[AUM080–87] - Download includes =extensive= PDF booklet feat. total artwork / liner notes / credits / etc which accompanied original 8CD Box Set edition
William Parker Quartet (featured throughout)
[CDs 1 & 2] : Live at Yoshi’s, Oakland, 2006 (both full sets)
[CDs 3 & 4] : Live in Houston, TX, 2007 (both full sets)
William Parker: bass+
Hamid Drake: drums
Rob Brown: alto sax
Lewis Barnes: trumpet
William Parker Septet
[CD 5] : Light Cottage Draped In A Curtain of Blues
(Vision Festival XIV, NYC, 2009)
+plus+
Billy Bang: violin
Bobby Bradford: cornet
James Spaulding: alto sax
William Parker AMR Ensemble
[CD 6] : Creation
(AMR Jazz Festival, Geneva, 2011)
+plus+
Massimo Pinca: bass
Aina Rakotobe: baritone sax
Ernie Odoom: voice
Ludovic Lagana: trumpet
Philippe Ehinger: bass clarinet
Maurice Magnoni: soprano sax
Manu Gesseney: alto sax
Stéphane Métraux: tenor sax
William Parker / Raining On The Moon
[CD 7] : Friday Afternoon
(La Sala Rossa, Montreal, 2012)
+plus+
Leena Conquest: vocals
Eri Yamamoto: piano
William Parker / In Order To Survive
[CD 8] : Kalaparusha On The Edge Of The Horizon
(Vision Festival 17, NYC, 2012)
+plus+
Cooper-Moore: piano
Original issue of Wood Flute Songs was a deluxe 8CD Box Set. Comprised of all previously unreleased multi-track concert recordings featuring primo performances of original repertoire+ and three albums of wholly new conceptions/compositions, it was and is a monumental work by one of the greatest jazz (or any other genre) artists of all time. Nine hours of exceptional music by an exceptional bassist - composer - improviser - bandleader performed by one of his premier bands in both foundational and expanded forms. Released November 2013 in a limited edition of 2000.
May 2018: this total work was made available as full-resolution / lossless download for the first time, exclusively on bandcamp. Download from bandcamp includes an extensive 26-page PDF booklet with all artwork / liner notes / imagery / complete credits which accompanied original edition 8-CD Box Set. In December 2019, each of the 6 component albums (2 doubles) were made available separately on bandccamp.
"A magnificent document that captures one of jazz's greatest, most prolific and most versatile bandleaders at the height of his powers, demonstrating a stunning range of creativity with a superb cast of musicians." –JazzTimes (Editor's Pick)
"It's all utterly indispensable" –Jazzwise (UK)
#1 Archive Release of The Year –The Wire
[5-Star - Masterpiece] "Wood Flute Songs encapsulates the protean spirit of William Parker--bassist, composer-poet, and leader of multiple bands. Totaling some nine hours of multitrack concert recordings, the set attests to Parker's ability to invoke both "the history and the mystery," as he describes the living art of jazz. A majority of Parker's compositions in this box make their debut on record, with some rivaling his previous best. His music breathes the air of Ornette Coleman and Curtis Mayfield, Beat-era Marrakech and the Caribbean; it's free-jazz and medina wails, soul grooves and psychedelic lyricism." –DownBeat
[CHOC Review] "Elegant box .. superb compositions .. magical and fiery .. tender .. this luxurious music emits a beautiful energy full of colors .. powerful and hypnotic grooves .. extraordinary voyage .. This monumental anthology demonstrates with power and conviction the grand fertile vitality of William Parker." –Jazzmagazine (France)
[The Best Jazz of 2013] "William Parker is an astonishing bassist, composer, and bandleader, and this eight-CD boxed set of live concerts is a wonder. It’s riveting, even danceable." –Slate
[5-Stars] "A stellar set of recordings by a non-pareil group of musicians." –Jazz Journal (UK)
[#1 Jazz Top 10 in 2013; Best Box Sets of 2013] "I can't think of a more fulfilling display of invention, democracy and thrills in 2013. Bassist Parker is the brightly burning force in the middle of it all." –Denver Post
[Best Box Sets of 2013] "Parker is a muscular improviser and inexorable propulsive force, not only underlining his bandmates' melodic shapes but also driving ensembles like a drummer. These are beautiful live recordings." –Chicago Reader
"Few bands in jazz swing harder in more ways than Parker's working band of the past 13 years. .. They don’t just play a tune, they inhabit it, they sink foundations in it and build homes, pave roads, plant crops. The music is their world." –Point of Departure
"Each of these sets is breathtaking in scope. Wood Flute Songs is of exceptional quality and breadth; it belongs in the collection of every serious fan of jazz." –AllMusic
Live at Yoshi’s, Oakland, 2006
1. Tears For The Children Of Rwanda [One] - 25:11
2. Petit Oiseau [One] - 15:01
3. Groove #7 [One] - 14:19
4. Corn Meal Dance [One] - 08:50
5. Hopi Spirits [One] - 14:47
6. Wood Flute Song [One] - 21:14
7. Alphaville / Daughter’s Joy / The Golden Bell [One] - 42:36
8. Malachi's Mode [One] - 11:50
9. Moon [One] - 09:01
Live in Houston, TX, 2007
10. Groove #7 [Two] - 11:13
11. Hawaii [Two] - 09:32
12. Broken Roofs / Green Paper [Two] - 12:57
13. Hamid's Groove / Daughter's Joy [Two] - 21:17
14. Malachi's Mode [Two] - 07:00
15. Corn Meal Dance [Two] - 02:54
16. O'Neal's Porch [Two] - 09:51
17. Red Desert [Two] - 09:15
18. Ojibway Song [Two] - 14:31
19. Sunrise In The Tone World [Two] - 06:24
20. The Square Sun [Two] - 07:11
21. Etchings [Two] - 09:39
22. Ascent Of The Big Spirit [Two] - 08:36
Light Cottage Draped In A Curtain of Blues
23. O'Neal's Porch [Three] - 13:41
24. Daughter's Joy [Three] - 11:34
25. Gilmore's Hat [Three] - 07:13
26. Deep Flower / Ascent Of The Big Spirit [Three] - 17:10
27. Wood Flute Song [Three] - 06:13
Creation
28. Psalm For Billy Bang [Four] - 05:58
29. All I Want [Four] - 02:39
30. Earth In Pain [Four] - 19:03
31. Deep Flower [Four] - 22:44
32. Wood Flute Song [Four] - 19:00
33. Chicago [Four] - 09:06
Friday Afternoon
34. 3+3 = Jackie McLean [Five] - 13:31
35. My Name Is Peace [Five] - 13:39
36. Late Man Of This Planet [Five] - 09:02
37. For Abbey Lincoln [Five] - 16:07
38. Boom Boom Bang Bang [Five] - 14:40
39. Sweet Breeze [Five] - 05:05
Kalaparusha On The Edge Of The Horizon
40. Aquixo Waiting At Dark Corridor [Six] - 09:00
41. Falling Promise [Six] - 09:30
42. Slipping Into The Light [Six] - 06:40
43. Shadows Arms Waving [Six] - 15:06
44. Theme For Rondo Hattan [Six] - 16:49
All compositions by William Parker, © Centering Music (BMI)
[except Etchings (21), by Hamid Drake & William Parker]
Produced by William Parker and Steven Joerg
Mixed & Mastered by Petr Cancura
[except 28–33 Mixed by Blaise Favre for RTS]
Full credits included in PDF booklet which accompanies download
Box Set/PDF design by Ming@AUM
Cover art by Lois Eby