Bassist, bandleader and composer William Parker is one of the most prolific and path-making artists and educators alive. He 

works often and well and his music is always deep and surprising. He's represented on more than 150 albums and he's the leader of more than 20 albums, including suites by the Little Huey Orchestra and In Order to Survive and tributes to Duke Ellington and Curtis Mayfield. Among his collaborators over 40 years are Cecil Taylor, Jimmy Lyons, Fred Anderson, Hamid Drake, Kidd Jordan, Cooper Moore, Rob Brown, Lewis Barnes, and the dancer Patrica Nicholson, his wife. In 1995 the Village Voice called William Parker 'the most consistently brilliant free jazz bassist of all time.' In 2002 the Boston Globe wrote: 'William Parker has emerged as the most important leader of the current avant garde scene in jazz.'

 

William also plays shakuhachi, double reeds, tuba, donso ngoni and gembri. He's led workshops at NYU, the New England Conservatory of Music and in Berlin, Paris, Rotterdam, and Tokyo. 2017 is the 22nd year of the Vision Festival in NYC that William and Patricia organize.

 

Please visit williamparker.net for much more. Please also see the excellent 2015 overview of William's career by Larry Blumenfeld in the Wall Street Journal-https://www.wsj.com/articles/for-those-who-are-still-review-jazz-bassist-william-parker-expands-his-vision-1440453756