See all Grant & Fellowship Recipients

William Parker

Jazz Bassist, Improviser, & Composer

William Parker

Recipient Information

Location

New York, New York

Medium

Bass

Project Title

A Word is a Sound

Year of Award

2020

Grant or Fellowship

Jazz Road Tours Grant

Grant Amount

$10,750

Performances

About the Artist

William Parker is a bassist, improviser, composer, writer, and educator from New York City, heralded by The Village Voice as, “the most consistently brilliant free jazz bassist of all time.”  

In addition to recording over 150 albums, he has published six books and taught and mentored hundreds of young musicians and artists.

Parker’s current bands include the Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra, In Order to Survive, Raining on the Moon, Stan’s Hat Flapping in the Wind, and the Cosmic Mountain Quartet with Hamid Drake, Kidd Jordan, and Cooper-Moore. Throughout his career he has performed with Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry, Milford Graves, and David S. Ware, among others.