Article Title: Banging, Stroking, Parker Dominates Show

Edition: December 2001
Category: Horizons
Author: Geoff Cowart
Article:

On the evening of November 18, the Onion River Arts Council presented poet David Budbill and bassist William Parker in concert. Appropriately enough, the venue was a church that seemed to buzz expectantly as if the nighttime congregation was due for a heavenly revelation.

Despite Budbill's status as the quasi official poet laureate of Vermont, the night clearly belonged to Parker.

Working everything from his luscious bass to the lid of a soup pot, the daring but thoroughly integrated Parker took the crowd on a wild ride of rhythms and energy. At times it seemed that Budbill realized he was a passenger and quickly took to accentuating Parker's outpourings.

Parker (who leads his own sextet and has played with luminaries such as David S. Ware and Peter Brotzmann) clearly seemed comfortable with the semi-scripted improvisation. Parker's dominance on bass was quickly established as the strings were probed for his trademark warm and booming sounds. Although Parker started the night playing bass, it didn't constrain him from switching to a bamboo flute, hand drum, his voice, or soup-pot lid.

Budbill's contribution, however, seemed to speak solely from his own perspective and frequently returned to the subject of the World Trade Center attacks. Not only did his word-images seem forced and trite, they were supported only by Parker's playing. What Budbill did have to offer was a solemn approach to spiritual texts combined with the gentle ringing of bells and bowls. His atmospheric creations allowed the ever-expressive Parker to dance.

Parker's most breathtaking display was a lengthy bass solo using a modified bow, that ranged from an upper-register frenzy to a throbbing grunt. It was an athletic display, rocking bow and bass, to create tonal patterns prompting a still but conscious spectator. Although it was Parker's most "out there" moment, it seemed to sum up the mission and purpose of the eveningwithout words.

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