The Calgary Folk Music Festival Presents The William Parker Trio

William Parker is a master musician, improviser and composer who The Village Voice calls "the most consistently brilliant free jazz bassist of all time." Not formally trained, he studied with other jazz players, developing an unconventional technique based on self-expression and experimentation. His playing is dense, textural, harmonic, lyrical and percussive.

The William Parker trio features drummer Hamid Drake, an accomplished Chicago-based drummer noted for his collaborations with Archie Shepp and Ken Vandermark among many others and revered for his versatility and creativity.

Parker entered New York City's music scene in 1971, performing with key musicians Sunny Murray, Billy Higgins, Rashid Ali and Don Cherry and more. After playing in the Cecil Taylor Unit from 1980 through 1991, he began recording his own music in 1994, founding two distinct ensembles: In Order To Survive and The Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra.

Parker's early projects with dancers and choreographers created a huge repertoire of music, from solo works to big band projects, all while developing a strong relationship with the European improvised music scene. In 2001, Parker released O'Neal's Porch, working with Hamid Drake to further broaden his musical palette. Parker has taught around the world and is also a theorist and author of several books all informed by his multi-instrumental prowess which includes the bass, shakuhachi, double reeds, tuba, donso ngoni and gembri.

For more information and tickets, visit calgaryfolkfest.com or call 403-233-0904.