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The Chris Parker Trio: The Chris Parker Trio

By Dan Bilawsky
October 8, 2013
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The Chris Parker Trio: The Chris Parker Trio

Drummer Chris Parker has a to-die-for r��sum��. Over the past four decades, he's worked with everybody from the

Brecker Brothers

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Brecker Brothers to

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis and Laura Nyro to

" data-original-title="" title="">Lou Rawls, taking a genre-blind approach to drumming that continues to serve him well. As a sideman, he's made his mark time and again with a who's who of music giants, but he also knows a thing or two about leading a band.

Parker's trio, with bassist

Ameen Saleem

bass, acoustic
b.1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Ameen Saleem and pianist

Kyoko Oyobe

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Kyoko Oyobe, is one of the most dynamically tuned-in threesomes to put out a record in 2013. While it's true that this is a piano trio, the piano doesn't own the music; this is an evenhanded outing where Saleem's bass plays second fiddle to no one and Parker's drums do plenty of talking.

The music presented herein is all about feel, balance and creative expression. Parker takes a balanced approach to programming, mixing originals and covers in near-equal proportions. One minute, the trio might be tackling a metrically evolving "Love For Sale" and the next minute they might be taking a reflective stance with "Wednesday Morning." Oyobe contributes two originals—"Waltz For Apple" and "We'll Meet Again-Matane"— and Parker puts a few of his own out there, like the Schubert-meets-soca "Impromptoph" and the finely flowing "C'est Possible." Other gems include a reggaeton-inspired rewrite of guitarist

Pat Metheny

guitar
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Pat Metheny's "Song For Bilbao," a funky-as-hell take on

Horace Silver

piano
1928 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Horace Silver's "I Want You," and an album-ending trip through

Ray Charles

piano and vocals
1930 - 2004

" data-original-title="" title="">Ray Charles' "Rockhouse."

Parker's made a career out of playing the right thing for the right situation and that skill carries over into his own work; he never misses a beat here.

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Track Listing

C'est Possible; Love For Sale; Wednesday Morning; Song For Bilbao; Waltz For Apple; We'll Meet Again-Matane; In A Capricornian Way; I Want You; Six Beauties On A Rooftoph; Impromtoph; Rockhouse.

Personnel

Chris Parker: drums; Kyoko Oyobe: piano; Ameen Saleem: bass.

Album information

Title: The Chris Parker Trio | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Gpr Records

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