Knocky Parker

Knocky Parker (actually John William Parker II , * 8. August 1918 in Palmer (Texas) ; † 3. September 1986 in Los Angeles ) was an American jazz - pianist of ragtime and Dixieland jazz and university teachers.

Knocky Parker played in western swing bands such as The Wanderers (1935) and the Light Crust Doughboys (1937-39) from the mid-1930s before doing his military service during World War II. After the war, he worked with Zutty Singleton , Johnny Wiggs and Albert Nicholas , then earned a PhD in English and taught at Kentucky Wesleyan College and the University of South Florida . He also played a. a. with Doc Evans , Omer Simeon and Tony Parenti and as a soloist. In the early 1960s he recorded all of Scott Joplin's rags ; Further recordings were made for the Texstar , Paradox , GHB , London , Audiophile , Jazzology and Euphonic labels .

Discographic notes

• In Gay Old New Orleans with Dick Wellstood (Progressive, 1950)
• New Orleans Stomps (Progressive, 1954)
• Piano Artistry (Audiophile, 1955)
• Old Blues (Audiophile, 1958)
• Old Rags (Audiophile, 1958)
• The Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin (Audiophile, 1960)
• The Complete Piano Works of Jelly Roll Morton (Audiophile, 1960)
• The Complete Works of James Scott (Audiophile, 1962)
• Golden Treasury of Ragtime (Audiophile, 1970)
• Eight on Eighty Eight (Euphonic, 1977)
• Classic Rags and Nostalgia at the Old Town Music Hall (Euphonic, 1978)
• From Cakewalk to Ragtime (Jazzology, 1979)
• From Ragtime to Ballroom (Jazzology, 1979)
• Knocky Parker and His Cakewalking Jazz Band (GHB, 1981)
• In Gay Old New Orleans with Dick Wellstood (GHB, 1989)
• The Complete Piano Works of Jelly Roll Morton (Solo Art, 1994)
• The Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin (Solo Art, 2002)
• From Cakewalk to Ragtime to Ballroom (Solo Art, 2010)

literature

• Rex Harris & Brian Rust : Recorded Jazz: A Critical Guide . London, Penguin Books, 1958.

Web links

• Knocky Parker at Discogs (English)
• Scott Yanow's Knocky Parker biography on Allmusic