4Culture Press Release
I’m still on cloud nine about receiving a grant from 4Culture to help finish the JPQ CD! Today I received the official press release and was able to see the rarefied company I’m in. Other recipient include trumpeter Cuong Vu, filmmaker Lynn Shelton, Senegalese master drummer Thione Diop, and pianists Wayne Horvitz and Jovino Santos Neto. That’s just a small sampling of the wildly talented and deserving individuals and organizations receiving assistance from 4Culture.
Click here to view the entire list and press release.
Come Celebrate with the Jason Parker Quartet tonight at Tula’s!
The Jason Parker Quartet has been busy over the last few months preparing for our recent recording session. We had an amazing time in the studio on Wednesday and can’t wait to share the new music with you. Look for the second JPQ CD to be released sometime this summer.
In the meantime, we are ready to celebrate the completion of the recording phase, and we want YOU to celebate with us!
The Jason Parker Quartet is playing at Tula’s tonight and we would love to see you there! Tula’s has been the long-standing home for the top local jazz musicians and it’s very hard to break into their rotation. That’s why we’re thrilled to be on the bill, and we hope to show the folks there that we can draw a good crowd so they’ll invite us back.
Come see the band Earhsot calls “The next generation of Seattle jazz” at a club called “a cool place” by Wynton Marsalis!
We start at 7:30pm and will play 3 sets. Tula’s has an extensive dinner menu and full bar, so come for a meal, for drinks, or just for the music!
Tula’s is located at 2214 2nd Ave. between Blanchard and Bell St. in Belltown.
We love to see friends both old and new at our shows. Your energy and enthusiasm excite and inspire us. Come join the celebration toinght!
Thanks for your support. Hope to see you there.
The JPQ
Jason Parker – trumpet
Josh Rawlings – piano
Evan Flory-Barnes – bass
D’Vonne Lewis – drums
Pre-Order Your Copy of the New Jason Parker Quartet CD Today!
The new CD from The Jason Parker Quartet will be released in late-June or early-July, but you can pre-order your copy today! Every pre-order will receive their copy one week before the release to the public, and if you participate in the Micropatronage Program you can also receive special bonus materials.
Click here for more information on pre-orders and Micropatronage.
Recording Complete
After 8 hours, 9 tunes, 21 takes and 1 Indian buffet the Jason Parker Quartet recording session is complete! It was an exhausting and exhilarating day, and all-in-all I couldn’t be happier. Recording is a strange process and no matter how much you prepare it’s always different than you expect. It’s hard to get used to a new room, an unfamiliar headphone mix, no audience to draw energy from, etc. And it’s hard to forget that tape is rolling and every missed note and dropped beat is captured forever. But that’s all part of making jazz music. And with a band of professionals and a top-notch studio and engineer it’s a joyful experience.
Josh, Evan, D’Vonne and I had a dress rehearsal at the studio yesterday and worked out some of the room details, and I’m glad we did. I really wanted us all in the live room so it would be as close to our normal playing experience as possible. But our engineer, PJ Newman, wanted to put Evan in an isolation booth to capture a clean bass sound. I asserted myself as the leader and had him set Evan up in the room with us, but after listening back to the recording I had to admit that PJ was right. From then on, I deferred to him as the expert! We got all of the placement issues out of the way, set all the levels of the various microphones, and ran a couple of the tunes. It was great to have the opportunity to get used to the room before the actual recording session.
On the way to the studio this morning, I told myself that all the hard work was done and that today was about playing music with my beautiful friends and enjoying the experience. I’m so fortunate to have this incredible band and I’m inspired and excited each and every time I get to make music with them. And my fiance Darrah sent me some perfect inspiration this morning by way of this quote:
Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will. – George Bernard Shaw
With that in mind, I was ready to dive in and fully appreciate the experience.
