Description: ∫ Following the release of the monumental Migration of Silence Into and Out of The Tone World: Volumes 1~10 earlier this year, composer, multi~instrumentalist, poet, griot, improviser and community leader William Parker will release a pair of brand new trio albums which further expound on a profound and limitless vision. One of the iconic and enduring music leaders to emerge in the world over the last half century, William Parker continues to raise the bar higher. AUM Fidelity is deeply honored & incredibly stoked (!) to present this astonishing new work to you. ∫ Mayan Space Station is his first electric guitar trio album, and features Ava Mendoza — electric guitar, William Parker — bass, and Gerald Cleaver — drums. Cosmic multi~hued blues, perfect for space and time travel. The unparalleled rhythmic firmament created by Parker & Cleaver is matched by Mendoza in full flight. All of the promise imagined by a trio recording of these musicians with compositions by Parker is delivered to the fullest. ∫ William Parker first worked with Ms. Mendoza on a project entitled Thunder and Flowers for his July 2019 residency at The Stone in NYC. Her prodigious talents have illuminated many projects and recordings as both leader and collaborator over the past decade. As is certainly clear here, she is committed to bringing expressivity, energy and a wide sonic range to the music. Gerald Cleaver is an exceptionally gifted poet of drum sound who can play in the deepest of pockets and manifest all manner of sound to perfectly fit contours within the most open of forms. Cleaver & Parker have worked closely on numerous projects, notably within the nonpareil full~improvising trio, Farmers By Nature, together with Craig Taborn. William Parker is in vibrant grandmaster blossom here on double bass — in both pizzicato & bow~as~prism modes. ∫ Regarding the album title, Parker offers: “Mayan Space Station is a conduit for peace and inspiration. It is an oasis where sound and silence navigators stop for sustenance to replenish their imaginations. It is a fictional reality that is important to the myth structure of the Tone World chronicle. In a way, musicians, and definitely these particular musicians, Ava Mendoza and Gerald Cleaver, belong to the blood line of sonic travelers who, as Sun Ra described it, ‘travel the space ways.’ Re~inventing the process, allowing music to flow through their instruments.”
AllMusic Review by Thom Jurek⌊15 July 2021⌋Score: ★★★★ ∫ Over his prolific, five~plus~decade career, bassist and composer William Parker’s inexhaustible willingness to collaborate and experiment has led him to work with hundreds of instrumentalists, singers, poets, dancers, and painters, but rarely guitarists. Mayan Space Station is his first time leading a guitar~based power trio with drummer Gerald Cleaver and Brooklyn~based electric guitarist Ava Mendoza (a member of Unnatural Ways). The six selections here were all composed by the bassist for this group. It’s one of two Parker~led outings issued simultaneously on Aum Fidelity; the other is Painters Winter, with saxophonist Daniel Carter and drummer Hamid Drake, an overdue sequel of sorts to Painter’s Spring from 2000. ∫ “Tabasco” commences with Cleaver and Parker in a hard~grooving circular vamp. Mendoza weaves a knotty head through their dancing rhythms. Her solo enfolds their vamps then spirals as she weaves a knotty head through their dancing rhythms then spirals off into edgy fills, feedback, and spiky post~rock riffs while the rhythm section begins swinging behind her. Her playing here is highly original, yet offers trace echoes of Monette Sudler’s arpeggiated technique during the 1970s and Sonny Sharrock’s late union of force, noise, and transcendent melody. “Rocas Rojas” ’ commences with Cleaver and Parker delivering a bouncy, syncopated Latin groove. Mendoza starts shading in the blues, then lifts off with skeins of distorted notes, reaching for outside. She bounces off her bandmates before leading them onto and over the improv ledge. “Domingo” ’s unorthodox walking bass vamp is engaged immediately by Mendoza’s modal shards as Cleaver weds Afro~Latin sources to post~bop and spidery funk. Parker plucks, pushes, and drives the expanding groove as a gateway for Mendoza’s blues~drenched psychedelic solo, then bridges the trio’s incendiary dialogue. On the title track, the drummer criss~crosses carnival rhythms from Brazil, Mexico, the Caribbean, and New Orleans. Parker slaps at his walking bass in a four~note vamp. Mendoza enters with spiky notes, signaling the trio’s entry into abstraction. Using digital delay as a rhythmic device, she expands the pulse, then evades the frame entirely. She adds sharp, Robert Fripp~esque single lines and angular chords as the trio ascends in a glorious, explosive free~for~all fall. “Canyons of Light” is easily the most open piece here. Parker plays arco throughout, creating textures and pulses as Cleaver dances around his cymbals and hi~hat. Mendoza uses her sustain pedal on juicy, fragmented chords