Jeff Parker (born April 4, 1967) is an American guitarist and composer based in Los Angeles. Born in Connecticut and raised in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

, Parker is best known as an

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

ian, working with jazz, electronic, rock, and improvisational groups. Parker studied at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

and then moved to Chicago in 1991. Also a multi-instrumentalist, Parker has been a member of the

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...

group

Tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

since 1996, and was a founding member of

Isotope 217 Isotope 217° is a Chicago-based band composed mainly of members from Tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from pr ...

and the Chicago Underground Trio in the 1990s and early 2000s. He is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians ( AACM) and has worked with

George Lewis George Lewis may refer to: Entertainment and art * George B. W. Lewis (1818–1906), circus rider and theatre manager in Australia * George E. Lewis (born 1952), American composer and free jazz trombonist * George J. Lewis (1903–1995), Mexica ...

Ernest Dawkins Ernest Dawkins (born 2 November 1953 in Chicago, Illinois, United States) is an American jazz saxophonist, principally active in free jazz and post-bop. Ernest Khabeer Dawkins was a neighbor of Anthony Braxton as a child. He played bass and dru ...

Brian Blade Brian Blade (born July 25, 1970) is an American jazz drummer, composer, session musician, and singer-songwriter. Early life Blade was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. The first music he experienced was gospel and songs of praise at ...

Joshua Redman Joshua Redman (born February 1, 1969) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He is the son of jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman (1931–2006). Life and career Joshua Redman was born in Berkeley, California, to jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman ...

, Fred Anderson,

Meshell Ndegeocello Michelle Lynn Johnson, better known as Meshell Ndegeocello (; born August 29, 1968), is a German-born American singer-songwriter, rapper, and bassist. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on so ...

Joey DeFrancesco Joey DeFrancesco (April 10, 1971August 25, 2022) was an American jazz organist, trumpeter, saxophonist, and occasional singer. He released more than 30 albums under his own name, and recorded extensively as a sideman with such leading jazz perfo ...

, Smog (aka Bill Callahan),

Carmen Lundy Carmen Latretta Lundy (born November 1, 1954) is an American jazz singer. She has been performing for three decades, with a focus on original material. She has been positively compared with Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. Lu ...

and

Jason Moran Jason Moran may refer to: * Jason Moran (criminal) (1967–2003), Australian mobster * Jason Moran (musician) Jason Moran (born January 21, 1975) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator involved in multimedia art and theatrical inst ...

. A prolific sideman, he has also released seven albums as a solo artist: ''Like-Coping'', ''The Relatives'', ''Bright Light in Winter'', ''The New Breed,'' ''Slight Freedom'', ''Suite for Max Brown'', and ''Forfolks''.

Discography

As leader

* ''Like-Coping'' ( Delmark, 2003) * ''Out Trios, Vol. 2'' (with

Michael Zerang Michael Zerang (born November 16, 1958) is an American jazz percussionist and drummer. Career Zerang's parents both emigrated to the United States from the Middle East; his father is Iranian and his mother Iraqi.Kevin Drumm Kevin Drumm (born 1970) is an experimental musician based in Chicago, United States. Biography Emerging from the city's improvised music scene, in the 1990s he became one of the world's pre-eminent prepared guitar players. Since then his work ...

) (

Atavistic In biology, an atavism is a modification of a biological structure whereby an ancestral genetic trait reappears after having been lost through evolutionary change in previous generations. Atavisms can occur in several ways; one of which is when ...

, 2003) * ''The Relatives'' (

Thrill Jockey Thrill Jockey is an American independent record label established by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in Chicago. History Richards started the label in 1992 with $35,000 of family and personal capital, while ...

, 2005) * ''Bright Light in Winter'' (Delmark, 2012) * ''The New Breed'' ( International Anthem, 2016) * ''Slight Freedom'' (

Eremite A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

, 2016) *''Suite for Max Brown'' (International Anthem/Nonesuch, 2020) * ''Forfolks'' (Nonesuch, 2021)

With Tortoise

* ''TNT'' (Thrill Jockey, 1998) * ''In the Fishtank'' (In the Fishtank, 1999) * ''Standards'' (Thrill Jockey, 2001) * ''It's All Around You'' (Thrill Jockey, 2004) * ''The Brave and the Bold'' (

Overcoat An overcoat is a type of long coat (clothing), coat intended to be worn as the outermost garment, which usually extends below the knee. Overcoats are most commonly used in winter when warmth is more important. They are sometimes confused with ...

, 2006) * ''Beacons of Ancestorship'' (Thrill Jockey, 2009) * ''The Catastrophist'' (Thrill Jockey, 2016)

With Chicago Underground Trio

*''Possible Cube'' (Delmark, 1999) *''Flamethrower (album), Flamethrower'' (Delmark, 2000)

With Rob Mazurek

*''Playground (Rob Mazurek album), Playground'' (Delmark, 1998) *''Bill Dixon with Exploding Star Orchestra'' (Thrill Jockey, 2008)

With Makaya McCraven

*’’Universal Beings (Makaya McCraven album), Universal Beings’’ (International Anthem, 2018)

References

Bibliography

*Fabian Holt, 2007. ''Jeff Parker and the Chicago Jazz Scene.'' In: Genre in Popular Music. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press,

External links

Official website
1967 births Living people American jazz guitarists Guitarists from Virginia African-American guitarists Delmark Records artists American male guitarists 20th-century American guitarists Tortoise (band) members Isotope 217 members Jazz musicians from Virginia 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people {{US-jazz-guitarist-stub