So this morning we all rolled in about 11am, had a cup of coffee together and leisurely got ready to go. It was relaxed and slow, and set a good pace for the rest of the day. When we got to playing, it took a while to dial in the headphone mix. I always find it hard to get used to hearing myself through headphones, and was fiddling with them all day. The first couple takes of “Bashert” I was distracted by this, but by the third take we had all settled into our groove. I was determined not to do too many takes of any given song, and we did pretty well. Two tunes we got in one take, one tune we tried four takes, and the rest were two or three each. By the time we had gotten through “Bashert”, “Love For Sale”, “Beatrice” and “Dos Gardenias” I was starving and called a break for lunch.
After lunch we were joined by the wonderful tenor saxophonist Cynthia Mullis. I have long admired Cynthia’s playing and was thrilled when she agreed to participate in the recording. We had her come out to our last couple shows to play with us and it’s been a real treat. And I must say, she got us all excited with her playing today. After our first take of “Mance’s Dance” PJ told us we should always eat Indian food before we play, but I’m pretty sure it was Cynthia that got us all hyped and took our playing to a new level. We did a few more takes of Tatum’s tune, nailed “Idle Moments” in one, and then took a couple passes at our mash-up of George Gershwin’s “Summertime” & Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints”. Cynthia was tearing it up, and after listening back we were all pleased with what we got. It was sad to say goodbye to her at that point but we had a few more tunes to get through before the day was over.
So we cut Cynthia loose and took two shots at “The Rainbow Connection” and got “Three Hours” is one take. We decide to try one more take of “Bashert” for kicks, and then my chops were done. Trumpet playing is such a physical endeavor, and when they go, they go! I would have loved to take another pass at one or two of the tunes, and we never got to my composition “Contact”, but that’s the way it goes.
After we were done we headed to Lucid for a celebratory drink, where the owner David bought the first round! He’s been super supportive of the band and the recording project and it was nice to end the day in the warm confines of his club. We even got to hear a bit of a new band called Chemical Clock, who were great!
I got home in a state that is all too familiar after playing – tired and wired. I slept for a couple hours but woke up with thoughts of the session in my head and deep gratitude for all my good fortune in my heart. PJ is going to get me the rough mixes tomorrow night, and I can’t wait to hear what we got. The band was absolutely killin’ all day long, and I look forward to getting into the mixing and mastering phase of the project.
Big thanks to Ashwin Rao for bringing his camera and documenting the session. Click here to see a slideshow of his photos.
Recording Day!
It’s recording day for the JPQ, and I’m giddy with excitement. We’ve worked hard over the last few months to prepare for this day and I’m ready to get to the studio and tear it up!
Thanks to all who have participated in the Micropatronage Program so far. Your contributions will be used to pay the band and the studio today. I couldn’t have done it without you. If you haven’t yet participated, now would be a great time.
I’ll post an update later to let you know how it’s going.
Another Wonderful Night at Lucid
The JPQ had another wonderful night at Lucid last night. Josh, D’Vonne and I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with bassist Jon Hamar. This was the first time Jon played with the JPQ, and it was such a joy to have him with us. His playing is soulful, his time rock-solid, and his personality fit in great with the laid-back vibe of the band. And when I asked him if he wanted to see any of our music or hear some recordings before the gig he said, “No, it’ll be a fun surprise.” What a pro! He read our book beautifully all night long.
Once again Lucid was standing-room-only most of the night. This time there were more unfamiliar faces in the crowd, which is always cool. And I even had two people there sign up for the Micropatronage Program! The “Parker’s Mood” cocktails were flowing liberally and everyone had a great time.
We were also fortunate to be joined by some good friends throughout the evening. Saxophonist Cynthia Mullis played three tunes with us in the first set; our mash-up of George Gershwin’s “Summertime” & Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints”, Tatum Greenblatt’s “Mance’s Dance”, and Duke Pearson’s “Idle Moments”, all of which we’re going to record with Cynthia on Wednesday. Vocalist Connor Desai sang a spirited version of the classic “Since I Fell For You” in the second set. And the third set featured both saxophonist Jacob Stickney and drummer Adam Kessler playing on another Wayne Shorter composition “Adam’s Apple, and saxophonist Hal Rose guesting on “There Is No Greater Love”. Thanks to everyone for adding to the festivities.
