Ken Aldcroft and William Parker on September 10

 IMOO is very proud to present Ken Aldcroft and William Parker

Tuesday, September 10
Pressed (750 Gladstone)
Set 1: 8pm
Set 2: 9:15pm
$15/set

Some of you may remember Ken Aldcroft from the great Hat and Beard show This past October.  William Parker is, of course, one of the most important improvising musicians of a generation.

The way they answer one another and add shades or colors to each other’s lines is quite special. Like telepathic communication. The dialogue is easy to follow and unfolds in a most organic way.
Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery

Aldcroft and Parker are brilliant masters of their art form — one may not be able to whistle along with the “tunes” but it is the collective sounds of their “in the moment” music creations that resonate so impeccably.
Tiina Kiik, The Whole Note

Guitarist Ken Aldcroft and bassist William Parker began performing together in January 2007 whenWilliam participated in the AIMToronto Interface Series.  Since this first meeting the duo have developed a strong musical bond through ongoing performances at the Downtown Music Gallery in New York.  In 2011 they released their debut CD, “One Sunday” (TRP‐DS01‐014).

With a rigorous and pan‐idiomatic approach to both composition and improvisation, guitarist Ken Aldcroft is a key practitioner in Toronto’s dynamic creative music scene.  After establishing himself as a compelling new voice in the jazz scene of his hometown, Vancouver, Ken moved to Toronto in 2001 and quickly made connections with like‐minded collaborators.  Since then, his own multifaceted development as an improvising guitarist, bandleader, composer, producer, and organizer has corresponded with the re‐emergence of Toronto as an important centre for creative improvised music‐making.

As a guitarist, Ken extends the jazz tradition that lies at the core of his music education. Through his commitment to a wide‐open field of musical influence and to forging new collaborative ties, Ken has systematically sought new and challenging contexts in which to improvise.  As a result, his playing reflects the breadth of his interests, from the extended bebop of a jazz repertory project like Hat and Beard to the language free improvisation that he explores in collective improvisation settings such as with the Ken Aldcroft/William Parker duo.  This variety comes into its fullest view with Ken’s two solo recordings; “Home: Solo Guitar Compositions” and “Vocabulary: Solo Guitar Improvisations”, both are passionate musical reflections on his ongoing development as an improvising guitarist.

William Parker  is a master musician, improviser, and composer. He plays the bass, shakuhachi, double reeds, tuba, donso ngoni and gembri. He was born in 1952 in the Bronx, New York. He studied bass with Richard Davis, Art Davis, Milt Hinton, Wilber Ware, and Jimmy Garrison.  He entered the music scene in 1971 playing at Studio We, Studio Rivbea, Hilly’s on The Bowery and The Baby Grand, playing with many musicians on the avant‐garde school Bill Dixon, Sunny Murray, Charles Tyler, Billy Higgins, Charles Brackeem, Alan Silva, Frank Wright, Frank Lowe, Rashid Ali, Donald Ayler, Don Cherry, Cecil Taylor, Jimmy Lyons, Milford Graves and with traditionalists like Walter Bishop, Sr. and Maxine Sullivan.

Early projects with dancer and choreographer Patricia Nicholson created a huge repertoire of composed music for multiple ensembles ranging from solo works to big band projects. Parker played in the Cecil Taylor unit from 1980 through 1991.  He also developed a strong relationship with the European Improvised Music scene playing with musicians such as Peter Kowald, Peter Brotzmann, Han Bennink, Tony Oxley, Derek Bailey, Louis Sclavis, and Louis Moholo.  He began recording in 1994 and leading his own bands on a regular basis founding two ensembles, In Order To Survive, and The Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra.  In 2001, Parker released O’Neal’s Porch, which marked a turn toward a more universal sound working with drummer Hamid Drake.  The Raining on the Moon Quintet followed, adding vocalist Leena Conquest and the Quartet from O’Neal’s Porch. Most notable among many recent projects is the Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield.

He has taught at Bennington College, NYU, The New England Conservatory of Music, Cal Arts, New School University and Rotterdam Conservatory of Music.  He has also taught music workshops throughout the world including Paris, Berlin and Tokyo and the Lower East Side.  Parker is also a theorist and author of several books including the Sound Journal, Document Humanum, Music and the Shadow People and The Mayor of Punkville.