before the bassist takes a long, frenetic, bowed solo, creating a sonic backdrop for his bandmates to play off in ferocious call~and~response free interplay. Closer “The Wall Falls Down” is “Canyons” mirror image, a kinetic exercise in hard~swinging, fingerpopping post~bop. Mendoza’s rockist solo channels the Amboy Dukes’ version of “Baby Please Don’t Go” before flying off into flamenco asides while referencing Jimmy Page, Bern Nix, and Les Paul as the rhythm section pushes her on. Mayan Space Station is a deeply focused, inspired set that uses familiar sounds, styles, and sources in building an engine for wide~ranging exploration resulting from uncommonly intimate musical communication. ∫ https://www.allmusic.com/album/mayan-space-station-mw0003510856 Interview by Filipe Freitas: https://jazztrail.net/interviews/william-parker-interview-nyc Label: https://aumfidelity.com/products/william-parker-mayan-space-station BC: https://williamparker.bandcamp.com/album/mayan-space-station FB: https://www.facebook.com/william.parker.9469
∫ Jednou v noci v roce 1999 stál William Parker u vchodu do East Village v St. Nicholas of Myra. Jeho manželka, tanečnice Patricia Parker, se vynořila ze suterénu kostela, kde se konal ten rok oslavovaný avantgardní Vision Festival, a nebyla šťastná. Manžel / hudebník vyřešil hlavní námitku frustrace manželky / festivalového producenta, když ho informovala, že možná bude muset hrát celý koncert sám, pokud některý z dalších hudebníků brzy neukáže svojí tvář. Nonšalantně ji ujistil, že může hrát všech pět setů sám a další den se bude moci vrátit. Zdá se vám tato historka zajímavá? Přední baskytarista moderního free jazzu a jeden z hlavních katalyzátorů newyorské scény. Participoval na 91 albech. Na hudební scénu vstoupil v roce 1971. Během své plodné albové kariéry více než 42 let od roku 1979 basista a skladatel William Parker díky své nevyčerpatelné ochotě spolupracovat a experimentovat pracoval se stovkami instrumentalistů, zpěváků, básníků, tanečníků a malířů, ale jen zřídka s kytaristy. „Mayan Space Station“ poprvé vede kytarové silové trio s bubeníkem Geraldem Cleaverem a brooklynskou elektrickou kytaristkou Avou Mendozou (členkou Unnatural Ways / http://avamendozamusic.com/). Těchto šest výběrů nynějšího alba složil basista této skupiny. Je to jeden ze dvou Parkerových výletů vydaných současně na Aum Fidelity; druhým je Painters Winter (z ledna 2020) se saxofonistou Danielem Carterem (Clarinet, Flute, Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor), Trumpet) a bubeníkem Hamidem Drakeem, jakési opožděné pokračování Painter’s Spring (June 20, 2000).
∫ „[Drakeovo] zvládnutí pulzního bubnování, texturního sochařství, technik ručního bubnu, reggae, funku a garážového punku z něj dělá jednoho z nejjasnějších a jazykově nejpokročilejších hudebníků na okruhu ... Cecil Taylor kdysi tvrdil, že každý muž je jeho vlastní akademií. V tom případě je Drake jistě jednou z tajemných škol.“
∫ „William Parker, bývalý sideman Cecila Taylora, projevuje nebojácnost, kontrabasovou virtuozitu a tvrdou lyriku, díky níž se možná stal nejbližším basistou / skladatelem, který je ekvivalentem zesnulého Charlese Minguse.“ — ©John Fordham, The Guardian
Recording date: February, 2020
Recording Location: Park West Studios, Brooklyn
Album release: July 23, 2021
Record Label: Aum Fidelity
Duration: 58:13
Tracks:
1. Tobasco 5:39
2. Rocas Rojas 6:44
3. Domingo 7:10
4. Mayan Space Station 14:43
5. Canyons of Light 10:06
6. The Wall Falls Down 13:51
Credits:
★ Gerald Cleaver Drums
★ Jim Clouse Engineer, Mastering, Mixing
★ William Maza Artwork, Design
★ Ava Mendoza Guitar (Electric)
★ William Parker Bass, Composer, Liner Notes, Producer
★ Justina Villanueva Photography
★ Erich Werkman Photography
★ Anna Yatskevich Photography
∫ All compositions by William Parker © Centering Music (BMI)
∫ Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Jim Clouse, February 2020 at Park West Studios, Brooklyn
∫ Produced by William Parker & Steven Joerg
∫ Art & Design by William Mazza Studio
Description:
∫ Following the release of the monumental Migration of Silence Into and Out of The Tone World: Volumes 1~10 earlier this year, composer, multi~instrumentalist, poet, griot, improviser and community leader William Parker will release a pair of brand new trio albums which further expound on a profound and limitless vision. One of the iconic and enduring music leaders to emerge in the world over the last half century, William Parker continues to raise the bar higher. AUM Fidelity is deeply honored & incredibly stoked (!) to present this astonishing new work to you.
∫ Mayan Space Station is his first electric guitar trio album, and features Ava Mendoza — electric guitar, William Parker — bass, and Gerald Cleaver — drums. Cosmic multi~hued blues, perfect for space and time travel. The unparalleled rhythmic firmament created by Parker & Cleaver is matched by Mendoza in full flight. All of the promise imagined by a trio recording of these musicians with compositions by Parker is delivered to the fullest.
