[CENTERING 1004]
LP - First-time/one-time-only Centering Records LP edition, May 2024.
Mastered for vinyl by Paul Wickliffe // Edition of 500, under 40 remain on hand // Beautiful pressing & printing. Includes full-res download card with 3 additional tracks, as originally issued on CD. Created to be made available in time for the Parker+ family celebration / Organ Quartet performance which took place on May 19, 2024 at An die Musik in Baltimore - it was a joy!
CD - deluxe 6-panel digipak, 2010, long time sold out.
William Parker: bass, compositions
Darryl Foster: tenor sax
Cooper-Moore: organ
Gerald Cleaver: drums
A gorgeous soul-jazz organ quartet album that hearkens to early-mid 60s sessions of similar form; fully revitalized by William Parker's indelible compositions and the generous musical gifts of Darryl Foster, Cooper-Moore and Gerald Cleaver. A straight-up joy.
This very special project was produced by William Parker for his own Centering Records imprint, and dedicated to his Aunt Carrie Lee & Uncle Joe (pictured on album cover). It was created to celebrate the occasion of their 65th wedding anniversary on August 6th, 2010. William really wanted to get this album finished in time to gift to them for that auspicious date, and he did! He wrote seven of the songs in Dec 2009 toward the Jan 2010 recording session; "Ennio's Tag" and "Oasis" were previously written and they fit in perfectly.
The CD was officially released on Centering Records in October 2010. Two pressings were made, and have long sold out. The special one-time only LP pressing was made in time for the family celebration / Organ Quartet performance which took place May 19, 2024 at An Die Musik in Baltimore.
"A family thing. And a lot more than that: one of the great bassist’s most joyful, sunshine-filled records. An album of very accessible creative jazz with irresistible grooves. A federating record. A gem."
–Monsieur Délire blog, François Couture
"Though mysticism and spirituality play a hand in his expansive aesthetic, so do earthly concerns like social justice and family. Uncle Joe's Spirit House is a deeply personal offering from a musician whose role as a scene leader and social activist is as significant as his instrumental prowess." –All About Jazz, Troy Collins
"The music flows like a deep and powerful river."
–Music and More, Tim Niland
"For a guy who’s rightly regarded as a load-bearing column holding up much of the New York avant-jazz scene, bassist William Parker records some remarkably mainstream-friendly albums. Don’t let this disc pass you by. It’s emotional, hard-grooving, occasionally abstract but often raw and bluesy music that shakes hands with the past before striding confidently into the future."
–Burning Ambulance, Phil Freeman
1. Uncle Joe's Spirit House - 09:01
2. Jacques' Groove - 02:13
3. Ennio's Tag - 05:41
4. Document for LJ - 10:44
5. Let's Go Down to the River - 07:19
6. Buddha's Joy - 08:47
7. The Struggle - 08:46
8. Theme for the Tasters - 07:47
9. Oasis - 04:12
LP edition
Side A: Ennio's Tag / Let's Go Down to the River / Buddha's Joy
Side B: Uncle Joe's Spirit House / Jacques' Groove / The Struggle
* and includes download card for all 9 tracks as originally released on CD
All compositions by William Parker, © Centering Music (BMI)
Produced by William Parker for Centering Records
Recorded [January 22, 2010] & Mixed by Keith Parker
at The Gallery Recording Studio, Brooklyn, NY
LP Edition mastered by Paul Wickliffe, Skyline Productions
Family photos courtesy of Uncle Joe,
who is featured on the front cover