Evan Parker

Evan Parker
Background information
Birth name	Evan Shaw Parker
Born	(1944-04-05) 5 April 1944 Bristol, England
Genres	Jazz, Free Jazz, Free improvisation
Occupation(s)	Saxophonist
Instruments	Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone
Associated acts	Irene Schweizer, Barry Guy, Cecil Taylor, Anthony Braxton, Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, Globe Unity Orchestra

Evan Parker, Moers Festival 2012

Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944, Bristol, England) is a British free-improvising saxophone player from the European free jazz scene.

Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free jazz and free improvisation, and has pioneered or substantially expanded an array of extended techniques. Critic Ron Wynn describes Parker as "[a]mong Europe's most innovative and intriguing saxophonists ... his solo sax work isn't for the squeamish."

Early influences

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).

Later work

Parker is better known, however, for his later 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 involves 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 Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (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, circular breathing 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 big band, The Brotherhood of Breath.

Parker has also increasingly become interested in electronics, usually through inviting collaborators such as Phil Wachsmann, Walter Prati, Joel Ryan, Lawrence Casserley or Matthew Wright to electronically process his playing in real time, creating a musical feedback loop or constantly shifting soundscape.

Evan Parker, 2010
Photo Hreinn Gudlaugsson

Recordings

Evan Parker, Cologne, 2007

Parker has recorded a large number of albums both solo or as a group leader, and has recorded or performed with Peter Brötzmann, including Brötzmann's Machine Gun in 1968, and Michael Nyman's "Waltz in F" (1981)), John Stevens, Derek Bailey, Keith Rowe, Joe McPhee, Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor, John Zorn, Fred Frith, Bill Laswell, Ikue Mori, Cyro Baptista, Milford Graves, George Lewis, Tim Berne, Mark Dresser, Dave Holland, Sylvie Courvoisier, and many others. Two key associations have been pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach's trio with Parker and drummer Paul Lovens (documented on recordings such as Pakistani Pomade and 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. Parker is one of the few saxophone players for whom unaccompanied solo performance is a major part of his work.

Parker, Bailey and the drummer Tony Oxley founded the Incus record label in 1970. The label continued under Bailey's sole control, after a falling-out between the two men in the early 1980s. Currently Parker curates the Psi record label, which is issued through Martin Davidson's Emanem records. He also performs monthly at London's Vortex Jazz Club.

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.

Parker has recently contributed to David Sylvian's releases Manafon and Died In The Wool.

Pop music

Evan Parker, 2005

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 appeared on the b-side to Vic Reeves and The Wonderstuff's UK 1991 number one hit "Dizzy", performing saxophone on "Oh, Mr Songwriter" (based around "Vic Reeves Big Night Out" TV show end theme song). At one point during a sax solo, Vic can be heard shouting "Pack it in, Parker!".

Parker has also made notable appearances on record with Robert Wyatt.

Gallery

Photos: Hreinn Gudlaugsson

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Discography

As leader/co-leader

• The Topography of the Lungs (Incus, 1970)
• At the Unity Theatre with Paul Lytton (Incus, 1975)
• Saxophone Solos (Incus, 1976)
• Monoceros (Incus, 1978)
• Six of One (Incus, 1980)
• Incision with Barry Guy (FMP, 1980)
• Tracks (Incus, 1983)
• Hook, Drift & Shuffle (Incus, 1985)
• The Snake Decides (Incus, 1986)
• Atlanta (Impetus, 1990)
• Process and Reality (FMP, 1991)
• Conic Sections (AhUm, 1993)
• Synergenics - Phonomanie III (Leo, 1993)
• Birmingham Concert (Rare Music, 1993 [1996])
• Imaginary Values with Barry Guy and Paul Lytton (Maya, 1994)
• 50th Birthday Concert (Leo, 1994)
• Obliquities with Barry Guy (Maya, 1995)
• The Redwood Session (CIMP, 1995) with Joe McPhee
• Breaths and Heartbeats with Barry Guy and Paul Lytton (Rastacan, 1995)
• McPhee/Parker/Lazro (Vand'Oeuvre, 1996) with Joe McPhee and Daunik Lazro
• Tempranillo (Nova Era, 1996) with Agustí Fernández
• Chicago Solo (Okka Disc, 1995)
• London Air Lift (FMP, 1996)
• At the Vortex with Barry Guy and Paul Lytton (Emanem, 1996)
• Toward the Margins (ECM, 1996)
• Monkey Puzzle (Leo, 1997) with Ned Rothenberg
• Unity Variations (Okka Disk, 1999) with Georg Gräwe
• Drawn Inward (ECM, 1999)
• Lines Burnt in Light (Psi, 2001)
• Chicago Tenor Duets (Okka Disk, 2002) with Joe McPhee
• Memory/Vision (ECM, 2002)
• Set (Psi, 2003)
• The Eleventh Hour (ECM, 2004)
• Boustrophedon (ECM, 2004)
• Crossing the River (Psi, 2005)
• Time Lapse (Tzadik, 2006)
• Zafiro (Maya, 2006)
• The Moment's Energy (ECM, 2007)
• A Glancing Blow (Clean Feed, 2007) with John Edwards, Chris Corsano
• Whitstable Solo (Psi, 2008)
• House Full of Floors (Tzadik, 2009)
• Psalms (Psi, 2010) with Sten Sandell
• Scenes in the House of Music (Clean Feed, 2010)
• Nightwork (Marge, 2010)
• Round About One O'Clock (Not Two, 2011) with Zlatko Kaucic
• The Bleeding Edge (Psi, 2011) with Okkyung Lee, Peter Evans
• The Voice is One (Not Two, 2012) with Agustí Fernández
• Hasselt (Psi, 2012)
• Dortmund Variations (Nuscope, 2012) with Georg Gräwe
• Rex, Wrecks & XXX (RogueArt, 2013) with Matthew Shipp
• Live at Maya Recording Festival (NoBusiness, 2013)
• Rocket Science (More is More, 2013)
• What/If/They Both Could Fly (Rune Grammofon, 2013) with Joe McPhee
• Either Or And (Relative Pitch, 2014) with Sylvie Courvoisier
• Seven (Victo, 2014)
• Extremes (Red Toucan, 2014) with Paul Dunmall, Tony Bianco
• Ninth Square (Clean Feed, 2015) with Joe Morris, Nate Wooley

