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Jazz Articles about William Parker
Ivo Perelman & Matthew Shipp String Trio: Armageddon Flower
by Mark Corroto
Imagine our earliest ancestors huddled deep inside a cave, safe from the howling wind and stalking predators outside. A fire flickers at the center, casting erratic shadows onto the jagged walls. Among the tribe, someone watches those shadows--not with fear, but with imagination. Perhaps they see, in the dancing silhouettes, the outlines of animals hunted earlier that day. This individual reaches out, dips a crude brush in pigment and begins to trace the forms on stone. In that moment, a ...
Continue ReadingWilliam Parker / Hugo Costa / Philipp Ernsting: Pulsar
by John Sharpe
Inestimable bassist William Parker has made hundreds of records, but this unlikely meeting with two stalwarts of the Rotterdam scene, Portuguese alto saxophonist Hugo Costa and German drummer Philipp Ernsting, should not to be overlooked. The Dutch-based pair invited Parker to join them for a recording in October 2023 and Pulsar is the splendid result. Costa and Ernsting more than hold their own. However, this date is notable for featuring Parker in an unencumbered free environment where he displays the ...
Continue ReadingSteve Hirsh: Root Causes
by Mark Corroto
Although Steve Hirsh's name appears on the masthead of Root Causes, you might not immediately recognize it as a drummer-led recording. Unlike the unmistakable leadership of Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, and Tony Williams, Hirsh leads with subtlety, functioning more as a selfless, responsive collaborator than a dominant force. The album features a classic piano trio format, with pianist Eri Yamamoto and bassist William Parker rounding out the ensemble. This trio forms three-quarters of the Sparks Quartet, led by ...
Continue ReadingAndrew Barker: Bakunawa
by Fran Kursztejn
William Parker turned 73 last month, yet despite sharing his newest release with the 54-year-old Andrew Barker and 46-year-old Jon Irabagon, his playing has never been as buoyant as it is here. All three New York staples have played with one another in various duos and orchestral arrangements (Barker himself is an alumni of Parker's Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra), but Bakunawa marks the first time all three have been recorded together. In common fashion for Parker projects, ...
Continue ReadingWilliam Parker / Hamid Drake / Cooper-Moore: Heart Trio
by John Sharpe
By largely leaving behind their main instruments, three stalwarts of the New York avant jazz scene tap into something timeless and elemental on Heart Trio. Instead of his customary bass, William Parker wields an array of flutes, double reeds, and the doson ngoni, a six-stringed hunter's harp from West Africa allegedly the ancestor of the banjo. His long-time partner Chicago drummer Hamid Drake remains at his kit, which he supplements with a frame drum, while erstwhile pianist Cooper-Moore, another habitué ...
Continue ReadingKaren Borca: Good News Blues
by John Sharpe
Pioneering jazz bassoonist Karen Borca has had to wait a long time for her leadership debut. It arrives courtesy of the adventurous Lithuanian NoBusiness imprint, compiled from archival recordings of two appearances at New York City's fabled Vision Festival. But that is not to say that she does not have a weighty resume. An acolyte of Cecil Taylor, she played in his college ensembles at both Antioch and Wisconsin in the early 1970s. Through the pianist she also met alto ...
Continue ReadingWilliam Parker, Ellen Christi: Cereal Music
by Alberto Bazzurro
William Parker ci ha regalato nel corso degli anni (in particolare da quando la sua stella, ormai intorno ai cinquanta, ha iniziato a brillare di luce particolarmente marcata) opere importantissime, a suo solo nome o in collaborazione con altri. Ciò precisato per chiarire subito che questo suo nuovo lavoro non appartiene a tale schiera. Vi trova posto una narrazione spesso farraginosa che ripercorre la vita del bassista, con intromissioni--per lo più salvifiche--da parte di Ellen Christi, cofirmataria dell'opera, e altri ...
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