January 13, 2027
William Parker’s
75th birthday celebration

ABOUT

Born in the Bronx and shaped by the Lower East Side of the early 1970s, William Parker has spent five decades building communal infrastructure in New York, from his years in bands led by Cecil Taylor and David S. Ware to being an integral presence over the last 40 years as a teacher and mentor to the creative music communities of Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. The Village Voice once called him “the most consistently brilliant free-jazz bassist of all time,” and his widely acclaimed, far-ranging recorded output as a leader now runs past 40 albums for AUM Fidelity and his own Centering Records alone. For the kick-off birthday celebration, Parker appears in trio with longtime friend and drummer Hamid Drake and multi-instrumentalist SHABAKA; Black Cherry, his percussion and African-instruments duo with Drake is here expanded with the presence of Patricia Nicholson Parker, Val Jeanty and Shahzad Ismaily. In between the two, we feature the duo of trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and pianist Sylvie Courvoisier. Smith will give the world premiere of a brand new composition for his momentous occasion. Says Parker, “This year at the Winter Jazzfest, I'm looking forward to celebrating my 75th year by bringing different aspects of sound, movement, text, historical recollection, and future exploration with old and new creative friends.” 

William Parker also appears at Winter Jazzfest with Mayan Space Station, in a duo with Marc Ribot, and leading our special tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., From The Mountaintop on Monday January 18th.