Search - Bradley Parker-Sparrow :: The Black Romantic

Bradley Parker-Sparrow - The Black Romantic Southport Records (S-SSD 0126) "Is it jazz, or is it classical I do not know. It is me." -B. P. Sparrow On "The Black Romantic" label founder Bradley Parker-Sparrow is like a musical "blender" tearing apart classical, jazz and modern piano for a rich "stew of the new" with his 2nd solo piano effort, recorded on the famed Baldwin SD-10 9'Concert Grand. Produced by Joanie Pallatto. Design by Al Brandtner. The piano is a poor man's Orchestra, since its invention, partly because of the early industrial revolution, when cast metal had the power to retain and hold stretched 9' strings - it has been the mirror to the modern orchestra. "The Black Romantic" is Sparrow's 2nd solo piano effort. As a self-taught pianist and composer Sparrow has always held fair game with any form of music, from Bela Bartok to Lennie Tristano. Without formal instruction, he is a human sponge. This is not an angry record, but rich with melodic schemes that also trace Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy and Ahmad Jamal. The 16 compositions were recorded on the Baldwin SD-10 Concert Grand in February of 2008 over a period of 5 days by engineer/producer Joanie Pallatto. All vintage large capsule tube mics were used in the recording, with 2 Neumann M49's and the famed AKG-C12 along with the EMT 140S plate reverb, e.q. from the Pultec EQP 1A and Lexicon PCM-41 as pre-delay at the new SSD, a room that is rich with oak floors and high ceilings. "The Black Romantic" is a return to melody, contemplation and sure pianism. This CD is dedicated to the next term of Barack Obama. Original compositions for acoustic piano by Bradley Parker-Sparrow (ASCAP)
Sparrow plays the Baldwin SD-10 9' Concert Grand
Produced by Joanie Pallatto
Recording, Mixing & Mastering Engineer: Joanie Pallatto
Recorded at Sparrow Sound Design, Chicago, IL "The Library" (February 2008)
Track 7. A Magical Vision - from the Michael Caplan Film, Main Theme
Track 8. Shows of Wonder - Joanie Pallatto, vocal
SOUTHPORT RECORDS REAL MUSIC MADE IN CHICAGO
Southport Records was founded in 1977 by pianist/composer/engineer Bradley Parker-Sparrow in response to the lack of production of new music in Chicago, from Chicago. The label focuses on new music of any form from Chicago artists and projects it to a world market. SOUTHPORT RECORDS "REAL MUSIC MADE IN CHICAGO"