The William Parker Sessionography – A Work in Progress by Rick Lopez
The William Parker Sessionography – A Work in Progress by Rick Lopez
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The William Parker Sessionography – A Work in Progress by Rick Lopez

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[CENTERING 1011] - BOOK - 8.5"x11", 482 pages,
370+ illustrations, 3.4 pounds,
Edition of 500.  Total surprise storage space find of the last of these books, unavailable for many years.  Brand new, mint condition & on special offer here direct.  * Also note Special Bundle Offer together with the also scarce Mayor of Punkville book.

Overseas Orders
: Yes, it is expensive to ship this book
Overseas because
it is heavy (1.5kg), and postage costs have increased numerous times since this book was initially offered. These are the last copies and we aim to make having it possible with this reduced price.
 
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15 years in the making. Astonishing, profound, worthy of high honors in the field of such research and any accolades that can be bestowed on such a mighty creation. A labor of both deep love and an exceedingly dedicated nature.

This is not a discography (although a complete-to-publish-date WP discography is a part of it); this is a fully annotated and lavishly illustrated record of every time that William Parker has ever played a gig, with all and every ensemble, as a band member or leader, from 1972 through Vision Festival 2014 when it was first made available.

This is a vast microcosm of one jazz musician that reveals a macrocosm of jazz during the period of time covered – an extensive history of jazz through the work schedule of one profound jazz musician and his affiliations with elemental participants in that history.
 
"An astonishing feat of jazz scholarship that will be regarded as the touchstone for any scholar of Parker's work and the defining era of freedom music he was partly responsible for creating." 
–Edwin Pouncey, The Wire

"An astonishing opus, one of the best of its kind. A handsome volume, well-bound, it is amply illustrated with photographs, illustrations, posters and album covers. This sessionography goes a long way in adding to the understanding of the complex world of William Parker and his wide-ranging art. Lopez has fulfilled the goal that he set out for himself when he started his website (with no intention of having a printed analog): to honor the music."
–Robert Iannapollo, ARSC Journal

"One of the coolest books we've ever seen for any musician, label, or generation." –Dusty Groove


Excerpt from the Introduction, by Ed Hazell:
Compiling a sessionography of the seemingly inexhaustible William Parker calls for a relentless and thorough researcher. Rarely has a musician’s career been so conscientiously documented. Rick Lopez' William Parker Sessionography can take its place among the great discographical classics such as Walter C. Allen’s bio-discography of Fletcher Henderson, Hendersonia; Ben Young’s opus on trumpeter Bill Dixon, Dixonia; and The Coltrane Reference by Lewis Porter, Chris DeVito, David Wild, Yasuhiro Fujioka, and Wolf Schmaler. Like those other encyclopedic compilations of names, locations, dates, and commentary, this one tells a story of an artist and an era as compelling as any novel and more detailed than any biography could aspire to be.

Much like the music itself, this book is an act of devotion, not just to facts but to shared ideals and a shared love of beauty. It was done because it needed to be done.