William Parker - Migration of Silence Into and Out of The Tone World – [Volumes 1–10]

[jcam_44]

 

New William Parker due out January 21st it looks like. I think it was originally due in the fall. I pre-ordered it and thought others might be interested.

10-CD set, and read it is a limited edition of 900 or so copies. 

purchase direct from AUM Fidelity: here 

samples here:Bandcamp

 

From AUM's site:

MUSICIANS
William Parker: compositions, bass & additional instruments
Featuring an international, inter-generational array of singers & musicians some 30-strong, drawn from both long-standing colleagues and a new generation of devoted artists [ more details below ]

That William Parker is a bassist, composer and bandleader of extraordinary spirit and imaginative drive is common knowledge among any with an interest in the progressive jazz scene of the past 25 years or more. What’s become increasingly apparent, though, is Parker’s stature as a visionary of sound and song – an artist of melody and poetry who works beyond category, to use the Ellingtonian phrase. The latest multi-disc boxed set from Centering Records/AUM Fidelity devoted to Parker’s expansive creativity underscores his virtually peerless achievement in recent years.

Migration of Silence Into and Out of the Tone World (Volumes 1–10) is a 10-album collection of vocal and instrumental suites all recorded expressly for this set between late 2018 and early 2020, with women’s voices at its core (both on voice & other instruments). This is music as empathetic as it is intrepid, as philosophical as it is visceral, as resolutely modernist as it is attuned to tradition. Parker’s art not only draws from the deepest well of African-American culture; it breathes in inspiration from across the globe, with sounds drawn from Africa, Asia and Indonesia as well as Europe and the Americas; there is free improvisation and re-imagined sonic collage; there are album-length explorations of solo piano and solo voice, along with string ensembles and ancient wind instruments. There are dedications to jazz heroes, Native Americans and Mexican migrants, plus tributes to the great African-American culture of Harlem and the mix of passion and compassion Parker found in vintage Italian cinema. Migration of Silence Into and Out of The Tone World conjures a vast world of music and feeling, and its creation is a feat that ranks with that of the most ambitious talents in any genre. 

 

Album/Disc 1 - Blue Limelight
featuring Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez: voice  -&-  Ensemble
1. Listen - 01:26
2. Cosmic Funk - 04:24
3. I'd Rather Be - 03:51
4. A Great Day to be Dead - 06:09
5. Jenny's Interlude - 02:28
6. Blue Limelight - 06:17
7. Bennie's Tune - 07:53
8. Recall - 01:20
9. Kachina Song - 03:18
10. All I Ever Want - 02:20
11. Where the Angels Live - 02:27
12. Old Tears - 05:19

Album/Disc 2 - Child of Sound
featuring Eri Yamamoto: piano
1. Malachi's Mode - 04:59
2. Malcolm's Smile - 04:00
3. This Sweet Land - 03:50
4. The Golden Light (Hymn) - 03:52
5. Mexico - 04:43
6. Broken Promises - 04:55
7. Child of Sound - 05:15
8. Sky Falling - 04:53
9. Adobe House - 04:27
10. Rez Sunset - 00:36
11. Trail of Tears I - 01:23
12. Trail of Tears II - 04:46
13. Rez Sunrise - 05:53
14. Ascending Earth - 05:04

Album/Disc 3 - The Majesty of Jah
featuring Ellen Christie / William Parker / Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson
1. Baldwin - 08:16
2. The Majesty of Jah - 08:21
3. Freedom - 08:56
4. Sun Song - 06:49
5. Numbers - 06:29
6. Letter To A Resurrected Slave Owner - 04:52

Album/Disc 4 - Cheops
featuring Kyoko Kitamura: voice  -&-  Ensemble
1. Entire Universe - 13:36
2. Cheops - 13:51
3. The Map Is Precise - 08:03
4. If We Play Soft Enough - 22:17
5. Harriott - 12:51

