[AUM080–87]

Original issue of Wood Flute Songs was a deluxe 8CD Box Set. Comprised of all previously unreleased multi-track concert recordings featuring primo performances of original repertoire+ and three albums of wholly new conceptions/compositions, it was and is a monumental work by one of the greatest jazz (or any other genre) artists of all time. Nine hours of exceptional music by an exceptional bassist / composer / bandleader performed by one of his premier bands in both foundational and expanded forms. Released November 2013 in a limited physical edition of 2000.

May 2018: this total work was made available as a full-resolution / lossless download for the first time, exclusively here on bandcamp. Download from bandcamp includes an extensive 26-page PDF booklet with all artwork / liner notes / imagery / complete credits which accompanied original edition 8CD Box Set.

"A magnificent document that captures one of jazz's greatest, most prolific and most versatile bandleaders at the height of his powers, demonstrating a stunning range of creativity with a superb cast of musicians." –JazzTimes (Editor's Pick)

"It's all utterly indispensable" –Jazzwise (UK)

#1 Archive Release of The Year –The Wire


William Parker Quartet (featured throughout)
[One] : Live at Yoshi’s, Oakland, 2006 (both full sets)
[Two] : Live in Houston, TX, 2007 (both full sets)
William Parker: bass+
Hamid Drake: drums
Rob Brown: alto sax
Lewis Barnes: trumpet

William Parker Septet
[Three] : Light Cottage Draped In A Curtain of Blues
(Vision Festival XIV, NYC, 2009)
+plus+
Billy Bang: violin
Bobby Bradford: cornet
James Spaulding: alto sax

William Parker AMR Ensemble
[Four] : Creation
(AMR Jazz Festival, Geneva, 2011)
+plus+
Massimo Pinca: bass
Aina Rakotobe: baritone sax
Ernie Odoom: voice
Ludovic Lagana: trumpet
Philippe Ehinger: bass clarinet
Maurice Magnoni: soprano sax
Manu Gesseney: alto sax
Stéphane Métraux: tenor sax

William Parker / Raining On The Moon
[Five] : Friday Afternoon
(La Sala Rossa, Montreal, 2012)
+plus+
Leena Conquest: vocals
Eri Yamamoto: piano

William Parker / In Order To Survive
[Six] : Kalaparusha On The Edge Of The Horizon
(Vision Festival 17, NYC, 2012)
+plus+
Cooper-Moore: piano


[5-Star - Masterpiece] "Wood Flute Songs encapsulates the protean spirit of William Parker--bassist, composer-poet, and leader of multiple bands. Totaling some nine hours of multitrack concert recordings, the set attests to Parker's ability to invoke both "the history and the mystery," as he describes the living art of jazz. A majority of Parker's compositions in this box make their debut on record, with some rivaling his previous best. His music breathes the air of Ornette Coleman and Curtis Mayfield, Beat-era Marrakech and the Caribbean; it's free-jazz and medina wails, soul grooves and psychedelic lyricism." –DownBeat

[CHOC Review] "Elegant box .. superb compositions .. magical and fiery .. tender .. this luxurious music emits a beautiful energy full of colors .. powerful and hypnotic grooves .. extraordinary voyage .. This monumental anthology demonstrates with power and conviction the grand fertile vitality of William Parker." –Jazzmagazine (France)

[The Best Jazz of 2013] "William Parker is an astonishing bassist, composer, and bandleader, and this eight-CD boxed set of live concerts is a wonder. It’s riveting, even danceable." –Slate

[5-Stars] "A stellar set of recordings by a non-pareil group of musicians." –Jazz Journal (UK)

[#1 Jazz Top 10 in 2013; Best Box Sets of 2013] "I can't think of a more fulfilling display of invention, democracy and thrills in 2013. Bassist Parker is the brightly burning force in the middle of it all."
–Denver Post

[Best Box Sets of 2013] "Parker is a muscular improviser and inexorable propulsive force, not only underlining his bandmates' melodic shapes but also driving ensembles like a drummer. These are beautiful live recordings." –Chicago Reader

"Few bands in jazz swing harder in more ways than Parker's working band of the past 13 years. .. They don’t just play a tune, they inhabit it, they sink foundations in it and build homes, pave roads, plant crops. The music is their world." –Point of Departure (Lead Review)

"Each of these sets is breathtaking in scope. Wood Flute Songs is of exceptional quality and breadth; it belongs in the collection of every serious fan of jazz." –AllMusic