Performing together for the first time,
legendary musicians:
William Hooker, William Parker and Roger Miller

Saturday, November 5, 8pm

Hartford, CT: October 18, 2005—Through spontaneous moments of creation and elements of chance, improvisation can transform music making into an act of faith. On Saturday, November 5, 2005 Real Art Ways presents a Night of Improvisation with Legendary Musiciansthree seminal forces in the realm of free improvisation perform together for the first time: drummer William Hooker, bassist William Parker and guitarist Roger Miller. DJ Matt Wakem AKA Sonic Nomad kicks off the evening at 8pm. Part of Real Art Ways’ multi-disciplinary project Faith. Admission is $15/$10 Real Art Ways Members. Call 800-232-1006 x222 for tickets.

WILLIAM HOOKER: one of New York's most important bandleaders, an avant-garde drummer and poet who has been performing with cutting-edge ensembles for 20 years. He has led bands which included David Murray and David S. Ware, has toured and recorded extensively with Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, and has worked with artists as diverse as Christian Marclay, DJ Olive and Jim O'Rourke. He has released records on Silkheart, Homestead, RGI, Table of the Elements and Knitting Factory Works.

Highly regarded in both the alternative rock and avant-garde jazz circles, Hooker has always placed himself beyond category, creating sounds and making music which makes quick worth of the earth-bound semantics used to describe it. A product of New York's loft scene, he has recently produced live scores to films of underground filmmaker artist Stan Brakhage and black film pioneer Oscar Micheaux. Hooker's latest recordings are Black Mask; Complexity 2 and The Gift. A collection of Hooker's poetry and images, as well as interviews and discography, can be found at www.williamhooker.com.

WILLIAM PARKER: “William Parker has emerged as the most important leader of the current avant-garde scene in jazz” Steve Greenlee, Boston Globe. Parker is working in many of the more important groups in this genre, some of the most prestigious being his own: The Curtis Mayfield Project, Little Huey Creative Orchestra, In Order to Survive, William Parker’s Quartet and other groups. In addition to being hailed as one of the most important composers in our time period, Parker is also a poet whose words are beginning to be heard in various media: in print, in song and in his theatre piece, “Music and the Shadow People.”

The Village Voice characterized William Parker as "the most consistently brilliant free jazz bassist of all time." However, from the beginning of his career, Parker has commanded a unique degree of respect from fellow musicians. In 1972 at the age of 20, Parker quickly became the bass player of choice among his peers. Within a short time he was asked to play with older, established musicians such as Ed Blackwell, Don Cherry, Bill Dixon, Milford Graves, Billy Higgins, Sunny Murray, etc. In 1980 he became a member of the Cecil Taylor Unit, in which he played a prominent role for over a decade.

ROGER MILLER moved to Boston in 1978, and co-formed Mission of Burma on guitar and vocals, the "post-punk" band that has secured his reputation. He continued playing any instrument he could get his hands on, resulting in over 40 LPs/CDs under his leadership. Currently, he plays keyboard for the internationally acclaimed silent film accompanying ensemble The Alloy Orchestra; guitar and vocals for the reincarnation of Mission of Burma; and has composed numerous soundtracks for cutting edge TV commercials and documentaries.