∫ William Parker first worked with Ms. Mendoza on a project entitled Thunder and Flowers for his July 2019 residency at The Stone in NYC. Her prodigious talents have illuminated many projects and recordings as both leader and collaborator over the past decade. As is certainly clear here, she is committed to bringing expressivity, energy and a wide sonic range to the music. Gerald Cleaver is an exceptionally gifted poet of drum sound who can play in the deepest of pockets and manifest all manner of sound to perfectly fit contours within the most open of forms. Cleaver & Parker have worked closely on numerous projects, notably within the nonpareil full~improvising trio, Farmers By Nature, together with Craig Taborn. William Parker is in vibrant grandmaster blossom here on double bass — in both pizzicato & bow~as~prism modes.
∫ Regarding the album title, Parker offers: “Mayan Space Station is a conduit for peace and inspiration. It is an oasis where sound and silence navigators stop for sustenance to replenish their imaginations. It is a fictional reality that is important to the myth structure of the Tone World chronicle. In a way, musicians, and definitely these particular musicians, Ava Mendoza and Gerald Cleaver, belong to the blood line of sonic travelers who, as Sun Ra described it, ‘travel the space ways.’ Re~inventing the process, allowing music to flow through their instruments.”
AllMusic Review by Thom Jurek ⌊15 July 2021⌋ Score: ★★★★
∫ Over his prolific, five~plus~decade career, bassist and composer William Parker’s inexhaustible willingness to collaborate and experiment has led him to work with hundreds of instrumentalists, singers, poets, dancers, and painters, but rarely guitarists. Mayan Space Station is his first time leading a guitar~based power trio with drummer Gerald Cleaver and Brooklyn~based electric guitarist Ava Mendoza (a member of Unnatural Ways). The six selections here were all composed by the bassist for this group. It’s one of two Parker~led outings issued simultaneously on Aum Fidelity; the other is Painters Winter, with saxophonist Daniel Carter and drummer Hamid Drake, an overdue sequel of sorts to Painter’s Spring from 2000.
∫ “Tabasco” commences with Cleaver and Parker in a hard~grooving circular vamp. Mendoza weaves a knotty head through their dancing rhythms. Her solo enfolds their vamps then spirals as she weaves a knotty head through their dancing rhythms then spirals off into edgy fills, feedback, and spiky post~rock riffs while the rhythm section begins swinging behind her. Her playing here is highly original, yet offers trace echoes of Monette Sudler’s arpeggiated technique during the 1970s and Sonny Sharrock’s late union of force, noise, and transcendent melody. “Rocas Rojas” ’ commences with Cleaver and Parker delivering a bouncy, syncopated Latin groove. Mendoza starts shading in the blues, then lifts off with skeins of distorted notes, reaching for outside. She bounces off her bandmates before leading them onto and over the improv ledge. “Domingo” ’s unorthodox walking bass vamp is engaged immediately by Mendoza’s modal shards as Cleaver weds Afro~Latin sources to post~bop and spidery funk. Parker plucks, pushes, and drives the expanding groove as a gateway for Mendoza’s blues~drenched psychedelic solo, then bridges the trio’s incendiary dialogue. On the title track, the drummer criss~crosses carnival rhythms from Brazil, Mexico, the Caribbean, and New Orleans. Parker slaps at his walking bass in a four~note vamp. Mendoza enters with spiky notes, signaling the trio’s entry into abstraction. Using digital delay as a rhythmic device, she expands the pulse, then evades the frame entirely. She adds sharp, Robert Fripp~esque single lines and angular chords as the trio ascends in a glorious, explosive free~for~all fall. “Canyons of Light” is easily the most open piece here. Parker plays arco throughout, creating textures and pulses as Cleaver dances around his cymbals and hi~hat. Mendoza uses her sustain pedal on juicy, fragmented chords before the bassist takes a long, frenetic, bowed solo, creating a sonic backdrop for his bandmates to play off in ferocious call~and~response free interplay. Closer “The Wall Falls Down” is “Canyons” mirror image, a kinetic exercise in hard~swinging, fingerpopping post~bop. Mendoza’s rockist solo channels the Amboy Dukes’ version of “Baby Please Don’t Go” before flying off into flamenco asides while referencing Jimmy Page, Bern Nix, and Les Paul as the rhythm section pushes her on. Mayan Space Station is a deeply focused, inspired set that uses familiar sounds, styles, and sources in building an engine for wide~ranging exploration resulting from uncommonly intimate musical communication.
∫ https://www.allmusic.com/album/mayan-space-station-mw0003510856
Interview by Filipe Freitas: https://jazztrail.net/interviews/william-parker-interview-nyc
Label: https://aumfidelity.com/products/william-parker-mayan-space-station
BC: https://williamparker.bandcamp.com/album/mayan-space-station
FB: https://www.facebook.com/william.parker.9469