As sideman

With Derek Bailey

• The London Concert (Incus, 1976)
• Compatibles (Incus, 1986)

With Han Bennink

• The Grass is Greener (Psi, 2000)

With Borah Bergman

• The Fire Tale (Soul Note, 1994)

With Paul Bley

• Time Will Tell (ECM, 1994)
• Sankt Gerold (ECM, 2000)

With Anthony Braxton

• Ensemble (Victoriaville) 1988 (Victo, 1988 [1992])
• Duo (London) 1993 (Leo, 1993)
• Trio (London) 1993 (Leo, 1993)

With Peter Brötzmann

• Machine Gun (FMP, 1968)
• Nipples (Calig, 1969)

With Gavin Bryars

• After the Requiem (ECM, 1991)

With Lawrence Casserley

• Solar Wind (Touch, 1997)
• Dividuality (Maya, 1997)

With Marilyn Crispell

• Natives and Aliens (Leo, 1997)
• After Appleby (Leo, 1999)

With Alvin Curran

• In Real Time (Ictus, 1978)

With Pierre Favre

• Pierre Favre Quartet (Wergo, 1970)

With Joe Gallivan

• Innocence (Cadence, 1992)

With the Globe Unity Orchestra

• Hamburg 1974 (FMP, 1974)
• Rumbling (FMP, 1976)
• Pearls (FMP, 1977)
• Jahrmarkt/Local Fair (Po Torch, 1977)
• Improvisations (JAPO, 1978)
• Compositions (JAPO 1979)
• Intergalactic Blow (JAPO, 1982)
• 20th Anniversary (FMP, 1986)
• Globe Unity 2002(Intakt, 2002)

With Paul Haines

• Darn It! (American Clavé, 1993)

With Tony Hymas - Barney Bush

• Left for Dead (nato, 1995)

With Steve Lacy

• Saxophone Special (Emanem, 1975)
• Chirps (FMP, 1985)
• Three Blokes with Lol Coxhill (FMP, 1994)

With Chris McGregor

• Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath Live at Willisau (Ogun, 1974)
• Procession (Ogun, 1978)

With Roscoe Mitchell

• Composition/Improvisation Nos. 1, 2 & 3 (ECM, 2004)

With Louis Moholo

• Spirits Rejoice! (Ogun, 1978)
• Bush Fire (Ogun, 1995)

With The Music Improvising Company

• The Music Improvising Company (ECM, 1970)
• The Music Improvising Company 1968-1971 (Incus, 1976)

With Michael Nyman

• Michael Nyman (Piano, 1981)

With Tony Oxley

• The Baptised Traveller (CBS, 1969)
• 4 Compositions for Sextet (CBS, 1970)
• Ichnos (RCA, 1970)
• Tony Oxley (Incus, 1975)

With Jean-François Pauvros

• Master Attack (nato, 1987)

With Eddie Prévost

• Most Materiall (Matchless, 1997)

With Manfred Schoof

• European Echoes (FMP, 1969)

With Alexander von Schlippenbach

• Pakistani Pomade (FMP, 1973)
• Three Nails Left (FMP, 1975)
• The Hidden Peak (FMP, 1977)
• Detto fra de Noi (Po Torch, 1982)
• Anticlockwise (FMP, 1983)
• Das Hohe Lied (Po Torch, 1991)
• Elf Bagatellen (FMP, 1991)
• Physics (FMP, 1996)
• Compete Combustion (FMP, 1998)
• Swinging the Bim (FMP, 1998)
• Gold is Where You Find It (Intakt, 2007)

With the Spontaneous Music Ensemble

• Karyobin (Island, 1968)
• Quintessence (Emanem, 1986)

With Spring Heel Jack

• Masses (Thirsty Ear, 2001)
• Amassed (Thirsty Ear, 2002)
• Live (Thirsty Ear, 2003)
• The Sweetness of the Water (Thirsty Ear, 2004)

With John Stevens

• Corner to Corner (Ogun, 1993)

With David Sylvian

• Manafon (Samadhi Sound, 2009)
• Died In The Wool (Samadhi Sound, 2011)

with Cecil Taylor

• The Hearth (FMP, 1988)
• Alms/Tiergarten (Spree) (FMP, 1988)
• Melancholy (FMP, 1990)
• Nailed (FMP, 1990)

With Stan Tracey

• Suspensions and Anticipations (Psi, 2003)

With Scott Walker

• Climate of Hunter (Virgin, 1984)

With Charlie Watts

• Vol pour Sidney (nato, 1991)

With Kenny Wheeler

• Song for Someone (Incus, 1974)
• Around 6 (ECM, 1979)
• Music for Large & Small Ensembles (ECM, 1990)

With Robert Wyatt

• Shleep (Hannibal, 1997)

External links

• Official site
• Discography, interviews, mp3 samples
• Projects, releases
• Discography by Patrice Roussel and William Hsu