William Parker is a great musician, improviser and composer. He can play the shakuhachi and double reeds as well as tuba, donso nugoni, gembri, and shakuhachi. Born in New York’s Bronx in 1952, he is now a resident of the Bronx. He studied bass with Wilber Ware and Wilt Hinton. In 1971, he joined the music scene at Studio We, Studio Rivbea and Hilly’s On The Bowery. He played with many musicians, including Don Cherry, Cecil Taylor and Jimmy Lyons. The choreographer and dancer Patricia Nicholson had many early projects that resulted in a large repertoire of music composed for various ensembles, including solo pieces to big band projects. From 1980 to 1991, Parker was a member of the Cecil Taylor unit. He developed strong relationships with the European Improvised music scene, playing with artists such as Peter Kowald and Han Bennink, Peter Brotzmanns, Tony Oxleys, Han Bennink, Han Benninks, Derek Baileys, Louis Sclavis, Louis Moholo, and Tony Oxleys. In Order to Survive was his first album. He also started leading his own bands and founded two other ensembles, The Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra and In Order To Survive. Parker’s 2001 album O’Neal’s Porch was a step towards a more universal sound, collaborating with drummer Hamid Drake. The Raining on the Moon Quintet was formed, which included vocalist Leena conquest and the Quartet of O’Neal’s Porch. The Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield is one of his most notable recent projects. He has taught at Bennington College and NYU, The New England Conservatory of Music. He has also taught music workshops around the world, including in Tokyo, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, and the Lower East Side. Parker is also an author and theorist of many books, including the Sound Journal and Document Humanum, Music and the Shadow People, and The Mayor Of Punkville. from www.williamparker.net
