William Parker
A major bassist and bandleader, William Parker has been one of the leaders on his instrument in the avant-garde since the 1970s. He was born in the Bronx in 1952. Parker studied along the way with Jimmy Garrison, Richard Davis and Wilbur Ware but from the start developed his own high-energy style which included expertise with the bow and the ability to play freely but with a great deal of forward momentum. Early in his career, Parker played with Cecil Taylor, an association that has continued on an occasional basis since the early 1970s. Parker led his first album in 1979, worked frequently with Taylor in the 1980s, and in the ‘90s worked much more as a leader. Among his most significant associations of the past 20 years have been David S. Ware, Matthew Shipp, Rob Brown, Peter Brotzmann, Frank Lowe, Bill Dixon, Charles Gayle, Roscoe Mitchell, Butch Morris, Billy Bang, Fred Anderson, Rashied Ali, Perry Robinson and Mat Maneri. As a leader, Parker has headed the big band The Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra, the since-disbanded In Order To Survive and the co-op quartet Other Dimensions In Music. He has appeared at many music festivals, was one of the founders of the Improvisers Collective and organizes the Vision Festival in NYC with his wife, dancer Patricia Nicholson. Whether featured in a stirring quartet with drummer Hamid Drake or leading an all-star group through his compositions, William Parker has been one of the most significant forces in moving advanced jazz into the 21st century.
Articles on William Parker
01/12/13 Albums By Britt Robson
William Parker Orchestra
Essence of Ellington: Live
09/29/12 Albums By Shaun Brady
Altitude
Joe Morris/William Parker/Gerald Cleaver
07/29/12 Albums By Steve Greenlee
The Gowanus Sessions
Thollem/Parker/Cline
06/20/12 Concerts By Evan Haga
Vision Festival Coverage 2012
08/18/11 Albums By Mike Shanley
Knives From Heaven
Knives From Heaven
08/12/11 Albums By Mike Shanley
Out of This World’s Distortions
Farmers by Nature
07/22/11 Albums By Mike Shanley
Planetary Unknown
David S. Ware/Cooper-More/William Parker/Muhmmad Ali
05/18/10 Artist Profiles By Lyn Horton
William Parker and Hamid Drake: Heart and Soul
01/05/10 Albums By Lyn Horton
Tribute to Albert Ayler: Live at the Dynamo
Joe McPhee/Roy Campbell/William Parker/Warren Smith
01/05/10 Albums By Lyn Horton
Tribute to Albert Ayler: Live at the Dynamo
Joe McPhee/Roy Campbell/William Parker/Warren Smith
April 2009 JT Notes By Jeff Tamarkin
Notes From Underground
April 2009 The Gig By Nate Chinen
Low-End Cyclone
March 2009 Albums By Steve Greenlee
The Dance Project
Cecil Taylor/William Parker/Masashi Harada
December 2008 Albums By Steve Greenlee
Petit Oiseau
William Parker Quartet
November 2008 Albums By Brent Burton
Double Sunrise Over Neptune
William Parker
06/26/08 Concerts By Bill Milkowski
Kidd Jordan at the Vision Festival
04/04/08 Concerts By Josef Woodard
Vossa Jazz
November 2007 Albums By Chris Kelsey
Corn Meal Dance
William Parker/Raining On The Moon
July/August 2007 Albums By Chris Kelsey
Summer Snow, Volume 2
William Parker & Hamid Drake
06/26/07 Concerts By David R. Adler
Vision Festival
11/14/06 By Bill Milkowski
September 2006 Albums By Chris Kelsey
Palm of Soul
Kidd Jordan/Hamid Drake/William Parker
September 2006 Albums By Chris Kelsey
Palm of Soul
Kidd Jordan/Hamid Drake/William Parker
May 2006 Albums By Andrew Lindemann Malone
Long Hidden: The Olmec Series
William Parker
May 2006 Albums By Andrew Lindemann Malone
Long Hidden: The Olmec Series
William Parker
December 2005 Albums By Chris Kelsey
Vision Vol. 3
Various Artists
November 2005 Albums By Chris Kelsey
Blue Winter
Fred Anderson, Hamid Drake, William Parker
November 2005 Albums By Chris Kelsey
Blue Winter
Fred Anderson, Hamid Drake, William Parker
July/August 2005 Albums By Nate Chinen
Sound Unity
William Parker Quartet
July/August 2005 Albums By Nate Chinen
Sound Unity
William Parker Quartet
06/21/05 Concerts By David R. Adler
Vision Festival 2005
April 2005 Albums By Nate Chinen
Luc's Lantern
William Parker
April 2005 Albums By Nate Chinen
