When it comes to artists following their muse wherever she leads, there’s no one like William Parker. Composer, bassist, poet, producer, and visionary for nearly three-quarters of a century, Parker rose from the incredibly imaginative incubator of New York’s loft scene in the seventies to become an iconoclastic figure who doesn’t so much cross boundaries between jazz, contemporary composition, and song-based forms as simply not acknowledge that those boundaries exist. Parker is a beacon for creative types of any stripe.
Which brings us to Waltz For Gregory, an album that defies easy categorization. The title track, – dedicated, as might be surmised from both the title and the album cover, to late dancer/actor/singer Gregory Hines – moves from a duet between tap dancer Melissa Almaguer and drummer Kevin Murray to poetry recited by Andrea Wolper to bluesy jazz led by bassist Ken Filiano, pianist Bruce Barth, and singer Wolper. (Parker sits this album out as a performer.) The thread of giving love back to one’s inspiration doesn’t so much hold the piece together as constitute the same soul, with each musical diversion part of a singular whole. This is a story important to Parker, and how he tells it matters less than getting his point across.
The rest of the album is driven by a similar impulse: use whatever tools suit the task to push love out in the world, and remind us what our responsibilities to our fellow humans should be. Thus “Chantal,” a tribute to the late film director Chantal Akerman, can show love for its titular subject, while also serve as a criticism of the Christopher Columbus-colored glasses through which our country views the rest of the world. Art Ensemble of Chicago saxophonist Joseph Jarman, also gone from this plane of existence, gets his due from “Joseph (where stones sleep),” via the beautiful agency of Barth, Wolper, and oboeist Jim Ferraiuolo. On the flip side, “Ukraine” uses a perfectly melodic setting to support a blunt message about children suffering through the wars started by adults. As if in answer, “Joy Joy” and “The Golden Light of Love” disperse love through a gospel-inflected broadcast spreader, with swing on the one hand and balladry on the other. Trombonist Steve Swell shines on both. Speaking of Swell, he joins Wolper in leading the final track: the free verse of “Heal the World Trombone,” which calls for his instrument to save us all.
Is Waltz For Gregory jazz, or spoken word with musical accompaniment, or something else? More importantly, should we care what it is, or should we turn our attention to what it tells us? Parker expresses himself directly through his musicians, worried less about the strokes they use to paint his vision than whether or not the colors fit. Boil it down to this: it’s an artistic statement by William Parker, and that’s enough.
