William Parker Trio & Wroclaw Philharmony Orchestra (16,11) / Tony Malaby TubaCello Quartet & Polish Cello Quartet (17.11) at Jazztopad Festival

The 2nd and 3rd day of the Jazztopad festival presented to the audience specially commissioned projects, all three posing a question of a possible interjections between composed, classical music and improvisation - an ambitious task in any circumstances and kudos for the festival's for taking such a pro-active attitude, kudos for the artists for jumping on the train.

William Parker has quite an experience writing and leading for a big jazz bands but I believe that "Ceremonies for those who are still" written for a full scale 40 piece orchestra is a first of its sort in his musical activity. The amount of colours and textures you can get from such group may be in many ways overwhelming. The composition dedicated to a late friend of the composer, Moscow-based bassplayer Rustam Abdullaev and the mourning aspect of it seemed clearly present the ominous chants by the choir section. The colourfull passages would be linked together by the improvising trio.

Ivo Perelman on Leo Records part 3 - "Serendipity" and "The Passion Accoding to G.H"

The follow-up to the few posts on the blog including the "Ivo Perelman on Leo Records part 1" and this week "part 2". No other parts are scheduled to be posted at the moment, but given how prolific an artist Ivo Perelman is, it's safe to assume more will appear.

Serendipity
Ivo Perelman - tenor sax
Matthew Shipp - piano
William Parker - bass
Gerald Cleaver - drums

Leo Records 2013


The recording session was scheduled as a trio date with Ivo, Matt and Gerald (eventually recorded a week later and released as "The Foreign Legion"), William Parker was called at the last moment to fill a spot in the recording studio. It turned out the missing musician made is as well, hence a quartet recording and hence the title "Serendipity".

Billy Bang's Survival Ensemble - Black Man's Blues / New York Collage [NoBusiness]

Black Man's Blues:

Billy Bang - violin, poetry, bells, shaker, percussion

Bilal Abdur Rahman - tenor and soprano sax, bull horn, percussion

William Parker - bass

Rashid Bakr - drums

Recorded 29th May 1977 at a Day in Solidarity with Soweto. Released for the first time.

New York Collage:

all of the above and

Henry Warner - alto sax, bells, shaker, percussion

Khuwana Fuller - conga

Recorded at Columbia University Radio WKCR 89.9FM at 16th May 1978. Released originally on Anima Records in 1978.

A double treat from NoBusiness Records! An uncovered treasure that puts some light on the few rather obscure chapters of  the loft jazz era, combining new material and a re-issue of a lost gem of the New York avantgarde jazz scene in what would, unfortunately, become a post-mortem tribute to Billy Bang who died on April 11 this year, stripped of the chance to see this release being finished.

As much as these 2 cds (or lps)' serve as a tribute and an important document of the freejazz history, the music itself, as played originally in 1977 and 1978, transcended the art reality, was a gesture of a social protest, a political demonstration, an ideology manifest - to start with the very name of the band - Survival.