Each of William Parker's albums showcase him as an outstanding instrumentalist, composer and band leader, not to mention an artist who is scarily prolific. Featuring vocal extraordinaire Leena Conquest, Moon marks a departure from his previous solo albums and collaborations with Thirsty Ear and proves to be one of his finest efforts yet. Deep, daring, and utterly satisfying, Raining On The Moon is sure to whet your appetite for more.. Artist History
When he descended New York's jazz scene back in 1972, William Parker quickly became the bass player of choice among such free-jazz icons as Ed Blackwell, Don Cherry, Bill Dixon, Milford Graves, Billy Higgins, and Sunny Murray to name a few. Add to his credits a 10-plus year association with ground-breaking free pianist Cecil Taylor, and it's no surprise that Parker commands a truly extraordinary degree of respect from his contemporaries. None other than the Village Voice has acknowledged William as “The most consistently brilliant free-jazz bassist of all time." But that's hardly hype--a sampling of his massive discography reveals a dazzling technique combined with harmonic ingenuity and his arco explorations.
William's discography further reveals him as a sideman and leader with the vanguard of avant-jazz artists. With Thirsty Ear, William has joined musical forces with jazz powerhouses like Matthew Shipp, Roy Campbell, Mat Maneri, Daniel Carter, and many other free-jazz allstars to help create the Blue Series Continuum. Hailed by critics as the finest jazz series ever released, the Blue Series continues to evolve, expand, and shock the jazz world with Raining On The Moon.
NOTES ON THE MAKING OF RAINING ON THE MOON
By William Parker
CONFIGURING THE ENSEMBLE
On my previous recording Oneal's Porch I used a quartet made up of Rob Brown alto sax Lewis flip Barnes trumpet and Hamid Drake drums and percussion..That recording marked the beginning of a new dimension of sound for me all the little nuances of melody rhythm got less dense and reached a level of clarity that might not have been evident for some people. Rob Brown is a alto player who can lead and also play in the ensemble with out sacrificing his individuality. Lewis Barnes has big ears that respond instantaneously to sound in any dimension. They have excellent rapport which allows them to creating lines that weave in an out of each other.
LYRICAL CONTENT
All the music that I do has some kind of folk tale or myth aspect connected to it The words help to tell the story inside the music. In most cases the words come first then the music sometimes they come at the same time.
SONG BY SONG (Song of Hope / Old Tears)
Song of Hope was written before 9/11 it is a universal anthem keeping hope alive in all walks of life. Hopefully people will come to view the world from this standpoint. Optimism is key to our survival as human beings Old tears is the kind of song one might want to play when deep reflection is needed. The kind of beauty that extends from sadness which comes out of dealing with the mysteries of life. In many ways history is crying for the same reasons over and over again. Even a tear can be uplifting there is certain beauty in sadness which soon becomes happiness after a while...
RAINING ON THE MOON / WATERMELON SONG
This is a fairy tale / folk tale song laced in dream and vision. It takes place in a parallel universe. Like fiction / science it is real and not real at the same time.
The watermelon Song has humor it tells the whimsical story of watermelons falling from trees. It presents another reality where anything is possible the sky can be any color you like if you can think of it it exists. I think the spirit is always young it doesn't age it is ancient and new born at the same time like the most beautiful aspects of a child imagination and simplification.
Use Of THE DONSO NGONI
I was first introduced to the Donso Ngoni in 1974 through the Don Cherry he was walking down west Broadway playing this wonderful instrument I was walking the other way we looked at each other I began to read poetry while Don played. After wards we walked up to the Chelsea Hotel we send the rest of the afternoon and evening taking about music and God. I have always been interested in the folk element of music and the sounds from around the world.
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