Rick Parker

“Young trombonist Rick Parker is yet another powerful young jazz musician to be reckoned with.” (Mark Meyers, All About Jazz) Since relocating to New York in August of 2001, Rick Parker has performed at several of the city’s major jazz clubs including Blue Note, Birdland, the Jazz Standard and the Jazz Gallery.

His primary musical project, the Rick Parker Collective, is a critically acclaimed quintet/sextet that has been called “the best kept secret in New York right now.” (All About Jazz) The group performs all original music at venues including Williamsburg Jazz Festival, Blues Alley, Somers Point Jazz Festival, Chris’s Jazz Café, Kavehaz, Knitting Factory, Cornelia Street Café.

The Rick Parker Collective recently released their second CD, Finding Space, in September of 2006, which has been widely acclaimed in the short time it has been available, even being included in the All About Jazz Publisher’s Top CD Picks for 2006. Their first CD, New York Gravity, was released on the Fresh Sound New Talent record label in 2004.

Parker also leads an improvised electronic music group called Ambient Assault which consists of electric trombone, keyboards and two drummers. His other musical endeavors include the world renowned trombonist/composer Ku-umba Frank Lacy’s 14 piece Vibe Tribe, legendary drummer Charlie Persip’s big band, Miki Hirose Quintet and the popular hip-hop group The Square Egg. Parker is also the Co-Producer of the Williamsburg Jazz Festival.

A prolific composer, Parker was named a winner of the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards for 2004/2005. In April of 2002 and 2003, he participated in the Kennedy Center’s “Betty Carter Jazz Ahead” invitation only workshop for composers/soloists where he studied under jazz icons such as Curtis Fuller, Eric Reid and John Clayton. In March 2002 he was named runner up in the Eastern Trombone Workshop National Solo Competition.

Born in 1978, Parker has already performed with such jazz greats as George Benson, Grady Tate, Eddie Henderson, Conrad Herwig, Steve Turre, Cecil Bridgewater, Frank Lacy, Greg Tardy, Mingus Big Band and Andrew White in venues around the world including the Montreux Jazz Festival, Berkshire Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Blue Note, Birdland, Sweet Rhythm, Jazz Gallery, Blues Alley (DC), Chris’ Jazz Café (PA), Jazz Club (Argentina) and Oliveria Always (Argentina). He has studied with Conrad Herwig, Frank Lacy, Steve Davis, Mike Holober and Thad Wilson.