(Vocal Jazz, Avant-Garde) Cooper Moore / William Parker / Lisa Sokolov - Stan's Hat Flapping in the Wind - 2016, FLAC (tracks), lossless

Stan’s Hat Flapping in the Wind features work from one of the jazz avant-garde’s most heralded figures, presented in one of the most traditional of forms. 19 new songs composed by William Parker, and performed by singer Lisa Sokolov & pianist Cooper-Moore. Parker is — among his many great talents — a master of evocative song-craft, as readily evidenced on Corn Meal Dance (2007), and the very recently released Great Spirit (2015), by his Raining On the Moon ensemble. The compositions and performances here are, as ever, illuminated with Parker’s devotion to compassion for all life. They touch on the possibility of peace and truth prevailing in the present. Stan’s Hat Flapping in the Wind is also the name of a musical that William Parker has been writing since 1994.
To date he has composed over sixty songs for the production. In this musical, the principal characters — through tribulations and exposure to the magic of all life around them — begin to learn the art of living and the systems of sacred music. On this new studio recording, 19 of these songs are presented. All of them are connected in that they all reflect on the mysteries of death and life. Many of Parker’s touchstone subject matters abound: compassion for all living things, the magic of sound, the revolutionary nature of flowers, and deeply affecting dedications and invocations to enlightened spirits who have departed.

William Parker - composer & producer
Lisa Sokolov - voice
Cooper-Moore - piano
Jake Sokolov-Gonzalez - cello on Invocation