Album/Disc 5 - Harlem Speaks
featuring Fay Victor / Hamid Drake / William Parker
1. Dancing at the Savoy - 04:45
2. Don't Sell My Soul - 11:53
3. Harlem Dances - 11:37
4. Harlem Speaks - 07:17
5. Paintings in the Sky - 0:23
6. Shutters as Windows - 18:17

Album/Disc 6 - Mexico
featuring Jean Carla Rodea: voice  -&-  Universal Tonality Ensemble
1. Tilted Mirror - 27:12
2. Mexico - 17:11
3. The Bleeding Tree - 11:54
4. It Is for You - 09:55

AlbumDisc 7 - Afternoon Poem

featuring Lisa Sokolov: voice
1. Song to Lift Sadness (Morning) - 02:19
2. The Sky is Always Beautiful - 03:23
3. Morning Bird - 03:36
4. Rocket Man - 02:20
5. Essence Calling Out - 05:40
6. Afternoon Poem - 01:41
7. First Vision - 00:24
8. Green and Brown - 02:20
9. I Believe - 00:56
10. I Will Die for You - 03:05
11. Song for Patricia - 01:25
12. My Cup - 02:22
13. Silent Whispers - 01:15
14. It Would Never Be Long Enough - 03:07
15. Song to Lift Sadness (Evening) - 02:20
16. Cloud And Sea Fading As Rain Falls - 7:31

Album/Disc 8 - Lights In The Rain (The Italian Directors Suite)

featuring Andrea Wolper: voice  -&-  Ensemble
 1. Visconti - 10:25
2. Fellini - 10:44
3. Pasolini - 06:07
4. Leone - 04:50
5. De Sica - 08:35
6. Rossellini - 09:05
7. Gospel - 05:12
8. Milano - 02:27
9. Lights in the Rain - 02:41
10. Antonioni - 06:03

Album/Disc 9 - The Fastest Train

featuring William Parker / Coen Aalberts /  Klaas Hekman
1. The Elders at the Edge of the World part 1 - 04:07
2. Cultivation - 05:10
3. Deep Spirit - 02:18
4. Family Voice - 05:06
5. Listen to the Sky - 05:13
6. Sacred Prayers - 05:09
7. Host for the Anointed - 02:21
8. Bamboo Village - 04:41
9. Blessed - 04:57
10. The Flute Reaches Out - 04:00
11. The World's Fastest Train - 03:44
12. Joyous and Delightful - 06:47
13. The Elders at the Edge of the World part 2 - 07:44

Album/Disc 10 - Manzanar
featuring Universal Tonality String Quartet +
1.  Charcoal Paragraphs - 15:18
2. Khaen - 20:22
3. Lakota Song - 07:00
4. Manzanar - 08:48
5. On Being Native - 21:15

 

Composed, Arranged & Produced by William Parker
for Centering Records, © Centering Music (BMI)

Recorded, Mixed & Mastered by Jim Clouse
at Park West Studios, Brooklyn
November 2018 – February 2020
(except as noted in booklet)

All text [liner notes & lyrics] written by William Parker
(except as noted in booklet)

Artwork by Jo Wood-Brown
Box Set Production & Design by Ming@AUM

 

A new book is due in Feb on William Parker:  Universal Tonality: The Life and Music of William Parker by Cisco Bradley

Edited December 14, 2020 by jcam_44

[jlhoots]

Might be too many vocals for me.

[mjazzg]

That was my immediate thought too although the size of it is another disincentive.  

[clifford_thornton]

I'll grab it. 

The suite for Henry Warner, which is Little Huey + voices, is sadly not on there. Tremendous work; perhaps they couldn't get a usable recording of it (think it was only performed live though I could be mistaken).

[OliverM]

Thanks for posting this. I will get it too once it is available locally.

[jcam_44]

6 hours ago, jlhoots said:

Might be too many vocals for me.

 

5 hours ago, mjazzg said:

That was my immediate thought too although the size of it is another disincentive.  

