As part of the XJazz- Jazz Encounters in the Aldeias do Xisto, the North Americans William Parker (double bass) and Hamid Drake (percussion) will play in quartet with the Portuguese Luís Vicente (trumpet) and the North American based in Amsterdam, John Dikeman (saxophone). The concert is in the Aldeia do Xisto of Fajão, in Pampilhosa da Serra, on 20 July, at 10pm.
William Parker is an inescapable figure in the history of jazz. An accomplished performer, improviser and composer, he plays double bass, double reed wind instruments, tuba, donso ngoni and gembri. He was born in 1952 in the Bronx, New York. The same city where he had the opportunity to study with the great masters Richard Davis, Milt Hinton, Wilber Ware and Jimmy Garrison. He came onto the music scene in 1971, in the middle of the "loft scene", playing side by side with musicians who were re-inventing the foundations of avant-guard jazz at the time. At the same time, he worked with musicians of the jazz tradition such as Walter Bishop, Sr. and Maxine Sullivan
From 1980 until 1991, he was in the Cecil Taylor Unit. During that time, he developed a strong relationship with European-influenced improvised music, playing with musicians such as Peter Kowald, Peter Brotzmann, Han Bennink, Tony Oxley, Derek Bailey, Louis Sclavis and Louis Moholo
In 1994, he began his career as an auteur, leading ensembles such as In Order To Survive and The Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra. More recently, we find multiple examples of the breadth of his work, in varied formats, from solo to big band, always advocating challenging music that nevertheless “connects" with people.
Hamid Drake is three years younger than Parker. Born in the South of the United States of America, it was in Evanston (Illinois) that he grew up to music, under the influence of the saxophonist Fred Anderson, with whom he would play for many decades. Drake has also cultivated long-lasting partnerships with musicians such as Don Cherry, Herbie Hancock, Archie Shepp, David Murray, Peter Brotzmann and William Parker (with whom he has recorded over twenty albums). His research led him to study non-Western music, paying special attention to Indian classical music (tabla), African and Caribbean music.
Luís Vicente released his first album on JACC Records (the Jazz ao Centro Club label) in 2012, and was present at the first edition of XJazz with that work (closing the 2012 season, at Casa da Obra, in Aldeia das Dez). He has built a solid career since then, with several international connections. In the last 12 months, he has edited five albums with musicians from differing backgrounds and spent long periods on the road, performing in various European countries
American saxophonist John Dikeman hails from Nebraska and grew up in small town Kemmerer, Wyoming. He then headed for New York and Philadelphia. When he crossed the Atlantic, he didn't go to a European metropolis, but to Egypt, where he lived for three years and made himself heard by the likes of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra and pop star Mohamed Mounir. He has lived in Amsterdam for the last decade and is now an integral part of that city's music scene. He is the linking element in the group, as he is a frequent partner of Luís Vicente, and also maintains a trio with William Parker and Hamid Drake
For this first meeting, even though the arrangements are not yet known, one thing is certain: the four share not only a common vocabulary, but they also believe that music "is made in the moment", composing the score in real time.
Promoted by ADXTUR - Schist Villages Tourism Development Agency and the JAAC- Jazz ao Centro Club, XJazz once again brings the inescapable names of Portuguese and world Jazz, fostering unusual encounters between musicians from different regions and generations.
Plan your entire stay by clicking on the links to the side. Other options available at bookinxisto.com.
*The group will also perform in Lisbon (Galeria Zé dos Bois) and Coimbra (Casa das Artes of Fundação Bissaya Barreto).
