SEARCH RESULTS FOR: Horatio Parker
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1863–1919 American composer Parker studied in Boston with the European-trained George Chadwick and in Munich with Josef Rheinberger, and later taught in New York and Yale, where his students included Charles Ives (1874–1954) and Roger Sessions (1896–1985). As a virtuoso organist he held a prestigious post at Trinity Church, Boston, and founded and conducted the New Hampshire ...

Source: Classical Music Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

Charlie Parker, also known as ‘Yardbird’ or ‘Bird’, was a largely self-taught musical genius with acute self-destructive tendencies. His career exemplified both the creative power and the destructive social ethos of bebop. His music burned as brightly as any in jazz, but his lifestyle sent out the wrong message to too many young musicians, despite his frequent warnings ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel

(Harmonica, vocals, 1932–71) Herman Parker Jr. was born in Bobo, Mississippi and worked with Howlin’ Wolf as early as 1949 in West Memphis. Parker was associated with B.B. King, Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace in the Memphis scene of the early 1950s. He recorded for Sun with his own group, the Blue Flames, in ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel

(Tenor and soprano saxophones, b. 1944) Bristol-born Evan Parker has been an important experimentalist in the UK and continental Europe for 40 years with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Music Improvisation Company, London Jazz Composer’s Orchestra, Brotherhood of Breath, Dutch-based ICP and Globe Unity Orchestra. His mastery of circular breathing and alternate fingerings have resulted in inimitable ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel

(Bass, b. 1952) William Parker apprenticed with major bassists in New York City’s Jazzmobile programme, studied privately with Jimmy Garrison and Wilber Ware, and performed with Cecil Taylor’s group at the age of 21. He has anchored many ensembles, including the David S. Ware Quartet. His prodigious work ethic, instrumental steadiness, dependability and selflessness have ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel

1874–1954 American composer Ives was drawn to music largely by the example of his father George, who had been a bandsman in the American Civil War and who encouraged his son in such experiments as playing a tune in one key and its accompaniment in another. Ives studied with the conservative composer Horatio Parker (1863–1919), but soon turned to his ...

Source: Classical Music Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

(Ig-nat’-si Pa-de-ref’-ske) 1860–1941 Polish pianist and composer Paderewski achieved fame as a virtuoso pianist following studies in Vienna with Theodor Leschetizky (1830–1915), and a triumphant Paris debut (1888). During his 50-year career he toured worldwide to immense acclaim. In 1909 he was appointed director of the Warsaw Academy. A fervent patriot and among the highest-paid artists, he gave much financial support ...

Source: Classical Music Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

The Enlightenment was a natural, if late, consequence of the sixteenth-century Renaissance and Reformation. Also known as the Age of Reason, the Enlightenment advanced to be recognized in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries and brought with it new, controversial beliefs that upended the absolutisms on which European society had long been based. Absolute monarchy, ...

Source: Definitive Opera Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

The history of musical instruments has always been very closely linked to the history of music itself. New musical styles often come about because new instruments become available, or improvements to existing ones are made. Improvements to the design of the piano in the 1770s, for instance, led to its adoption by composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ...

Source: The Illustrated Complete Musical Instruments Handbook, general editor Lucien Jenkins

The saxophone occupies an unusual position in that it is a bespoke instrument that has barely changed since its creation. Although it does not occupy the position in the orchestra its creator had envisaged, Adolphe Sax’s invention has played a central part in music ever since it burst on to the scene in the 1840s. Sax’s father, Charles, ...

Source: The Illustrated Complete Musical Instruments Handbook, general editor Lucien Jenkins

Like a great river that runs endlessly, forming numerous tributary streams as it flows, jazz continues to evolve over time. And no matter how far the River Jazz may flow from its source – whether through stylistic evolution or technological innovation – the essential spirit of the music remains intact. Granted, the more academic and esoteric extrapolations of ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music, general editor Paul Du Noyer

Master of guitar-generated sound effects, Adrian Belew (b. 1949) makes his Parker Deluxe guitar not only sing but also scream, squawk, roar, tweet and talk in elephant tongue. Best known for his time in King Crimson during the early Eighties as comic foil to Robert Fripp’s relatively nerdy straight man, Belew is one of the most ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin

(Guitar, 1923–2004) Barney Kessel took inspiration from his fellow Oklahoman, guitarist Charlie Christian, and developed an electric-guitar style that straddled swing and bop in effective fashion. He was featured in the Oscar-nominated short film Jammin’ The Blues (1944), and recorded with Charlie Parker in 1947. A stint with the Oscar Peterson Trio in 1952–53 led to recordings as ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel

(Drums, 1910–51) Catlett was one of the most well-respected and versatile jazz drummers of the 1930s and 1940s. He played in a variety of ensembles under such luminaries as Benny Carter, Fletcher Henderson, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington, before going on to join Louis Armstrong’s All-Stars. Catlett’s remarkable adaptability enabled him to play in a wide range ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel

(Vocals, b. 1930) Robert Calvin Brooks was born in Rosemark, Tennessee. He began recording in 1951 and was associated with B.B. King, Little Junior Parker, Johnny Ace and others in Memphis. A suave, deep-voiced blues romantic, he signed with Duke Records in 1952 and was one of the most consistent hitmakers in the soul ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
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