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Evan Parker

Evan Parker Biography

Saxophone player

Evan Parker, born on April 5, 1944, is an outstanding saxophone player. His musical career began in the 1960s, and he is renowned for his unique playing style and contributions to jazz.

Evan Parker, born on April 5, 1944, is an outstanding saxophone player. His musical career began in the 1960s, and he is renowned for his unique playing style and contributions to jazz.

Related Quotes

“Improvisation is a compositional method.”

Method Improvisation

Author:Evan Parker

“In my mind these two instruments speak to me in different ways, and the solo stuff seems to be easier to do on the soprano.”

Way Mind Two Different Seems Speak Stuff Easier Instruments Different Ways Solo Sopranos

Author:Evan Parker

“Of course I knew the work of Roland Kirk and Harry Carney and the specific uses they would make of circular breathing, so I knew it was physically possible.”

Use Courses Breathing Kirk

Author:Evan Parker

“I didn't get where I am today by being timid, young man.”

Men Today Young Young Man

Author:Evan Parker

“I think the whole question of meaning in music is difficult enough even if you hear me playing live right now in the same room! What I mean and what you take from it may be two quite different things anyway.”

Ifs Thinking May Mean Two Different Enough Whole Difficult Rooms Music Right Now Music Is Jazz Different Things Jazz Music

Author:Evan Parker

“A kind of synthesis, but with some elements that perhaps you wouldn't have expected in advance. I always like that when that happens, when something comes that is more than the sum of the parts.”

Kind Happens Elements Expected Synthesis

Author:Evan Parker

“Actually John, Paul Rutherford, and Trevor Watts, and several other rather well known English jazz musicians had got their training by joining the Air Force, which was a pretty standard way for people to get some kind of musical education in those days.”

People Way Wells Kind Force Known Air Musician Training Standards Jazz Musical Well Known Jazz Music Joining Air Force Jazz Musician John Paul Musical Education

Author:Evan Parker

“Certain kinds of speed, flow, intensity, density of attacks, density of interaction... Music that concentrates on those qualities is, I think, easier achieved by free improvisation between people sharing a common attitude, a common language.”

People Thinking Kind Certain Language Common Attitude Quality Easier Flow Speed Intensity Interaction Improvisation Density Common Language

Author:Evan Parker

“I think the solo playing, the decision to start playing solo, came out of having discovered what lay behind the doors that that technique opened for me.”

Thinking Decision Behinds Doors Lays Technique Solo

Author:Evan Parker

“I think the voice does that perfectly adequately without being imitated by other instruments.”

Thinking Doe Voice Instruments

Author:Evan Parker

“I'd met Roscoe in Europe quite a few times over the years, and we'd say hi and so on, but this was the first time we'd actually played together.”

Years Firsts Together Mets First Time Europe

Author:Evan Parker

“I've been to the studio several times, and it's not that I'm not happy with what I've got, but each time I come away, I feel that I've learned something that I want to work on.”

Want Feels Studios I've Learned Not Happy

Author:Evan Parker

“If I think about the way I was drawn into the music, it was much more by recordings than by live performances.”

Ifs Thinking Way Performances Live Performance

Author:Evan Parker

“I've never been one that thinks that the function of an instrument is to approach the purity of voice or the structure of a beautifully sung line.”

Thinking Voice Lines Approach Function Instruments Structure Purity

Author:Evan Parker

“In a certain sense, aspects of my solo playing were developed in order to test the theory about how long particular elements could be, as parts of so-called free improvisations.”

Long Certain Order Particular Theory Elements Aspect Tests Solo Improvisation

Author:Evan Parker

“Of course when people are as talented as Jim O'Rourke or Gene Coleman, pretty soon you know that they're going to be part of the bigger scene anyway.”

People Knows Courses Scene Bigger Genes

Author:Evan Parker

“So I'm looking to the saxophone as a resource which has its own unique set of possibilities. I'm looking to exploit them and develop them and have the fullest range of possibilities of the saxophone be known.”

Known Possibility Unique Resources Range Exploits Saxophone

Author:Evan Parker

“So in the sense that we were all dealing with that freer approach, yes, it was certainly one of the first contacts, perhaps the first contact, when Peter came that summer. So it's a very pivotal moment that is documented there.”

Firsts Moments Approach Summer Contact Peter Pivotal First Contact Pivotal Moments

Author:Evan Parker

“So what starts is ad hoc and you never know where it's going to lead, so it's important to keep an open mind about those things.”

Knows Mind Important Ads Open Mind Keep An Open Mind

Author:Evan Parker

“The argument we always used to use was that keeping records in the catalog was good for people that were coming new to the music, but I think that was talking over a ten year or fifteen year time span.”

People Thinking Years Use Used Talking Records Ten Argument Fifteen Fifteen Years

Author:Evan Parker

“There are many of these apparent philosophical paradoxes or contradictions which don't concern me anymore.”

Concern Philosophical Contradiction Paradox

Author:Evan Parker

“Those early steps are very important in understanding the evolution. But in themselves, maybe now you need the later records to understand the significance of the earlier records!”

Needs Important Understanding Steps Records Evolution Significance

Author:Evan Parker

“There's an institution here called the National Sound Archive, and there's a character who works there, Paul Wilson. He takes a very special interest in the history of the music and advised Martin Davidson of the existence of these tapes.”

Character Sound Interest Existence Special Institutions Tape Special Interests Wilson Archives

Author:Evan Parker

“To speak about notation as the only way that you can guarantee structure of course is already very suspect.”

Way Courses Speak Structure Guarantees Suspects

Author:Evan Parker

“When you add a period of 25 years between the playing and the listening, then the whole question of meaning gets very complicated.”

Years Whole Listening Periods Add Complicated

Author:Evan Parker

“We all listened to a lot of recorded music, especially American jazz, modern jazz, and that's where our studies were and our inspiration came from.”

Inspiration Study Modern Jazz Recorded Music

Author:Evan Parker

“You know, the whole philosophy of ad hoc combinations has its strengths and its weaknesses.”

Knows Philosophy Whole Weakness Combination Ads

Author:Evan Parker

“My roots are in my record player.”

Records Player Roots Record Players

Author:Evan Parker

“Remarkable only the very best arrangers can get a sound like that from four horns”

Sound Four Remarkable Horns

Author:Evan Parker

About the Author

Born: April 5, 1944
Known for: Saxophone player
Quotes: 29

Related Topics

Thinking People Way Courses Improvisation Instruments Jazz Kind Knows Records

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