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William Parker

William Parker, born in the Bronx in 1952, is an American double bassist, multi-instrumentalist, poet and composer, and for four decades a central figure of free jazz in New York. He came up in the loft scene of the 1970s, spent the 1980s in Cecil Taylor's groups, then anchored the David S. Ware Quartet and led his own Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra and In Order to Survive. His playing rests on a tradition of self-expression and experiment; his arco work, dense streaks of colour drawn from the harmonics of the instrument, is the most personal side of his idiom.

Vol. 1 Erie Live!
*2024 stock* Daniel Carter, William Parker, and Federico Ughi have been playing together since 2005, the year in which they recorded their first album The Dream. The band has performed regularly in the US and Europe ever since, gaining considerable s…
Shine Hear Vol. 2
Building off of their debut album last year, legendary musicians and 577 mainstays reunite for a second volume. As in the first, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter, pianist Leo Genovese, bassist William Parker (also playing Gralla an…
Music Frees Our Souls Vol. 2
*2024 stock* Can music liberate us? Francisco Mela, who worked and partnered with the legendary jazz musician McCoy Tyner, believes so. On this album, the second volume of Music Frees Our Souls, Mela collaborates with pianist Cooper-Moore and bassist…
Music Frees Our Souls Vol. 1
*2024 stock* Before any instrumentation, Francisco Mela addresses his fellow musicians, pianist Matthew Shipp and bassist William Parker, with a sense of anticipation and affirmation, “Okay guys, ready? Rolling!” The sense of camaraderie and his arti…
Pulsar
William Parker - double bassHugo Costa - alto saxophone Philipp Ernsting - drums Recorded at Codarts, Rotterdam, October 11th, 2023 by Philipp ErnstingMixed and mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudiosCover art by Martynas IvinskasPhoto of Hugo Costa…
Uncle Joe's Spirit House
LP - Strictly limited first-time/one-time-only Centering Records edition, 500 on black vinyl // Beautiful pressing & printing. Includes full-res download card with 3 additional tracks. A gorgeous soul-jazz organ quartet album that hearkens to early-m…
Haze - Almanacco Di CUltura Di Sonora N.2 (Magazine)
*Italian Language Edition* Un libro/almanacco con cadenza quadrimestrale che raccoglie saggi, interviste, approfondimenti sulla ricerca sonora contemporanea per un concetto allargato di musica. Nel secondo volume: Fred Frith, Paolo Conte, William Par…
Cereal Music
LP – strictly limited one-time edition / 500. Jacket printed on reverse board, includes insert with full credits & liner notes by William, Ellen, and Steven. A beauty. Includes full-res download card/code of the total work (w/ 3 bonus tracks). Cereal…
Heart Trio
CD Edition. 6-panel digipak, printed on heavyweight stock reverse board. Per AUM standard, a beauty. Notes/poem by WP & photos on inners. Heart Trio features three lifelong-devoted fellow travelers on the path of healing through sound. World-renowned…
The Dream
2024 stock. That’s right, Carter plays piano on this date! It’s the first thing heard as this disc kicks immediately into definite but mature overdrive. It’s a blast to hear William Parker, bassist for Cecil Taylor’s much-lauded Feel Trio, free-walki…
Die Like a Dog (Fragments of Music, Life and Death of Albert Ayler)
Comes in a heavy gatedold sleeve and with printed innersleeves. Peter Brotzmann reflected: "The idea of expressing my love of and admiration for Albert Ayler - both man and music - in a musical statement is not new. We both tried to do similar or alm…
Good News Blues
Karen Borca - bassoonRob Brown - alto saxophoneWilliam Parker - bassReggie Workman - bassTodd Nicholson - bassPaul Murphy - drumsSusie Ibarra - drumsNewman Taylor-Baker - drums Track 1-3 recorded May 25, 1998 at the 3rd annual Vision Festival, Angel …
Webo
** Deluxe 3LP set, housed in heavy tip-on box with pigment ink foil stamping, mounted film laminated cover painting by Jeff Schlanger, three printed inner sleeves with original notes by William Parker and Alan Licht, original concert flyer re-print a…
Music Frees Our Souls, Vol. 3
Leo Genovese - Piano, saxWilliam Parker - BassFrancisco Mela - Drums Recorded November 13, 2020 by Jeremy Loucas at Douglass Recording, Brooklyn, New YorkAssistant engineer: Juanma TrujilloMixed and mastered by Jeremy Loucas at Sear Sound, New York C…
Black Man's Blues
Violinist Billy Bang made his recording debut as a leader with the Survival Ensemble, the first working band he ever led, on New York Collage in 1979. Bang, saxophonists Bilal Abdur Rahman and Henry Warner, bassist William Parker, and percussionists …
Visitation Of Spirits
Live performance of The Pyramid Trio, Roy Campbell on trumpet and flute, William Parker on bass and Zen Matsuura on drums. Recorded 21 February 1985 at The Joint, Usdan Student Center, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA. Special thanks to Roy’s sister …
O Life, O Light Vol. 2
New York-based Zoh Amba first cultivated her musical passion in the lush forests of the Appalachian mountains, playing to the woods around her home, before she studied at classical conservatories. Her music honors her roots, full of folk melodies, me…
Shine Hear (Vol. 1)
Collaborations are unique to their combinations, producing totally original and innovative ideas with the addition of a single factor. In this case, legendary musicians and 577 mainstays join together in this unique arrangement for the first time, al…
Meditation / Resurrection
*2023 repress* "Meditation / Resurrection is a double-album presenting a bounty of beautiful new William Parker compositions performed by two of his flagship ensembles, the Quartet -&- In Order To Survive. It was recorded & mixed live during a one-da…
No Joke!
ESP is proud to present a new William Parker album in collaboration with his wife Patricia Nicholson. No Joke! is unapologetically political, facing down injustice and inequality and other “in”s with artistic integrity and “outside” music.