And thanks to Ashwin Rao for coming out and getting some great shots of the band, including the one in this post. Check out his blog for some amazing photography!
We’ll be back at Lucid in ealry May. This is quickly becoming my favorite club to play and I hope you’ll come check it out.
$1000 Mark Reached in the Micropatronage Program!
On February 28th I made this post and launched the Micropatronage program for the forthcoming Jason Parker Quartet CD. Today, with your generous support, we reached the $1000 mark! And I mean “we”, because I couldn’t have done it without you.
I have been humbled and overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from my family, friends and colleagues. With this support we will be able to make the record I’ve always dreamed of making, and document my amazing band two years into our development. I can’t tell you how much this means to me, and I hope you will feel a great deal of ownership and pride in the project, as do I.
If you haven’t yet become a Patron, believe me when I tell you that every $10 makes a huge difference. One patron at a time we will reach our goals and by the end of the summer I will present to you the fruits of our labors. I can’t wait to share the new music with you and show you exactly what your support will allow us to accomplish.
My deepest love and gratitude goes out to you. Thank you.
Be a Part of the New Jason Parker Quartet CD
The recording process for the new Jason Parker Quartet CD is complete! Josh, Evan, D’Vonne and I spent a wonderful day at MOUSe Studios in Seattle in April and laid down the 7 tracks for the new album. We were also joined by Cynthia Mullis on saxophone for 3 of the tunes and I can’t wait for you to hear how beautiful it all turned out! I’m shooting for a release in late-June or early-July.
But you can pre-order your copy of the CD today! Every pre-order will receive their copy one week before the release to the public. Read on for information on how you can also receive bonus goodies.
I am financing this record in all the usual ways: my own money, grant money, the kindness of friends, etc. But I’ve decided to try something new this time around: micropatronage.
Micropatronage is a system in which the public directly supports the work of others by making donations through the Internet. It relies on the premise that it is easier to find many “patrons” to donate small amounts, rather than a small number of patrons making larger contributions.
To entice you to become a patron, I have come up with some packages that are all unique to this program. Once the CD is complete it will be sold through all the usual channels, but none of these packages will be available after the release date. It is my hope that you will find one of them interesting enough to be willing to donate a small amount of your hard-earned money to help me complete this project.
I’ve set up PayPal buttons to make it easier, but if you’d rather send a check just scroll down to the end of the post and you’ll find the mailing address.
PARTICIPATION PACKAGES
Solo Package
Participants in the Solo Package will donate $10.00 to the project and will receive:
- High-quality audio files one week prior to the official release date of the CD
- Files will be in your choice of 320k mp3s, FLAC or Apple Lossless
Duo Package
Participants in the Duo Package will donate $15.00 to the project and will receive:
- A copy of the finished CD
- High-quality audio files one week prior to the official release date of the CD
- Files will be in your choice of 320k mp3s, FLAC or Apple Lossless
Trio Package
Participants in the Trio Package will donate $25.00 to the project and will receive:
- Photos and videos from rehearsals and recording session
- Sheet music of the original compositions from the CD
- An autographed copy of the finished CD
- High-quality audio files one week prior to the official release date of the CD
- Files will be in your choice of 320k mp3s, FLAC or Apple Lossless
Quartet Package
Participants in the Quartet Package will donate $100.00 to the project and will receive:
- An invitation to sit in on a rehearsal or the recording session
- A “Thank You” in the album liner notes
- Photos and videos from rehearsals and recording session
- Sheet music of the original compositions from the CD
- An autographed copy of the finished CD
- High-quality audio files one week prior to the official release date of the CD
- Files will be in your choice of 320k mp3s, FLAC or Apple Lossless
Because every donation helps, no matter how big or small, participants in the Donate What You Want Package choose their own level of participation in the project and will receive:
- Our undying love and gratitude
- Other goodies to be determined
Jason Parker Quartet
PO Box 95428
Seattle, WA 98145
I can’t thank you enough for your support! I hope that by participating you will feel closer to the JPQ, and I will do everything I can to make it worth your while.
