in Black ...

Evan Parker: Alder Brook & Birds and Blades

by Andrey Henkin
February 8, 2004

Evan Parker, perhaps the John Coltrane of English music, has made a career of lending his utterly unique approach to any number of long-standing groups and individual recordings. By virtue of his complex musicianship and extremely open approach to group playing, he fits seamlessly in any configuration into which he is drawn, never dominating or flashy, always bludgeoningly tasteful - one could not write better parts for him than he seems to snatch out of the air. ...

On Tour With The Evan Parker Trio

by Frank Rubolino
November 29, 2003

With Alexander Von Schlippenbach and Paul Lytton Barnevelder Movement Arts, Houston Texas May 2, 2003

For nearly four decades, Evan Parker has been creating exciting music in the trio context, and Alexander Von Schlippenbach and Paul Lytton have shared extensively in this creative process. They were reunited once more in Houston as part of the trio’s North American tour to 16 cities. Originally, Barry Guy was to have been part of the band, but personal matters ...

Evan Parker: The Snake Decides

by John Eyles
November 14, 2003

"We play to the informed listener. We don't play to the person who's tumbled in for the first time. We're not looking to make it easy." Evan Parker, 2003.The music on Parker's Psi label, particularly his own, remains faithful to the spirit of the quote above. To get the most out of Parker, one should be prepared to invest some time. Such investment is repaid many times over. More than most, Parker's musical universe can seem self-contained, to ...

Evan Parker/George Lewis: From Saxophone & Trombone

by Glenn Astarita
April 15, 2003

Originally issued on LP in 1980, From Saxophone & Trombone ought to offer fans of trombonist George Lewis and saxophonist Evan Parker quite a bit to get revved up about. No frills or hidden agendas to be found throughout these five improvisation based works. You name it--they cover it! The duo explores various harmonic twists and turns amid microtonal sounds and ethereal soundscapes. They dig deep from within while also displaying the utmost improvisational acumen, as most of us would ...

Evan Parker: September Winds

by Richton Guy Thomas
January 17, 2003

Evan Parker is among Europe's most innovative and intriguing saxophonists. Parker's solos and playing style are distinguished by his creative use of circular breathing and false fingering. He's one of the few players not only willing but anxious to demonstrate his affinity for late-period of John Coltrane. September Winds was recorded in an empty water reservoir on the Zürichberg (which is located in Zurich, Switzerland)...built in 1922 and standing empty for nearly thirty years. The acoustics are ...

Evan Parker & Paul Lytton: Collective Calls

by Derek Taylor
January 5, 2003

The duo of Parker and Lytton lodges readily under the canopy of other like-minded partnerships in creative improvised music. Think Lyons and Taylor or Cherry and Coleman. In a region of music that is nary a half century old, it’s a special thing for players to span the decades together and have an active union of ideas still survive.

This particular snapshot is rescued from a time early in their association. Spliced into a series of industrial-organic ...