On November 12, AUM Fidelity will release Wood Flute Songs: Anthology / Live 2006–2012, an 8CD box set of all previously unissued multi-track concert recordings by world-renowned bassist-composer-bandleader William Parker, a 2013 recipient of the Doris Duke Foundation’s Artist Award. Parker is a wonderfully prolific composer, and over half of the compositions will make their debut on record here as well, including CDs 6, 7, 8 which feature entirely new work. The deluxe 8CD box will contain nine hours of music, and a 24pg. booklet with extensive notes and key images.
At the center of Wood Flute Songs is the 13 years long-standing William Parker Quartet, featuring drummer Hamid Drake, alto saxophonist Rob Brown, and trumpeter Lewis Barnes. These four musicians appear on each album, in both core & expanded form together with special guests Billy Bang, Bobby Bradford, James Spaulding; Cooper-Moore; Eri Yamamoto, Leena Conquest, and members of the Association for the Encouragement of Improvised Music (AMR) based in Geneva, Switzerland. Parker first assembled this stunning Quartet in May 2000, for the recording of the album, O’Neal’s Porch. Originally released in January 2001 on his own Centering Records imprint, the album went on to be chosen among the best of the year by The New York Times, JazzTimes, DownBeat and AllAboutJazz. This group has been a primary vehicle for Parker’s supreme talents as composer, bassist, and bandleader ever since, releasing five more widely acclaimed albums on the AUM Fidelity, RogueArt and Thirsty Ear labels, and engendering joy and awe in concert audiences around the world.
The Quartet display their far-ranging prowess over CDs 1–4 in stellar concerts at the original Yoshi’s in Oakland, CA (2006) and at DiverseWorks art space in Houston, TX (2007). CD5 presents their world premier/one-time exclusive performance together with guest masters Billy Bang (violin), Bobby Bradford (cornet), and James Spaulding (alto sax) at Vision Festival 2009. In 2011, Parker was commissioned to write and arrange for large ensemble by the AMR Jazz Festival in Geneva, Switzerland; this extraordinary 12-member assembly is featured on CD6. [ It was at this concert that Parker first worked with vocalist Ernie Odoom, who featured on 2012's Essence of Ellington set by the William Parker Orchestra ]. Raining On The Moon includes Eri Yamamoto (piano) and Leena Conquest (vocals) and is the group configuration that most explicitly features Parker’s potent gift for songcraft; their luminous concert (CD7) at Montreal’s Suoni Per Il Popolo festival in 2012 also features all-new compositions and is the long-awaited follow-up to their 2007 release, Corn Meal Dance. In Order To Survive was the principal Parker small ensemble prior to the Quartet. Their 1998 release, The Peach Orchard, is a defining document of that era. The re-introduction of pianist Cooper-Moore to the group makes it In Order To Survive anew. An all-new suite of compositions were debuted in NYC at Vision Festival 2012, and that album is CD8.
Each of the concerts/albums presented together in the Wood Flute Songs physical box set will be released digitally as individual album downloads on November 12 as well:
William Parker Quartet – Live At Yoshi’s 2006 (Oakland, CA)
William Parker Quartet – Live In Houston 2007 (Houston, TX)
William Parker Septet – Light Cottage Draped In A Curtain Of Blues (NYC, Vision Festival 2009)
William Parker AMR Ensemble – Creation (Geneva, Switzerland, AMR Jazz Festival 2011)
William Parker / Raining On The Moon – Friday Afternoon (Montreal, QC, Suoni Per il Popolo 2012)
William Parker / In Order To Survive – Kalaparusha On The Edge Of The Horizon (NYC, Vision Festival 2012)
Furthermore: William Parker Residency at The Stone, NYC, October 8– 12
William Parker will be hosting a week-long residency at The Stone in NYC, October 8–12, 2013. Different group configurations will present new Parker music each set; performances by the Quartet, Raining On The Moon, and In Order To Survive will feature among them. While the official release date of Wood Flute Songs: Anthology / Live 2006–2012 is November 12, copies of the box set will be made available in advance direct during this residency. The full performance listing can be viewed here.
At the center of Wood Flute Songs is the 13 years long-standing William Parker Quartet, featuring drummer Hamid Drake, alto saxophonist Rob Brown, and trumpeter Lewis Barnes. These four musicians appear on each album, in both core & expanded form together with special guests Billy Bang, Bobby Bradford, James Spaulding; Cooper-Moore; Eri Yamamoto, Leena Conquest, and members of the Association for the Encouragement of Improvised Music (AMR) based in Geneva, Switzerland. Parker first assembled this stunning Quartet in May 2000, for the recording of the album, O’Neal’s Porch. Originally released in January 2001 on his own Centering Records imprint, the album went on to be chosen among the best of the year by The New York Times, JazzTimes, DownBeat and AllAboutJazz. This group has been a primary vehicle for Parker’s supreme talents as composer, bassist, and bandleader ever since, releasing five more widely acclaimed albums on the AUM Fidelity, RogueArt and Thirsty Ear labels, and engendering joy and awe in concert audiences around the world.
The Quartet display their far-ranging prowess over CDs 1–4 in stellar concerts at the original Yoshi’s in Oakland, CA (2006) and at DiverseWorks art space in Houston, TX (2007). CD5 presents their world premier/one-time exclusive performance together with guest masters Billy Bang (violin), Bobby Bradford (cornet), and James Spaulding (alto sax) at Vision Festival 2009. In 2011, Parker was commissioned to write and arrange for large ensemble by the AMR Jazz Festival in Geneva, Switzerland; this extraordinary 12-member assembly is featured on CD6. [ It was at this concert that Parker first worked with vocalist Ernie Odoom, who featured on 2012's Essence of Ellington set by the William Parker Orchestra ]. Raining On The Moon includes Eri Yamamoto (piano) and Leena Conquest (vocals) and is the group configuration that most explicitly features Parker’s potent gift for songcraft; their luminous concert (CD7) at Montreal’s Suoni Per Il Popolo festival in 2012 also features all-new compositions and is the long-awaited follow-up to their 2007 release, Corn Meal Dance. In Order To Survive was the principal Parker small ensemble prior to the Quartet. Their 1998 release, The Peach Orchard, is a defining document of that era. The re-introduction of pianist Cooper-Moore to the group makes it In Order To Survive anew. An all-new suite of compositions were debuted in NYC at Vision Festival 2012, and that album is CD8.
Each of the concerts/albums presented together in the Wood Flute Songs physical box set will be released digitally as individual album downloads on November 12 as well:
William Parker Quartet – Live At Yoshi’s 2006 (Oakland, CA)
William Parker Quartet – Live In Houston 2007 (Houston, TX)
William Parker Septet – Light Cottage Draped In A Curtain Of Blues (NYC, Vision Festival 2009)
William Parker AMR Ensemble – Creation (Geneva, Switzerland, AMR Jazz Festival 2011)
William Parker / Raining On The Moon – Friday Afternoon (Montreal, QC, Suoni Per il Popolo 2012)
William Parker / In Order To Survive – Kalaparusha On The Edge Of The Horizon (NYC, Vision Festival 2012)
Furthermore: William Parker Residency at The Stone, NYC, October 8– 12
William Parker will be hosting a week-long residency at The Stone in NYC, October 8–12, 2013. Different group configurations will present new Parker music each set; performances by the Quartet, Raining On The Moon, and In Order To Survive will feature among them. While the official release date of Wood Flute Songs: Anthology / Live 2006–2012 is November 12, copies of the box set will be made available in advance direct during this residency. The full performance listing can be viewed here.
