Search - William Parker :: Petit Oiseau (Dig)

WPQ #1

Pharoah S. Wail | Inner Space | 10/14/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you don't know the names of the players, maybe you'll know this as the O'Neal's Porch and Sound Unity band. Though having its widespread release today, Aum-Fidelity released Petit Oiseau through their site a while ago so I've spent about 2 weeks with it. Here William Parker - compositions, bass and Native American/cedar flute (maybe not exactly, but certainly closely related to the flute played by R. Carlos Nakai on albums like Emergence), Hamid Drake - traps, balafon and frame drum, Lewis Barnes - trumpet, and Rob Brown - alto saxophone and b-flat clarinet have released my favorite William Parker Quartet album thus far.



From the sonic/recording quality to the songs and improvisations themselves, this is this band's premier album. The flute, frame drum and clarinet only come into play on one song. It's another fine example of WP's use of instruments from other cultures and making them his own. When he picks up this, ngoni, etc... he doesn't regurgitate some -isms from their cultures of origin. He uses these instruments to broaden his voice, not to feign eclecticism or play pretend. Lewis Barnes and Rob Brown are still modern-day masters of the inside-out duo "frontline" (just a journalistic convenience in this case, as this whole band is simultaneously frontline or backline, lead or support, texture or rhythmic or melodic drive, as the moment demands) interplay they've honed with their time together in this and other bands/abums for which this band is the core, like the beautiful Corn Meal Dance and Alphaville Suite.



I hope William and Hamid's work together both here and elsewhere needs no introduction. I think we've probably gotten everything for 2008 now, which makes this and By Any Means: Live at Crescendo (on Ayler Records, with Charles Gayle, WP and Rashied Ali) my 2 favorite WP albums of the year. In other Aum news, don't overlook Eri Yamamoto's Redwoods (not sure why the site won't let me insert a product link). Redwoods should be the sleeper hit/surprise of the year!



My double-secret handshake-under-the-table Aum-Fidelity recommendation is the new limited edition (to accompany his current USA tour) Cooper-Moore solo album, a cd release of the Cedar Box Recordings, available at Aum, not here or other retail outlets!



12/5/08 edit: I meant to say this and By Any Means: Crescendo are my 2 favorite brand new WP albums of the year. 2 Days in April is incredible (!) but it's a reissue/rerelease (available from the label, www.eremite.com) so I wasn't lumping it in with the newest new ones.



1/5/09 edit: I just saw this disc may take a while from this site now. The Aum-Fidelity (the record label) website sells it directly by credit card or mailorder too, if you're not up for waiting a couple weeks before it's shipped."

What could they possibly do for an encore?

John C. Graham | toronto, ontario Canada | 12/01/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'd like to add my two cents to the excellent and informative review that came before this one.



This is, in my opinion, the finest of the three discs available by this band. It's not quite as "in your face" as O'neil's Porch which, by the way, isn't a bad thing and it never "drifts" which live recordings like Sound Unity sometimes tend to do. This, also, isn't a bad thing. Little Bird just seems to have the right amount of pre-determined form. Call it contemporary arranging. There is no lost space, plodding, or running on anywhere on the disc.



I've always loved Rob Brown's playing and he's on form(on fire)throughout. Lewis Barnes really stands out on this one. His tone and attack are captured well and he contributes some memorable solos. The two horns sound absolutely wonderful together when playing the heads.



Little Bird is an album filled with today's rhythms and melodies and here Parker and Drake can do no wrong. The solo statements are more about looking ahead and exploring the future with a renewed confidence (coincidentally parallelling America's recent political empowerment). Any way you slice it, Petit Oiseau is a jazz album for NOW. It's the best of the best in sparkling fidelity...with an added star

"

It's a groovy explore

Ali Haluk | Istanbul, Turkey | 12/26/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Most of jazz fans do recognize and praise 60's "blue-note" sound. Some of them look for new dimensions after intense hard-bop listenings and "explore" avant-garde.



This album is for the lovers of avant-garde missing hard-bop sound. William Parker Quartet revitalize 60's hard-bop sound with an avant-garde touch.



Very powerful and "groove" basslines from William Parker, great solos from Rob Brown (alto sax) and Lewis Brown (trumpet), the best drumming of 2000's from Hamid Drake.



"Petit Oiseau" is the groovy way to "explore".



From the liner notes, Mr. Parker defines their approach to music in this way: "What we are looking for in the music is the dance, the conversation of sounds, notes, and rhythms broken up but not broken. Improvising, listening, reacting, initiating paths of glory. Forming sentences that turn into poems, allowing the entire quartet to engage in four-way conversations that sound like one voice. Without anyone speaking over the other person except when greatly inspired.""