Meditation / Resurrection by William Parker Quartets

[AUM104/105]


William Parker: bass; tarota on track 6
Hamid Drake: drums; gongs on track 6
Rob Brown: alto saxophone
Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson: trumpet [tracks 1–7]; kalimba on track 6
Cooper-Moore: piano [tracks 8–12]

Meditation / Resurrection is a double-album presenting a bounty of beautiful new William Parker compositions performed by two of his flagship ensembles, the Quartet [tracks 1–7] -&- In Order To Survive [tracks 8–12]. It was recorded & mixed live during a one-day studio session in late 2016. With the tone of the pieces & performances reflecting our current moment, this is Parker & the groups’ follow-up to 2013’s monumental Wood Flute Songs box set.

"A new William Parker album on AUM Fidelity is always a major event, and Meditation/Resurrection is the motherlode, boasting two hours of stunning new music from two of the master bassist’s greatest bands. Steeped in melody and groove, this is some of Parker’s most accessible music, with the musicians improvising around open structures with telepathic acuity. It’s no stretch to call Parker the greatest bassist-composer since Mingus, and Meditation/Resurrection finds him on inspired form, aided and abetted by his supreme collaborators." –Stewart Smith, The Quietus

At the core of both groups is Parker’s foundational bass together with his rhythm twin, the incomparable Hamid Drake. Their partnership – two decades deep now – is one of the great rhythm sections in recorded history. Alto saxophonist Rob Brown is likewise featured throughout. Brown is one of the all-time great improvisers on the alto, and the springboard of Parker’s bands in which he has been perennially featured always brings out his best.

Pianist Cooper-Moore features on album 2. He has been a very significant catalyst in the world of creative music for over 40 years. As William writes in the album notes, “Cooper-Moore is one of the special people who speaks and plays from the heart all the time with power and grace.” Cooper-Moore was the Lifetime Achievement Honoree at the 2017 edition of the Vision Festival, NYC.

Trumpeter Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson appears on album 1. Hailing from Oklahoma City, and a resident of Switzerland since 1994, he is a major figure in his own right as a composer of modern classical and world music, and is well-versed in the language of blues, jazz and improvisation. From the liner notes, “Jalalu is always able to transform any music situation into a magical experience.”

William Parker’s exceptional gift as a composer of beautiful melodies and infectious rhythms have long been intrinsic to his art, and it has always been on full display in the work of the quartets featured here. Being that these groups are among the highest caliber jazz bands of our time, Parker’s luminous compositions are brought to vibrant, ever-giving blossom.

"The breadth of William Parker's accomplishment is astonishing. His free-form flights are sustained by his deep-rooted grasp of jazz fundamentals. No matter what he plays, he strives to channel divine inspiration so that the music levitates he and his fellow musicians off the bandstand."
–Bill Meyer, DownBeat

2CD set is packaged in deluxe 8-panel digipak with extensive notes & new poetry by William Parker, and features artwork by Lois Eby.

* Full art & notes included as PDF booklet with Digital Album. 

is a master musician–improvisor–composer–bandleader–griot–shaman–poet–community leader.

Featured here are the premier works produced for both AUM Fidelity & his own Centering Records imprint, along with select additional works otherwise not readily available.

portrait by
Jimmy Katz

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