Evan Parker
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 â€" 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 â€"
John Coltrane,
Pharoah Sanders,
Albert Ayler and others â€" 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. He also became a member of the important big band, The
Brotherhood of Breath.
Later recordings are equally impressive but rather less thorny, sometimes rather formulaic, as Parker's style became less open to change; but an Evan Parker recording is still always something to contend with, and some of his recent discs, such as
America 2003, are as gripping and satisfying as any of his earlier recordings.
He has recorded countless albums solo or as a group leader, and has recorded or performed with
Peter Brötzmann (including Brötzmann's epochal
Machine Gun in
1968),
John Stevens,
Derek Bailey,
Keith Rowe,
Joe McPhee,
Anthony Braxton,
Cecil Taylor, and many others. Two key associations have been pianist
Alexander von Schlippenbach's trio with Parker and drummer
Paul Lovens (including the classic early recording
Pakistani Pomade and the more recent
Elf Bagatellen) and a trio with bassist
Barry Guy and drummer
Paul Lytton. On Parker's 50th birthday, these two bands played a set apiece at a London concert; the results were issued by Leo Records as
50th Birthday Concert, a recording that is one of the highlights of Parker's (massive) oeuvre and remains a useful introduction to his music.
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 â€" things like playing in all three registers of the instrument at the same time." [
1]
Parker, Bailey and the drummer
Tony Oxley founded the Incus record label in 1970, which was one of the most important labels to document improvised music. (The label continued under Bailey's sole control, after a falling-out between the two men in the early 1980s.) Nowadays Parker curates the Psi record label, which is issued through Martin Davidson's
Emanem records.
Though Parker's central focus is free improvisation, he has also occasionally appeared in more conventional jazz contexts, such as
Charlie Watts's big band and
Kenny Wheeler's ensembles, and participated in Gavin Bryars's recording
After the Requiem, performing the composition "Alaric I or II" as part of a saxophone quartet.
He also has appeared in pop-music contexts: on
Scott Walker's
Climate of Hunter, and on
dubesque albums with
Jah Wobble, the adventurous
drum n bass duo
Spring Heel Jack and
rock group
Spiritualized. He has also increasingly become interested in electronics, usually through inviting collaborators such as
Phil Wachsmann,
Walter Prati,
Joel Ryan or
Lawrence Casserley to electronically process his playing in real time, creating a musical feedback loop or constantly shifting soundscape.
*
Free improvisation*
Discography, Interviews, mp3 samples*
Projects, releases
