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Evan Parker (born 5 April 1944 in Bristol) is a British free-improvising saxophone player.
His original inspiration was Paul Desmond, and in recent years the influence of cool jazz saxophone players has again become apparent in his music — there are tributes to Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz on Time Will Tell (ECM, 1993) and Chicago Solo (Okkadisk, 1997).
However, Parker is probably better known for his 1960s work, which rapidly assimilated the American avantgarde — John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Albert Ayler and others — and forged his own, instantly identifiable style. His music of the 1960s and 1970s is harsh, raw and unsettling, involving fluttering, swirling lines that have shape rather than tangible melodic content; sometimes he makes use of pure sound in a manner that recalls Steve Lacy’s more radical 1970s recordings or the work of some AACM members. He began to develop methods of rapidly layering harmonics and false notes to create dense contrapuntal weaves; these involved experiments with plastic reeds and rapid tonguing which initially were so intense that he would find blood dripping onto the floor from the saxophone.
Parker is one of the few saxophone players for whom unaccompanied solo performance is a major part of his work. One critic has written that Parker’s solo performances “reveal also the mechanical possibilities for the instrument that weren’t even considered before he came along — things like playing in all three registers of the instrument at the same time.
His original inspiration was Paul Desmond, and in recent years the influence of cool jazz saxophone players has again become apparent in his music — there are tributes to Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz on Time Will Tell (ECM, 1993) and Chicago Solo (Okkadisk, 1997).
However, Parker is probably better known for his 1960s work, which rapidly assimilated the American avantgarde — John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Albert Ayler and others — and forged his own, instantly identifiable style. His music of the 1960s and 1970s is harsh, raw and unsettling, involving fluttering, swirling lines that have shape rather than tangible melodic content; sometimes he makes use of pure sound in a manner that recalls Steve Lacy’s more radical 1970s recordings or the work of some AACM members. He began to develop methods of rapidly layering harmonics and false notes to create dense contrapuntal weaves; these involved experiments with plastic reeds and rapid tonguing which initially were so intense that he would find blood dripping onto the floor from the saxophone.
Parker is one of the few saxophone players for whom unaccompanied solo performance is a major part of his work. One critic has written that Parker’s solo performances “reveal also the mechanical possibilities for the instrument that weren’t even considered before he came along — things like playing in all three registers of the instrument at the same time.
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In Real Time
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A Glancing Blow
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Boustrophedon
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Time Lapse
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Shoutbox
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insomniacme wrote:
conic
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Areskelian wrote:
Circular breathing technique.
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akzincke wrote:
Listening to The Snake Decides, my introduction to this guy... How is what he's playing even possible?
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RonZol wrote:
Worth a listen!
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NINlife wrote:
geez i'm getting addicted to this guy. Just got to listen to Time Lapse.
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NINlife wrote:
sax solos is fucking insane
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mattimeus wrote:
some of his collabs i've been listening to - two chapters and an epilogue, a life saved by a spider and two doves - are absolutely brilliant and are reminding me that i need to go give his solo output another run through.
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NINlife wrote:
And Monoceros is just as insane
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JamesLebowski wrote:
New album featuring Evan "revealed": http://jameslebowski.blogspot.com/2011/05/near-nadir-from-mark-nauseef-ikue-mori.html
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NINlife wrote:
The Snake Decides this is frying my brain right now. [2]
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SIRIUSACMA wrote:
promise
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sailfake wrote:
foxes.
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gangstayoda wrote:
The Snake Decides this is frying my brain right now.
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Contraceptron wrote:
Hey, could someone pretty well versed in Parker's discography recommend me some of his best albums? His catalog is massive and I'm not sure where to start...
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hbreckman wrote:
Join: http://www.last.fm/group/European+Jazz
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insomniacme wrote:
he so saxy
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sbG wrote:
then he's not a virtuoso
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Edelce wrote:
he's a virtuoso
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sbG wrote:
is he a virtuoso?
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rotovick wrote:
Loko..!!
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Feb
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The Playhouse Theatre, Whitstable, United Kingdom
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