William Parker Goes Free Form At Its Most Extreme With Archival Recording ‘Universal Tonality’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

Loyal followers of jazz activist, visionary, poet, and multi-instrumentalist William Parker are doubtlessly already aware of the book, his biography Universal Tonality: The Life and Music of William Parker, by Cisco Bradley. Now we have a 2CD archival recording under the same title, that delivers this musical concept, a performance that took place at Roulette in Manhattan’s TriBeCa neighborhood in December 2002 (one of the final concerts at the venue’s original loft space). Parker invited 16 musicians of various ages, cultures and backgrounds to join him in an experiment of “breathing together.” This one-night-only communion can now be shared to sit alongside Parker’s landmark mid-large ensemble works. This concept was borne out of a performance he witnessed in Philadelphia that teamed various improvisers with a group of didgeridoo players and a troupe of Cherokee dancers. 

Parker wrote a score for each of the six compositions (three per disc) but he made it entirely optional for the participants. The musicians clearly bought into this open-ended concept which is greatly strengthened by vocalist Leena Conquest’s readings and singing. Lyrics and personal writings by Parker were at her disposal but she also had the freedom to draw on them as she saw fit. 

Sometimes, as in “Cloud Texture” Parker and Conquest provide dramatic story vignettes, in this case a run-in between Parker’s father and the Klan in the South as well as how his father and mother met and fell in love with the backdrop of the Swing Era referencing icons like Duke, Count, and Johnny Hodges. Others are rife with imagery such as “Leaves Gathering” – “The sky translated itself into music: The Tone World. It swallowed me up, the way a whale would swallow up a guppy dipped in Mama’s homemade tomato sauce.” This is brilliant, provocative, singular material requiring the listener to listen with focus as the musicians did that night. Every so often, though you will marvel at the spirit and the warmth of the messages. Many of the lyrics are hugely optimistic and inspirational such as “hope is relentless” in “Tails of a Peacock” and “the only truth is that what’s inside you” in “Cloud Texture.” The music is free form at its extreme. To this writer, the only viable reference point for this kind of music with the large ensemble with vocalist is Sun Ra and His Arkestra’s 2016 archival releases At Inter-Media Arts and The Space Age Is Here to Stay featuring vocalist June Tyson, who resembles Conquest as a soulful vocalist. Ra’s music, if you believe it though, is far more structured than this Parker performance.

Parker, as most know, began his career in the early ‘70s and was a prime shaker and mover in the burgeoning loft scene that began in that period. The musicians, all represented below, are from different aspects of his career. Billy Bang and Daniel Carter trace to the loft period and Parker’s group The Music Ensemble. Jerome Cooper played in that group and in The Revolutionary Ensemble Roger Blank teamed with Parker in another ‘70s collective, the Melodic Art-Tet. Jason Kao Hwang, who remains prolific, was with Parker in his early ‘80s quarter Commitment while Dave Burrell and the late Grachan Moncur III were pivotal avant-gardists of the ‘60s. Moncur also played in Parker’s small group In Order to Survive in the ‘90s while Burrell continues to work with Parker. Rob Brown, Steve Swell, Joe Morris, and Jin Hi Kim had been collaborators since the ‘90s and remain so. This is among the earliest appearance for Gerald Cleaver, also a frequent collaborator today. Miya Masaoka and Cale Brantley were musicians Parker admired and they played with him here for the first time.

Related Content

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

New to Glide

Keep up-to-date with Glide

Twitter