William Parker - Voices Fall From The Sky (2018)

'Voices Fall From The Sky' is an expansive 3CD box set comprising three distinct and complementary albums whose focus is on the voice. All the songs were composed (and produced) by William Parker. Half of the material are brand new recordings and half are Parker-curated selections of previously released material either long unavailable or presented in new form.

Accompaniment on these 34 pieces ranges as widely as the voices, from duet to large ensemble. A multitude of approaches are employed: art song to operatic, pop sensibilities to gospel, heart-stopping ballads to dance numbers, silence to exuberance. The lyrical content expresses love of nature and its vital importance to a whole life, compassion, anti-oppression, anti-violence of any kind, praise of the creative spirit, and, Love. These themes are foundational in all of Parker's work; the forefront spotlight through a multitude of expressive voices makes them that much more salient.

Album/CD1 features all-new work predominately recorded & mixed during December 2017 and January 2018. Album/CD2 is comprised of duets, and focuses on three singers with whom Parker has had decades-long creative relationships with. Vintage recordings with Ellen Christi and Lisa Sokolov from the early 1990s which have been unavailable for far too long are here re-contextualized together with more recent work with Leena Conquest.

Album/CD3 presents the voice within large ensemble, and features new iterations of previously released work together with a brand new suite / recording entitled The Blinking of the Ear, performed by mezzo-soprano opera singer AnnMarie Sandy.

The creation of this rich compendium has been a very important project for Parker, who composed, produced, curated and sequenced its totality. It is being released on his own Centering Records imprint (distributed by AUM Fidelity) and is packaged in a beautiful 2-piece box with commissioned artwork by Lois Eby, "mini-LP" sleeves and full colour 40-page booklet featuring extensive liner notes, song annotation, and complete lyrics.

Line-up/Musicians:

CD 1
1 – The Olmec Group
2 & 6 – Raina accompanies herself on piano / WP donso ngoni on 2
3 – Rob Brown alto sax / Dave Sewelson alto sax / Eri Yamamoto piano
William Parker bass / Gerald Cleaver drums
4 – Karen Borca bassoon / Masahiko Kono trombone, electronics
5 – Dario Acosta Teich guitar / Angelo Branford guitar
Timna Comedi harmony / WP, JCR, AB percussion
7 – Eri Yamamoto piano
8 – Dave Sewelson alto sax / Heru Shabaka-Ra trumpet / Jean Cook violin
Jason Kao Hwang violin / Eri Yamamoto piano / William Parker bass
9 – Steve Swell trombone / Jason Kao Hwang violin / William Parker bass
10 – Dario Acosta Teich guitar / William Parker bass
11 – William Parker 6-string donso ngoni.

CD 2
1 – AMR Ensemble
2, 5, 9, 12 – William Parker bass
3, 4, 6, 8 – Yuko Fujiyama piano
7, 10, 14 – Eri Yamamoto piano
11, 13 – Cooper-Moore piano

CD 3
1 & 2 – William Parker Orchestra
3 – Kitchen House Blend Ensemble
4 – AMR Ensemble
5–8 : Eri Yamamoto piano / Leonid Galaganov drums
9 – William Parker Double Quartet