Bio
William Parker bassist, multi-instrumentalist, author, composer, librettist Born 1952 Bronx, New York -
William Parker is a composer, bassist and multi instrumentalist, an author and educator who has recorded over 60 albums as a leader and co leader, including 53 records as co leader, and appears on more than 150 recordings in total. His work spans solo bass, quartets and sextets, large ensembles such as the Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra and In Order To Survive, and special projects including The Essence of Ellington. He plays bass, shakuhachi, double reeds, tuba, donso ngoni and gembri, and was born in 1952 in the Bronx, New York, studying with Richard Davis, Art Davis, Milt Hinton, Wilber Ware, Jimmy Garrison and Paul West.
Since the early 1970s Parker has been a central figure in creative music, performing at Studio We, Studio Rivbea, Hillys on the Bowery and The Baby Grand. He has performed and recorded with a wide range of collaborators including Don Cherry, Cecil Taylor, Henry Threadgill, Billy Bang, Milford Graves, Billy Higgins, Sunny Murray and the late Kidd Jordan, as well as many leading European improvisers in the free music scene. In 1974 he performed with Cecil Taylor at Carnegie Hall and later spent more than a decade as a member of the Cecil Taylor Unit. The Village Voice described him as the most consistently brilliant free jazz bassist of all time. His recordings as a leader include Oneals Porch, the Raining on the Moon ensemble and the multi disc collections Wood Flute Songs and For Those Who Are Still on Aum Fidelity and his own Centering Music. In 2013 he received the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award.
Recent highlights include the publication of Observations Selected Works 1967 to 2023, concerts at Pierre Boulez Concert Hall in Berlin and the Holocaust Museum in Krakow, Hueys Pocketwatch Big Band at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center in 2024, the Ellington in the Morning program at BRIC and Black May Music at Bennington College in 2025, the Segue Reading Series at Artists Space in New York with Marina Abramovic, and Artists on Artworks William Parker on Jennie C Jones at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Parker has taught at Bennington College, New York University, The New England Conservatory of Music, Cal Arts, The New School University and the Rotterdam Conservatory. His books include Who Owns Music, the Conversations series, Voices in the First Person, Scrapbook Notes and Blueprints, Sound Journal, The Mayor of Punkville and Observations. In recognition of his ongoing contributions Parker received the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award at Vision Festival.
A few Recent Highlights:
Observations Selected Works 1967 to 2023, major collected volume of William Parkers writings including essays, notes and reflections, 2023.
Pierre Boulez Concert Hall, Berlin, concert with ensemble presenting original compositions and extended improvisations, 2023.
Holocaust Museum, Krakow, concert performance in a program of remembrance and creative music, 2023.
Hueys Pocketwatch Big Band, large ensemble concert at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, 2024.
Segue Reading Series with Marina Abramovic at Artists Space, New York, public reading from The Mayor of Punkville and other writings, 2025.
Ellington in the Morning program at BRIC, Brooklyn, concert project devoted to the music and legacy of Duke Ellington, 2025.
