Bronx bassist and composer William Parker delivered a standout performance at NuBlu in Manhattan on Thursday, Jan. 8, as part of Winter Jazz Fest, which has brought a slew of artists across the jazz pantheon to the Big Apple for more than two decades. Joined by the Pocket Watch Orchestra, Parker and his band blurred the lines between art and activism, delivering a set packed with soul, lots of free improvisation, and some pertinent messaging.
Parker first came to prominence in the 1980s as a member of free-jazz pioneer and pianist Cecil Taylor’s group before launching a prolific career as a bandleader, releasing more than 60 records in various incarnations, from small groups to large ensembles. While his main instrument has always been the double bass, Parker is no stranger to taking on other roles, playing various horn instruments throughout his career and taking the helm as a conductor at Winter Jazz Fest. “In 2022, I had a stroke, I’m still kind of recovering,” Parker told the AmNews in an exclusive interview via telephone. “For that reason, I started conducting, or guiding the band — leading the band through the pieces.”
Parker’s Pocket Watch Orchestra featured a host of voices both seasoned and emerging, with multiple generations of creatives standing side by side on the scenic LES stage as bustling attendees gathered in front, behind, and above in anticipation. The orchestra included saxophonists Rob Brown, Alfredo Colón, Aakash Mittal, Devin Brahja Waldman, and Isaiah Barr, with Diego Hernández on trumpet, Colin Babcock and Masahiko Kono on trombone, bassist Colson Jiménez, drummer Juan Pablo Carletti, and keyboardist Hans Young Binter, alongside vocalists Ellen Christi, Kyoko Kitamura, and Patricia Nicholson, who is also Parker’s wife.
“The time is now,” Parker said aloud at NuBlu; it was unclear whether this was directed at the musicians, the audience, or both. Spoken word launched the band into a whirlwind of sound and a familiar tune soon emerged: a rendition of the Impressions’ landmark 1965 hit “People Get Ready” like you’ve never heard before. The song appeared on “I Plan to Stay a Believer,” a 2010 album that saw Parker reimagining tunes by Curtis Mayfield, but the way Parker approaches music does not allow for it to be played the same way twice.
“If we play it on Monday, it has one vibration — on Tuesday, don’t try to play it like you did on Monday,” Parker said. “See what Tuesday has to bring to your music. Wednesday is another day. You never rely on what you did yesterday; it’s always what’s happening in the moment.”
Parker and his orchestra explored the song for more than 20 minutes, as players, initiated by Parker, pushed past the boundaries of the tune and brought the music into new and exciting directions. The vocalists harkened to figures murdered by authority, paying tribute to Renée Good, who was killed by ICE officers in Minneapolis, and setting the tone for the evening and its messaging.
“Justice is homeless, she is crying,” proclaimed Nicholson, as she delivered passages from her poem, “Hope Cries for Justice.” “For her children, for her parents, for her brothers, for her sisters, for Renée Good, for each family that’s been seized.”
The audience was made, in these moments, to confront the harsh truths that many Americans face, raising questions about what freedom means and who it is afforded to. “It speaks a lot about what’s happening today in the world, and what has really been happening since 1492,” Parker said of Nicholson’s poems.
Parker led the group through just a few compositions throughout the evening, including “Get on Board,” a segment from his “Ellington in Mourning” composition that was performed as part of BRIC’s summer concert series. The set was diverse and journeysome — moments of swing were juxtaposed against harsh noise, reggae, and R&B throughout the night. “The intent of all the music we do is to get sound to vibrate, and through sound vibrating, we can get to what I call the ‘tone world,’” Parker explained. “It’s in the tone world that magic or change happens.”
In his performance, Parker illustrated the power of art and music in the face of adversity, raising challenging questions but bringing together community in the process, and giving artists a platform to raise their voices and make noise while still giving the audience the chance to sing along — a truly unique and binding experience. Parker didn’t talk a whole lot throughout the set, but he said much to anyone who was listening. “I want them to be uplifted, with joy and excitement,” Parker told the AmNews. “When you’re in that state, you can see colors, you can see and feel things on a whole other level.”
You can catch William Parker at Revolution Books in Harlem on February 3, and stay up to date with Parker’s work at williamparker.net.