Luc's Lantern
William Parker
April 2005 Features By Tad Hendrickson
William Parker: The Shaman
03/01/04 Concerts By Tad Hendrickson
Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra
December 2003 Grooves By John Murph
Blue Series Continuum: GoodandEvil Sessions
GoodandEvil
December 2003 Countercurrents By Bill Shoemaker
Songs for a Suffering World
David Budbill/William Parker/Hamid Drake
December 2003 Countercurrents By Bill Shoemaker
The All-Star Game
Marshall Allen/Hamid Drake/Kidd Jordan/William Parker/Alan Silva
11/11/03 Concerts By Josef Woodard
JazzFest Berlin 2003
November 2003 Albums By Aaron Steinberg
Scrapbook
William Parker Violin Trio
September 2003 Albums By Bill Shoemaker
Never Too Late but Always Too Early
Peter Brötzmann/William Parker/Hamid Drake
May 2003 Countercurrents By Aaron Steinberg
Eloping With the Sun
William Parker/Joe Morris/Hamid Drake
July/August 2002 Albums By John Murph
Song Cycle
William Parker
June 2002 Albums By John Murph
Remixes
Phil Ranelin
05/22/02 Concerts By Josef Woodard
Festival International Musique Actuelle Victoriaville 2002
November 2001 Albums By Aaron Steinberg
O'Neal's Porch
William Parker Quartet
November 2001 Albums By Aaron Steinberg
Piercing the Veil
William Parker/Hamid Drake
June 2001 News By Michelle Mercer
William Parker On Curtis Mayfield
December 2000 Albums By Harvey Pekar
The Milwaukee Tapes Vol. 1
Fred Anderson
November 2000 Albums By Bill Bennett
Mayor of Punkville
William Parker and the Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra
November 2000 Albums By Bill Bennett
Painter's Spring
April 2000 Albums By Bill Shoemaker
Posium Pendasem
William Parker/ In Order to Survive
April 1999 Albums By Bill Shoemaker
The Peach Orchard
William Parker and In Order to Survive
January/February 1999 Albums By Duck Baker
Bendito of Santa Cruz
Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp
April 1998 Albums By Bret Primack
Invisible Weave
Joe Morris and William Parker
January/February 1998 Albums By Fred Bouchard
Sunrise In The Tone World
William Parker with The Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra
Events featuring William Parker
- Vision Festival
- Vision Festival 2005
- Festival International Musique Actuelle Victoriaville 2002
- JazzFest Berlin 2003
- Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra
- VISION FESTIVAL XV: The Creative Option
- On the Occasion of the Publication of BAsics: A Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World
- The William Parker Quintet performs excerpts from "Blueprint for a Cultural Revolution"
- John Medeski , Marc Ribot , William Parker and Andrew Cyrille
- 3 Nights of William Parker - New Music
Albums
The Peach Orchard
AUM Fidelity
Lifting the Sanctions
No More Records
Through the Acceptance of the Mystery Peace
Eremite Records
Sunrise In The Tone World
AUM Fidelity
Posium Pendasem
FMP/Free Music Production
Mayor of Punkville
AUM Fidelity
O'Neal's Porch
Centering
Piercing the Veil
AUM Fidelity
Song Cycle
Boxholder Records
Bob's Pink Cadillac
Eremite Records
And William Danced
Ayler Records
Raining on the Moon
Raincoat in the River
Eremite Records
Eloping With the Sun
Riti
Scrapbook
Luc's Lantern
Luc's Lantern
Sound Unity
AUM Fidelity
Two Masters: Live at the Prism
Boxholder Records
Blue Winter
Eremite Records
Scrambler
Not Two
Long Hidden: The Olmec Series
AUM Fidelity
Palm of Soul
AUM Fidelity
Songs for a Suffering World
Boxholder Records
Black Cherry
AUM Fidelity
The All-Star Game
Eremite Records
Never Too Late but Always Too Early
Eremite Records
Corn Meal Dance
AUM Fidelity
Summer Snow, Volume 2
AUM Fidelity
Blue Series Continuum: GoodandEvil Sessions
The Victoriaville Tape
VICTO
2 Days in April
Eremite Records
Painter's Spring
Live
J Curve Sabroso
Double Sunrise Over Neptune
AUM Fidelity
Petit Oiseau
AUM Fidelity
Invisible Weave
No More Records
The Dance Project
FMP/Free Music Production
Tribute to Albert Ayler: Live at the Dynamo
Marge
Planetary Unknown
AUM Fidelity
Out of This World’s Distortions
AUM Fidelity
Knives From Heaven
Thirsty Ear
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