Errol Parker

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Errol Parker (actually Raphael Schécroun ; born October 30, 1930 in Oran , Algeria , † July 4, 1998 in New York City ) was an American jazz musician ( drummer , pianist, band leader and composer ) from Algeria .

Live and act

Schécroun, who later derived his stage name Errol Parker from his idols Erroll Garner and Charlie Parker , grew up as a Sephardic Jew in North Africa, where he played African drums as a child; the music of his homeland was to be an important aspect in the development of his idiosyncratic musical style. At the age of 14 he came into contact with jazz and self-taught piano, which initially became his main instrument. In 1947 he moved to Paris, where he studied art ( sculpture ) at the École nationale des beaux-arts ; This brought him into contact with the local jazz scene and worked with Kenny Clarke , James Moody and Don Byas , and in 1950 with the guitarist Django Reinhardt , in whose recording sessions in Rome he participated.

He was under the stage name early 1960s Errol Parker successful as organist with commercial music and recorded an album for Brunswick on (Opus); In 1963 he had a hit called Lorre in the style of Erroll Garner, whom he admired. However, a car accident ended his career for the time being and forced him to change the way he played. In 1967 he wrote the film music for Étienne Périers Des garçons et des filles (EP with Decca) (supported by Jean Michel Jarre ). 1967 Duke Ellington became aware of him, who had two of his compositions published in his music publisher; Ellington made him move to New York City , where he had lived since 1968.

During this time of political unrest and the reflection of many Afro-American jazz musicians on their African roots, Parker's interest in his own origins revived; he eventually switched back to drums as his main instrument in the 1980s, as he could not find a drummer for his polyrhythmic experiments. He continued to play the piano, however, by overdubbing on his albums as well as in his solo concerts or his tribute albums to Thelonious Monk (1982) or Billy Strayhorn (1994).

Parker adapted the North African techniques of hand drum playing and replaced the snare drum with a conga ; he also used more tom toms than cymbals . In 1971 he founded his own record label Sahara, on which he published his LPs, and worked in the 1970s with his formation Errol Parker Experience, which he expanded into a tentet in 1983 while teaching at the Williamsburg Music Center . In the band played u. a. Steve Coleman , Philip Harper , Donald Harrison , Graham Haynes , Byard Lancaster , Wallace Roney , Kevin and Robin Eubanks .

Parker's autobiography, A Flat Tire on My Ass, was published in 1995 by Cadence Jazz Books. The pianist Elodie Lauten (* 1950) is his daughter.

Discographic notes

  • Duo (with Kenny Clarke) (Ricordi (unissued), 1958)
  • Trio (with Georges Luca and Kenny Clarke) (Ricordi, 1960)
  • Solo Concert (Sahara, 1979)
  • Doodles (Sahara, 1979)
  • Live at the Wollman Auditorium (Sahara, 1985)
  • Compelling Forces (Cadence, 1985) solo
  • A Night in Tunisia (Sahara, 1991)
  • Remembering Billy Strayhorn (Sahara, 1994)

Web links

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Remarks

  1. ↑ also Raph and Ralph isolated Schécroun
personal data
SURNAME Parker, Errol
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schécroun, Raphael (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz musician
DATE OF BIRTH October 30, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Oran , Algeria
DATE OF DEATH 4th July 1998
Place of death New York City