Honestly, I was thinking the same before I gave repeated listens to the tracks up on bandcamp, and realized I was mesmerized by them. Part of me also really just likes to support Mr. Parker's varied endeavors. His mastery is unique and I feel important. He also seems to be incorporating vocals in a lot of his recent works, which I'm catching up on via the AUM Fidelity holiday sale for 20% off. 

[Matthew]

I'll probably get it also. Not a fan of vocals, but given the right circumstances, my mind can be changed. I'm also a big William Parker fan and I think Painter's Spring is a stone-cold classic album, might be the best album in the past twenty-five years; Parker, Daniel Carter and Hamid Drake were a great team.

[jlhoots]

2 hours ago, Matthew said:

I'll probably get it also. Not a fan of vocals, but given the right circumstances, my mind can be changed. I'm also a big William Parker fan and I think Painter's Spring is a stone-cold classic album, might be the best album in the past twenty-five years; Parker, Daniel Carter and Hamid Drake were a great team.

That's a great album!!

[jcam_44]

My copy arrived today. Probably won’t get around to it u til tomorrow though. 

[jcam_44]

And the journey begins.

Disc 1 with Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez is awesome! Holy crap. This is very immersive. Cosmic Funk indeed! This honestly feels like the flower that is the tone world that Mr. Parker has created, has fully opened and it is aww inspiring. 

[jazzbo]

I ordered a copy.

[jcam_44]

12 hours ago, jazzbo said:

I ordered a copy.

I think you will thoroughly enjoy it. 

I spun disc two which is solo piano from Eri Yamamoto. Beautiful record, did realize it had been an hour by the time it ended. Starts off very light and turns somber and very emotional. Hope to get through a couple more discs today. 

[T.D.]

Going to seriously consider this, despite some initial misgivings about vocals and size of box. Parker's well-represented in my collection, but he records so extensively that I haven't kept up with all his releases, just the ones that seem exceptional.

[jcam_44]

Album/Disc 3 - The Majesty of Jah
featuring Ellen Christie / William Parker / Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson
1. Baldwin - 08:16
2. The Majesty of Jah - 08:21
3. Freedom - 08:56
4. Sun Song - 06:49
5. Numbers - 06:29
6. Letter To A Resurrected Slave Owner - 04:52

- More of a meditative feel on this disc. I read the interview William did with Jalalu in his Conversations book but this is my first time (i think) hearing him. He stole the disc. Excellent stuff. 

[jcam_44]

Album/Disc 4 - Cheops
featuring Kyoko Kitamura: voice  -&-  Ensemble
1. Entire Universe - 13:36
2. Cheops - 13:51
3. The Map Is Precise - 08:03
4. If We Play Soft Enough - 22:17
5. Harriott - 12:51

- This was the most intense disc so far. Very entertaining from star to finish.

 

Album/Disc 5 - Harlem Speaks
featuring Fay Victor / Hamid Drake / William Parker
1. Dancing at the Savoy - 04:45
2. Don't Sell My Soul - 11:53
3. Harlem Dances - 11:37
4. Harlem Speaks - 07:17
5. Paintings in the Sky - 0:23
6. Shutters as Windows - 18:17

- This the most abstract of the 5 discs I've been able to listen to so far. For me the most difficult to get into but it did start to all come together around Harlem Speaks. 

[clifford_thornton]

Mine just arrived in the mail today -- looking forward to carving out some digging-in time.

[jcam_44]

Nice. I’m listening to them in order but they really don’t have any musical connection so far. It’s 10 independent albums with a common theme. The accompanying book is nice to follow while listening. 

[T.D.]

Late as usual, but I just ordered this. The label issued a second release.

Received it, have listened to half the set (discs 1-5 of 10). It's really good. One of  my best box set purchases of recent years (and many excellent boxes have been issued). Rather different from  previous Parker recordings I own, and lots of vocals, but everything works.

Edited March 4, 2022 by T.D.