Leon Parker (born August 21, 1965 in White Plains, New York) is a jazz percussionist and composer.[1] He is known for occasionally using a minimalist drum set with fewer components than usual, "sometimes consisting only of a snare drum, bass drum and a cymbal."[2]

Leon Parker
Leon Parker, on the right, playing with
Sean Smith
Background information
Born (1965-08-21) August 21, 1965 (age 59)
White Plains, New York, United States
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Percussionist, composer
Years active1992–present

His 1998 album, Awakening (Columbia), reached the 20th position on Billboard's "Top Jazz albums" chart.[1] It was his second album for Columbia.[3]

Parker played on pianist Jacky Terrasson's first three albums.[4] Parker toured with guitarist Charlie Hunter, who commented that "What I always look for in drummers is that they have a perfect blend of the visceral and the intellectual [...] Leon definitely had that."[5]

Discography

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As leader

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  • 1994: Above & Below (Epicure)
  • 1996: Belief (Columbia)
  • 1998: Awakening (Columbia)
  • 2001: The Simple Life (Label M)

Collaborations

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  • 1999: Duo with Charlie Hunter (Blue Note)

As sideman

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With Dewey Redman & Joshua Redman

With Jesse Davis

  • As We Speak (Concord Jazz, 1992)
  • Young at Art (Concord Jazz, 1993)

With MTB (Brad Mehldau, Mark Turner, Peter Bernstein)

With Jacky Terrasson

With Don Braden

  • Organic (Epicure, 1995)

With James Carter

With Franck Amsallem and Tim Ries

With Virginia Mayhew

  • Nini Green (Chiaroscuro, 1997)

With Giovanni Mirabassi

  • Terra Furiosa (Discograph, 2008)
  • Out of Track (Discograph, 2009)

With Giovanni Mirabassi and Gianluca Renzi

  • Live At the Blue Note, Tokyo (Discograph, 2010)

References

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  1. ^ a b All Music
  2. ^ "Leon Parker - DRUMMERWORLD".
  3. ^ Stanley, Leo "Leon Parker – Awakening". AllMusic. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  4. ^ Panken, Ted (March 2015) "Jacky Terrasson: On the Edge". DownBeat. p. 35.
  5. ^ Milkowski, Bill (September 2015) "Charlie Hunter: Groove Factor". DownBeat. p. 45.