Maceo Parker (; born February 14, 1943) is an American

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and

soul jazz Soul jazz or funky jazz is a subgenre of jazz that incorporates strong influences from hard bop, blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues. Soul jazz is often characterized by organ trios featuring the Hammond organ and small combos including ten ...

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

, best known for his work with

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

in the 1960s,

Parliament-Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive fu ...

in the 1970s and

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of Brown's hit recordings, and a key part of his band, playing

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

and

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

s. Since the early 1990s, he has toured under his own name.

Biography

Parker was born in

Kinston, North Carolina Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States, with a population of 21,677 as of the 2010 census. It has been the county seat of Lenoir County since its formation in 1791. Kinston is located in the coastal plains region of e ...

, United States. Parker's father played

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

in addition to singing in church with Parker's mother; his brother

Melvin Melvin is a masculine given name and surname, likely a variant of Melville and a descendant of the French surname de Maleuin and the later Melwin. It may alternatively be spelled as Melvyn or, in Welsh, Melfyn and the name Melivinia or Melva may b ...

played drums and his brother Kellis played the

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

.Thompson, Dave (2001). ''Funk''. Backbeat Books. pp. 176-179. . Parker and his brother Melvin joined

in 1964; in his autobiography, Brown claims that he originally wanted Melvin as his

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

, but agreed to additionally take Maceo under his wing as part of the deal.Brown, James (1988). ''The Godfather of Soul'' (with Bruce Tucker), Fontana / Collins, p. 156. . In March 1970, Parker, his brother Melvin, and a few of Brown's band members left to establish the band Maceo & All the King's Men, which toured for two years.Brown (1988). ''The Godfather of Soul'', pp. 217-18. In January 1973, Parker rejoined James Brown's group. He also charted a single "Parrty – Part I" (No. 71 pop singles) with Maceo & the Macks that year. In 1975, Parker and some of Brown's band members, including

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band lead ...

, left to join George Clinton's band

.Wesley, Fred Jr (2002), ''Hit Me, Fred''. Duke University Press, p. 192. . Parker once again re-joined James Brown from 1984 to 1988. In the 1990s, Parker began a solo career. His first album of this period ''Roots Revisited'' spent 10 weeks at the top of the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Contemporary Jazz Charts. To date he has released 11 solo albums since 1990. His band has been billed as "the greatest little funk orchestra on earth" and the "million-dollar support band". Parker's 1992 live album, ''Life on Planet Groove'', is considered to be his seminal live album, marking his first collaboration with Dutch saxophonist Candy Dulfer. In 1993, Parker made guest appearances on hip hop group

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

's album ''

Buhloone Mindstate ''Buhloone Mindstate'' (stylized as ''Buhlo͞one Mind State'' on the album cover) is the third studio album by American hip hop group De La Soul. It was released on September 21, 1993, through Tommy Boy Records, and was the group's last record to ...

''. In the late 1990s, Parker began contributing semi-regularly to recordings by

and accompanying his band,

The New Power Generation The New Power Generation, also known as The NPG, was the backing band of musician Prince from 1990 to 2013. They were replaced by 3rdeyegirl as his backing band in 2013. In 2015, the New Power Generation reunited as Prince's backing band for h ...

, on tour. He also played on the

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. The band consists of vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery. Jane's Addiction was one of the first bands from t ...

track "My Cat's Name Is Maceo" for their 1997 compilation album ''

Kettle Whistle ''Kettle Whistle'' is a compilation album by alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, released November 4, 1997 on Warner Bros. Issued to coincide with the 1997 "Relapse" tour, the album – originally titled ''It's My Party'' – includes new, alte ...

''. In 1998, Parker performed as a guest on "

What Would You Say "What Would You Say" is a song by American rock group Dave Matthews Band. It was released in September 1994 as the lead single from their debut album ''Under the Table and Dreaming''. It reached #11 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. In June 1995 it ...

" on a

Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band (also known by the initials DMB) is an American rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1991. The band's founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer and bac ...

concert, which also became one of their live albums, '' Live in Chicago 12.19.98''. Maceo Parker Band Liri Blues 2009

In 2004, Parker toured as a part of Prince's band for the "

Musicology Live 2004ever Musicology Live 2004ever was a concert tour by American recording artist Prince to promote his ''Musicology'' album. The tour began on March 27, 2004 in Reno, Nevada and concluded on September 11 in San Jose, California. It was a commercial succe ...

" tour and again in 2007 he performed as part of Prince's band for Prince's 21 nights at

the O2 arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the s ...

. Parker also played as part of Prince's band for his 21-night stay at LA's Forum in 2011. In 2008, Maceo Parker closed the Edmonton International Jazz Festival at Urban Lounge. Parker's album ''Roots & Grooves'' with the WDR Big Band is a tribute to

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, whom Parker cites as one of his most important influences. The album won a Jammie for best Jazz Album in 2009. Parker followed this up with another collaboration with

WDR Big Band WDR may refer to: * Waddell & Reed (stock ticker: WDR), an American asset management and financial planning company * Walt Disney Records, an American record label of the Disney Music Group * WDR neuron, a type of neuron involved in pain signalling ...

in 2012 with the album ''Soul Classics''. In October 2011, Parker was inducted in the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. In July 2012, Parker was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from Victoires Du Jazz in Paris. He continues touring, headlining many jazz festivals in Europe and doing as many as 290 concerts a year. In May 2016, Parker received The North Carolina Heritage Award from his home state.

Book and media

In February 2013, Maceo Parker published his autobiography, ''98% Funky Stuff: My Life in Music'' with the publisher

Chicago Review Press Chicago Review Press, or CRP, is a U.S. book publisher and an independent company founded in 1973. Chicago Review Press publishes approximately 60 new titles yearly under eight imprints: Chicago Review Press, Lawrence Hill Books, Academy Chicago, ...

. Parker was portrayed by Craig Robinson in the 2014 James Brown biopic '' Get on Up''.

Equipment

Maceo plays a gold-plated Selmer Mark VI alto saxophone and the mouthpiece he uses is a #3 Brilhart Ebolin. Maceo's reed of choice is the

Vandoren Vandoren is a manufacturer of mouthpieces, reeds, and accessories for the clarinet and saxophone families. History Vandoren was founded in 1905 by Eugène Van Doren (1873-1940), a clarinetist for the Paris Opera. The original location was event ...

Java, 3.5 gauge.

Discography

As bandleader

As sideman

Filmography

References

External links

Maceo Parker
official website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Maceo 1943 births Living people People from Kinston, North Carolina Soul-jazz musicians African-American saxophonists American funk saxophonists American male saxophonists American jazz saxophonists American bandleaders James Brown Orchestra members The J.B.'s members P-Funk members New Power Generation members Heads Up International artists 21st-century saxophonists Jazz musicians from North Carolina American male jazz musicians Verve Records artists Jive Records artists P-Vine Records artists