Kreilly Posted July 3, 2006 Report Posted July 3, 2006 Over the past year I've come to the conclusion that for me William Parker is one of those artists whose work is always worth checking out. I would buy a leader date by him sight unseen (unheard). I'm really liking "Long Hidden: The Olmec Series" particularly the stunning bonus track, the 14+ minute bass solo from his self-released "Painter's Autumn". His playing with Jemeel Moondoc on "New World Pygmies" first caught my attention and my admiration for him has grown with each purchase. Any other fans out there? Quote
Nate Dorward Posted July 3, 2006 Report Posted July 3, 2006 Over the past year I've come to the conclusion that for me William Parker is one of those artists whose work is always worth checking out. Maybe with the proviso: "as long as he's playing bass". Quote
sal Posted July 3, 2006 Report Posted July 3, 2006 I love William's stuff too. He's one of the best contemporary jazz artists out there. I've purchased probalby 6 or 7 of his CDs in the past few years, but the one that sticks out for me is "Scrapbook". Love that one. Quote
robviti Posted July 3, 2006 Report Posted July 3, 2006 Over the past year I've come to the conclusion that for me William Parker is one of those artists whose work is always worth checking out. Maybe with the proviso: "as long as he's playing bass". does your comment mean that you do not like the little huey creative music orchestra as much as parker's other groups? Quote
Aggie87 Posted July 3, 2006 Report Posted July 3, 2006 I've tried 3-4 Little Huey releases, and struggled with them. But I like some of his smaller group recordings - Scrapbook, Raining on the Moon, Painter's Spring, & O'Neal's Porch. I interpreted Nate's comment as referring to the recordings where Parker plays something other than bass, like Eloping with the Sun, where he plays a zintir (w/Joe Morris on banjo/banjouke, & Hamid Drake on frame drums). Quote
JohnS Posted July 4, 2006 Report Posted July 4, 2006 Try 'Luc's Lantern' to sample the minimalist end of the Parker spectrum. An absorbing piano trio. Quote
Nate Dorward Posted July 4, 2006 Report Posted July 4, 2006 Re: Little Huey, I don't know it very well. Raincoat in the River is the only one of the discs that passed through my hands, & while it's OK there's a lot of Parker noodling to no great effect on shakuhachi & bombard &c. -- Eloping with the Sun is dullsville. Quote
clifford_thornton Posted July 5, 2006 Report Posted July 5, 2006 I wish somebody would release the hordes of private tapes from the '70s he must have in his collection... Quote
relyles Posted July 5, 2006 Report Posted July 5, 2006 I wish somebody would release the hordes of private tapes from the '70s he must have in his collection... Some of these do circulate among collectors. Rick Lopez' William Parker Sessionography is the best source of information regarding what is circulating. Quote
matt lavelle Posted July 8, 2006 Report Posted July 8, 2006 I wish somebody would release the hordes of private tapes from the '70s he must have in his collection... Some of these do circulate among collectors. Rick Lopez' William Parker Sessionography is the best source of information regarding what is circulating. yall need to check out SPONTANEOUS. that joint is H O T. Quote
B. Goren. Posted March 15, 2008 Report Posted March 15, 2008 Raining on the Moon is one the best CDs I've recently listened to. This is the only WP's recording in my collection (as a leader) and I definitely need more. Quote
Nate Dorward Posted March 15, 2008 Report Posted March 15, 2008 (edited) There's a sequel called Corn Meal Dance. If you don't mind the lyrics, it's a very nice album. My review here (originally for Exclaim!): William Parker/Raining on the Moon Corn Meal Dance AUM Fidelity www.aumfidelity.com Corn Meal Dance is the second album by Raining on the Moon, a project helmed by free jazz bassist William Parker that centres on the work of vocalist Leena Conquest. The focus is on songs of consciousness-raising and spiritual uplift; the lyrics’ earnestness requires a willing suspension of cynicism in the listener, but Conquest’s sweet, dignified delivery helps immensely: she sells them, but doesn’t oversell them. Saxophonist Rob Brown and trumpeter Lewis Barnes get off some brief but telling solos, while pianist Eri Yamamoto’s gospelly chords cushion and shape the deep-juju grooves carved out by Parker and drummer Hamid Drake. This is Parker’s most polished and user-friendly CD to date, though there are still enough dizzy free-fall passages to keep it just to the side of the jazz mainstream. Edited March 15, 2008 by Nate Dorward Quote
