The premier performance of William Parker’s large ensemble work, “Inscription”, recorded at Roulette 16 February 2013. Composer/bassist/bandleader William Parker is an essential voice the current avant-garde scene in jazz. He own projects include The Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield, Little Huey Creative Orchestra, In Order to Survive, his Quartet, and Raining on the Moon. He is also an admired poet and essayist. Along with his unique and formidable work as a bassist, he regularly employs West African instruments including the kora and donso ngoni. Parker’s long-form, text-driven, and theatrical works are uncompromised in their embrace of spirituality and community.

The ensemble: William Parker (bass, composer, arranger), Rob Brown (alto sax), Darius Jones (alto sax), Atsoshi (alto sax), Roy Campbell (trumpet), Lewis Barnes (trumpet), Ryan Messina (trumpet), Josh Rosman (trombone), Robert Stringer (trombone), Masahiko Kono (trombone), James Brandon Lewis (tenor sax), Brian Price (tenor sax), Kirsy Rosa (tenor sax), Sabir Mateen (sax), Dave Sewelson (baritone sax), Dave Hofstra (tuba, bass), Shayna Dulberger (bass), Dave Burrell (piano), Cooper Moore (electric keyboard), Jackson Krall (drums), Dominic Fragman (drums), Fay Victor (vocals).

Tracking The Odds: The Roulette Concert Archive is a monthly hour-long radio special produced by Roulette Intermedium (roulette.org) and broadcast in partnership with Wave Farm’s WGXC 90.7-FM and Standing Wave Radio. The broadcasts feature selected highlights from Roulette’s New York experimental music space dating from the early 1980s to the present. Thousands of rare, formative, and often unheard recordings by innovators and adventurous musicians populate the archive.