--Ed Hazell, PointofDeparture.org
“A welcome return to the studio from one of today's most esteemed working groups, Petit Oiseau is one of Parker's most accessible and enjoyable releases."
--Troy Collins, AllAboutJazz.com
AUM Fidelity is proud to announce the October 14th release of the William Parker Quartet's new album, Petit Oiseau (AUM050), the group's second studio effort and third release overall. Named after Little Bird (or Petit Oiseau in French), a character from one of bassist/composer William Parker's tone poems, this recording features eight original compositions, including works dedicated to musicians Malachi Favors, Alan Shorter and Arthur Williams. Other pieces take their inspiration from such diverse sources as the inherent rhythm of life and the nomadic people of Northern Europe.
Petit Oiseau follows the group's acclaimed debut, O'Neal's Porch (Centering Music, 2000; AUM Fidelity, 2002), and the live recording Sound Unity (AUM Fidelity, 2005), which have been named to best-of-the-year lists in such publications as AllAboutJazz.com, DownBeat, JazzTimes, the New York Times and the Village Voice.
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 most recent CD, the live orchestral recording Double Sunrise Over Neptune (Arts for Art/AUM Fidelity), was released in August. He is also an educator, organizer, theorist and author.
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