Testimony_音乐专辑
Testimony
表演者: William Parker
专辑类型: Import
介质: Audio CD
发行时间: 1995
唱片数: 1
出版者: Zero In Records
条形码: 6926656218597
专辑简介
Pressed on the tiny and now extinct Zero In imprint out of Austin, TX (an apartment address on the tray card is always a telltale sign of shoe-string finances), Parker’s second solo recording represents the good, the bad and the ugly of his monologue style on bull fiddle. I first caught him in person in just such a setting, summer of 97’ while doing an internship at Smithsonian/Folkways. His was the second concert presented by the then fledgling Transparent Productions -- a cadre of volunteer "promoters" who would go on to curate over a hundred performances under the aegis of awarding players one hundred percent of each event’s proceeds. Against the odds, they’re still going strong. The recital took place at Kaffa House, a tiny corner pub (much like the Knit where Testimony was taped) and WP pulled out all the stops, at one point cantilevering a separate bow against each of his four strings to create a floating grid of tentacled harmonics. Similar tactics deploy on disc. The five tracks represent full two sets, tugging at the maximum capacity of the medium. Parker punishes and massages his bass in equal measure, falling prey to his tendency to cleave and burrow away mercilessly at his strings to the point of near tedium. The fidelity, rendered by a single stage side engineer, is coarse-grained and muddy. These are the major minuses, but the music still ends up transcending them. Parker’s massive technique, his canny ability to coax, in his own parlance, tonal rainbows is frequently in full, sweeping effect. Streaks and splatters lift from his fingerboard like arcs of paint flung from an action painter’s brush. There’s so much incandescent and percussive bowing, that a place of prominence for his mighty pizzicato capabilities is hardly missed. Parker has recorded at least one more solo album since this one, ‘97’s Lifting the Sanctions, but my preference goes to its predecessor as the more engrossing and electrifying excursion. Today marks his fifty-third birthday; hopefully his celebrated fecundity will continue for many years to come.
~ Derek Taylor
关键词：Testimony
