Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Leon Parker: Belief

215

Leon Parker: Belief

By

View read count
Leon Parker: Belief
In 1966, the superb drummer Ed Thigpen ("Mr. Taste") stepped out of his role as percussionist of the cohesive and long-lived Oscar Peterson trio to record an album under his own name for Verve, Out of the Storm, a nearly forgotten classic now. Thigpen brought in the youthful Herbie Hancock and the more seasoned Ron Carter and Kenny Burrell to play on the date, a series of linked pieces in the form of a suite.

In 1996, the brilliant young drummer Leon Parker did something quite similar. Many jazz fans know Parker as the percussionist of the Jacky Terrasson trio, a group that has been together for a few years now and recorded two excellent albums. Like the finest drummers who establish themselves as leaders, Parker has surrounded himself with a stellar cast of colleagues and created a stirring, sustained statement in the new CD, Belief.

Also like the finest jazz drummers, Leon Parker is first a percussionist. His effects on all of the nine pieces on Belief show a musician of extraordinary sensitivity and subtlety. His kit is stripped down to a snare drum, cymbal, and various other percussion instruments, such as a conga drum, ashiko drum, frame drum, woodblock, bell, and shakers. Parker is also a composer of the first order, having written seven wonderfully diverse yet harmonically linked pieces on the album.

Belief is in a certain sense a back-to-basics project. Although only acoustic instruments are played, this is a fusion album in that rich cultural elements come together from different sources. "Village Song: Africa," a Parker conga and shaker duet with Adam Cruz on marimba, shows the two musicians creating their own community of sound. "Horizon Azul," with Lisa Parker on flute, recalls a Middle Eastern village. Even Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood," with Natalie Cushman on berimbau, reflects her study of a Brazilian dance-martial art form.

Parker is joined on several jazz cuts by the impeccable veteran Tom Harrell on trumpet and fluegelhorn and one of our finest saxophonists, Steve Wilson, playing mainly alto and a bit of soprano. Check them out on "Close Your Eyes." You can't miss another major voice on Belief, the astonishing bassist Ugonna Okegwo, Parker's rhythm mate in the Terrasson trio, whose deep, woody sound rings like a forest song throughout the album.

The joy evident in the music making here is abundantly clear in the vocal effects provided by Leon Parker and Natalie Cushman. "Wide Open," which features both, is a very hip multicultural scat meditation.

In Catherine Mapp's liner notes, we are not so subtly reminded to "feel it, hear it." You cannot do otherwise. If you aren't a "Believer", you should see for yourself.

Personnel

Album information

Title: Belief | Year Released: 1997 | Record Label: Columbia Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.