william parker
through acceptance of the mystery peace
mte-012

recording dates: february, 1974; august, 1977;
24 october 1976; 21 january, 1979 new york city

william parker bass
ramsey ameen, billy bang, jason kao hwang and polly bradfield violins
tristan honsinger cello
peter kuhn, rozanne levine and henry warner clarinets
arthur williams trumpet
toshinori kondo alto horn
charles brackeen and john hagan tenor saxophones
will connell, jr alto saxophone and flute
jemeel moondoc alto saxophone
daniel carter alto and tenor saxophone, flute, trumpet
roger baird and denis charles drums

1. desert flower (19:42)
2. through acceptance of the mystery peace (9:43)
3. rattles and bells and the light of the sun (12:12)
4. commitment (18:36)
5. face still hands folded (8:03)

william parker's earliest recordings as a leader. first released in 1979 on his own centering music (centering 1001), in an edition of 500 copies, through acceptance of the mystery peace has been a much sought-after collectors item for many years. eremite is proud to return this vital historic music to common circulation. five ensembles recorded between 1974 and 1979, ranging in size from trio to octet, including denis charles, charles brackeen, billy bang, jemeel moondoc, daniel carter, toshinori kondo, tristan honsiger, and many others from far corners of the 1970s n.y.c. free music community. an altogether different view of the new york loft era than that provided by the wildflowers series, & the earliest view of parker's decisive influence upon the the american free jazz idiom. one previously unissued performance, & the complete unedited version of "desert flower."

jazz magazine (france) top releases 1998
wire magazine top reissues of 1998

"an important early record by the bassist, originally on centering, & now reissued with one new track. in many respects, it looks forward to the larger bands of the 90s, but here parker develops his ideas with a series of smaller ensembles & with more emphasis than later on free blowing. kondo is an interesting figure who has made an intermittent impact. on trumpet here, he's reminiscent of leo smith in declamatory form -which is much of the time- but with a roundness of tone that almost suggests cornet. he's also featured on alto horn. the smaller groups favor strings & could almost be playing classical pieces. the bigger ensembles, though, are the surest indication of what was to come." --cook & morton, penguin guide to jazz on c/d

"The feeling comes across that it is here that free jazz took the next giant step in its evolutionary process and grew wings." --edwin pouncey, the wire