Home » Jazz Articles » William Parker
Jazz Articles about William Parker
William Parker New Heart Trio at The Chapel
by Roy Strassman
William Parker New Heart Trio The Chapel San Francisco, CA May 15, 2023 William Parker is a free jazz phenom, as his current New Heart Trio heartedly demonstrated. Accompanied by the legendary William Hooker on the drum set and firebrand Isaiah Collier on tenor saxophone and hand percussion, Parker, attired in a Tophi (Fez-like Indonesian cap) and knee-length variegated striped smock, began the set with a free-jazz crash and swing motif, Collier's horn ablaze. His ...
Continue ReadingGauci Leibson Parker Sorey: Live at Scholes Street Studio
by John Sharpe
Tenor saxophonist Stephen Gauci certainly knows how to pick a band. On another of his regular bulletins which go under the title Live At Scholes Street Studio, he has assembled a line-up to die for, notable for the appearance of Tyshawn Sorey on drums and William Parker on bass. Although Argentinian pianist Santiago Leibson may be less feted, he is a trusted collaborator who combined effectively with Gauci on Pandemic Duets (Gaucimusic, 2021), and he plays a full role on ...
Continue ReadingSteve Swell’s Fire Into Music: For Jemeel: Fire From The Road
by Mark Corroto
If listeners only had the one recording, Swimming In A Galaxy Of Goodwill And Sorrow (Rogueart, 2007) from Steve Swell's Fire Into Music, and did not have the pleasure of hearing the quartet live in person, there certainly would be a large blank spot in their metaphorical dance card. The trombonist Swell, bassist William Parker, and drummer Hamid Drake must also mourn the loss of the fourth member of the quartet, alto saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc (1946-2021). Much like Ornette Coleman, ...
Continue ReadingWilliam Parker: Universal Tonality
by John Sharpe
Bassist William Parker has originated a personal philosophy which he calls Universal Tonality. He expresses his idea thus: “all sounds, like human beings, come from the same place. They have different bodies and faces, but the soul of each sound comes from the same perfect 'creation.'" The near two-hour double album which bears the same name (also aptly chosen for the title of Cisco Bradley's 2021 Parker biography) represents one of the first occasions on which Parker put his theory ...
Continue ReadingFrancisco Mela: Music Frees Our Souls Vol. 2
by John Sharpe
The three protagonists gaze out from the cover, variously smiling, appearing wryly amused, and looking stern. The image suggests a will to tackle things head on, without artifice or adornment. To tell it like it is. And that is the result: a thrilling no-nonsense representation of the combined artistry of drummer Francisco Mela, pianist Cooper-Moore and bassist William Parker. Though billed as Volume 2 of Music Frees Our Souls it isn't more from the same session. In ...
Continue ReadingAndrew Cyrille, William Parker, Enrico Rava: 2 Blues for Cecil
by Giuseppe Segala
È già stato detto molto, di questo album. Appuntamento al vertice di tre musicisti, che in momenti diversi hanno incrociato la personalità magmatica di Cecil Taylor e la sua musica. Andrew Cyrille, William Parker ed Enrico Rava, nell'ordine alfabetico in cui sono elencati dal disco, hanno dato vita al trio per la prima volta nel 2016, con un'esibizione al Whitney Museum di New York. Dopo un nuovo incontro in Francia, nel 2020, sono entrati in studio a Parigi ...
Continue ReadingWhit Dickey, William Parker, Matthew Shipp: Village Mothership
by Alberto Bazzurro
Inciso nel febbraio 2020 e pubblicato alla fine dell'anno seguente, questo notevole album, frutto di una seduta di libera improvvisazione ma il cui principale responsabile è l'oggi sessantottenne batterista newyorchese Whit Dickey, che nell'ultimo trentennio non ha mancato di fornire ampie testimonianze del suo valore, è di quelli che ci fanno capire quali ragguardevoli risorse e possibilità rigenerative possa ancora vantare una formula che per anzianità di servizio e assiduità di frequentazione potrebbe apparire a occhi distratti persino consunta (come ...
Continue Reading