AndrewHill Posted March 15, 2008 Report Posted March 15, 2008 Thanks for bumping this thread up. I was just getting ready to spin some Parker today; Lifting the Sanctions, in fact! The first time I heard of William Parker was when I read that he donatated one of his basses to Henry Grimes. That intrigued me enough to explore his music. The first disk I picked up was In Order to Survive on Black Saint, which left quite an impression on me. Since then, I've acquired about a dozen recordings of his along with quite a few sideman appearances. I really like him in Brotz's Die Like a Dog Quartet (really like Kondo too) and especially the Little Birds Have Fast Hearts disks. I was amazed at how straighforward Luc's Lantern was-to the point where my wife was even enjoying it (as she usually refers to avant garde music as an orchestra warming up). The Peach Orchard, Lifting the Sanctions, Compassion Seizes Bed-Stuy and Through Acceptance of the Mystery Peace are some of my favorite sessions, where I think Rob Brown and Cooper-Moore are key players on some of these disks. I do dig the Little Huey-Raincoat on the River date but have not heard any other dates from this ensemble. I also like the series that he did for Eremite with Alan Silva, with the All Star Game being my favorite out of the three. On a related note, does anyone know who the artist is who did the covers for Lifting the Sanctions, In Order to Survive and Compassion Seizes Bed-Stuy? I think he may have done Charles Gayle's More Live too. From what I've gathered from the Lifting the Sacntions cd, the artist paints while William Parker was performing live, but does not seem to indicate a name. I guess what I'm getting at is that I REALLY like his artwork! Quote
jostber Posted March 15, 2008 Report Posted March 15, 2008 (edited) Has anyone heard this duet album with the great Peter Kowald - The Victoriaville Tapes? Edited March 15, 2008 by jostber Quote
Nate Dorward Posted March 15, 2008 Report Posted March 15, 2008 edc: I think you're talking about the feature on Jeff Schlanger in the current Signal to Noise. Weakest piece in the main section, alas (& I can't believe they caved in to Schlanger's demand that a registration symbol appear after every instance of "musicWitness" in the piece, & even on the magazine cover!). Still haven't heard any other of Parker's big band discs beyond Raincoat in the River (which I see I mentioned when this thread started). Certainly that disc didn't suggest much of a talent for big band scoring. Quote
tkeith Posted March 15, 2008 Report Posted March 15, 2008 Parker is sort of like Andrew Cyrille -- a pretty safe bet. That said, the stuff that blows my mind is from a specific period (sort of like with Shepp). As for the other instruments, I'd only agree on the grounds that his bass work is so spectacular -- it's just a let down to hear him on something else. Though, I had the good fortune to take part in an after hours jam where he played douss'n gouni (sp?) and that was pretty awesome. Best complement I've heard is from my father, who saw THE quartet many times, and said: "Garrison had heart, but he was limited. I wish this guy had been around as part of that group." Regarding the extra track on THE OLMEC SESSIONS, the rest of the record is from the early nineties, and it's not quite up to the stuff he did late in the decade and beyond. That cut is later than the rest, and is indeed an amazing piece of music -- worth the price of the album twice over. Quote
MomsMobley Posted April 12, 2014 Report Posted April 12, 2014 excellent bassist; problematic bandleader; awful big band leader, conductor; negligible composer. i'm willing to listen to alternative views, with examples. Quote
Steve Reynolds Posted April 12, 2014 Report Posted April 12, 2014 Good but not great bassist, very good melodist and a fine small ensemble band leader. Some of themes hold up well over time and in another world some would be jazz classics Agree with your commentary on his large ensembles. Messy and aimless - at least they were 10 years ago or so when I stopped trying Quote
clifford_thornton Posted April 12, 2014 Report Posted April 12, 2014 Sometimes I can do messy and aimless, sometimes I can't. I did like the Ellington project, which had some very strange moments indeed (whether it was truly "Ellingtonian" or not is another matter). His small groups seem to work better as blowing vehicles than as areas for compositional research, and I don't think Hamid Drake fits very well into a tightly structured setting (Denis Charles and even Susie Ibarra were much more interesting in In Order To Survive, for example). Really like the latter group/s, and also got a lot of mileage out of the pieces on Through Acceptance of the Mystery Peace. The boxed set of archival recordings on NoBusiness is cool but I can see why a lot of it never saw issue before... Quote
sonnyhill Posted May 15, 2020 Report Posted May 15, 2020 AUM Fidelity is releasing at 10-cd William Parker box this summer. A 10-track sampler of a track from each cd is now available on Bandcamp. Quote
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