Mariah Parker’s latest album, Windows Through Time, explores Latin jazz, weaving together memorable compositions, a stellar ensemble, and profound themes. Parker has established herself in the genre as a pianist, composer, and bandleader. Windows Through Time follows her critically acclaimed releases, Sangria and Indo-Latin Jazz Live in Concert, further solidifying her reputation for genre-bending brilliance. […]

Very often, the shipments we receive from Kari-on productions are sources of wonder with refreshing colors, as is the case here with this album by composer Mariah Parker, whose upcoming project “Windows Through Time” is a true delight of blended cultures and elegance. From the first track, universes mingle with […]

From her early experiences at the piano to her involvement with world-renowned projects like Mickey Hart’s “Planet Drum,” Mariah Parker’s musical odyssey has always been driven by an insatiable curiosity and a love for cultural exchange. In her album, Windows Through Time, Parker presents a program of her experience through […]

One of the gems in the indie music scene, Mariah Parker, brings a vibrant synergy of Jazz and Latin Jazz in her performances. Based in Petaluma, USA, Mariah’s compositions defy conventional labels. Her music is a tribute to her dexterity on the keys and her steady passion since early years.

Pianist and composer Mariah Parker has an impressive new album titled Windows Through Time, recorded with her Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble. It features seven expansive, original works from Parker that combine Latin jazz and chamber jazz elements, infused with rhythmic intrigue and influences from multiple global diasporas. The pieces are […]

North of San Francisco in California lie Marin and Sonoma Counties, home to a number of musicians somewhat separate from the San Francisco Bay Area musical scene. Mariah Parker lives in Sonoma County, and she has included many wonderful musicians who happen to live locally on this project, as part […]

by Peter Thelen One can’t accuse Parker of flooding the market with product; this live set is only her second album, the first in nine years, but after even a single listen, one can conclude it was clearly worth the wait. First things first, this eight song instrumental set sounds […]

The opener Affinity Minus One is smack in the middle of Latin territory with no evident concession to Indian music, although the intrinsic affinities between the styles – for example the preponderance of minor harmony, syncopation and modalism – seem clear. Then there’s instrumentation: perhaps the clearest common ground, tabla […]

Short Cuts / New Releases: Blending East Indian rhythms with latin syncopations, Californian pianist Mariah Parker’s band includes reedsman Paul McCandless and takes an easy-listening route to nirvana while performing live at Yoshi’s.

The mix of live recording sounds with the vibrant energy is superb on this January 2017 album; Mariah’s piano leads a stellar crew on this high-energy live recording, including reedmaster Paul McCandless, guitarist Matthew Montfort, Ian Dogole on percussion, as well as bassists Fred Randolph and Kash Killion, percussionist Brian […]

Get your body moving to the delightful uptempo rhythms of this excellent compilation of live performances at Yoshi’s Oakland, Freight & Salvage, Berkeley, and Throckmorton Theatre, Mill Valley and TRI Studios, San Rafael. Composer/band leader Mariah Parker on piano and santur and 8 exceptional band members keep the groove coming […]

If you think paring down rock and prog into apposite sub-genres-within-genres is a mare’s nest, try subdividing World and New Age, especially the latter. Let me know when you give it a go, I still have lots of Prozac and Xanax from the vacation I had in a sanitarium after […]

With songs recorded live during her tours, pianist and composer and arranger Mariah Parker presents us with Indo Latin Jazz Live In Concert, her second recording. Parker, whose debut album dates back to 2009, offers us a musical journey that establishes a connection between the music of India and the […]

I hate to admit, I’m a sucker for Latin jazz. It’s happy music that goes straight to your hips and, as we all know, hips don’t lie. But I accept that it can sometimes have a whiff of Manchego cheese about it as it descends into easy listening, so it’s […]

Traditional Indian music, various Latin styles and contemporary jazz have negotiated an unlikely but productive friendship in the Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble, a periodically convened combo of top Northern California jazz and world music players led by pianist Mariah Parker. She reunites the unit for Live in Concert (Ancient Future.com […]

Marin may be known as a rock ’n’ roll county, but it’s also home to some of the foremost musicians in global fusion — a form of acoustic jazz that requires melodic invention, masterful musicianship and fearless improvisation. Eight of the best players on the planet are featured on pianist […]

The lilting serenity of peaceful eternal music, the purity of  creative expression in a delectable dance resonates a mystical romance. The connections of the heart rendered through celebrations of blissful music and dance have the magical ability to telepathically communicate with many a heart, easily conquering all man-made barriers. The […]

Ancient Future, the world’s “first and longest running band dedicated exclusively to the mission of creating world fusion music” has brought out Sangria, the first album in its World Jazz series.This debut recording features original compositions of multi-instrumentalist Mariah Parker, who has drawn musical inspiration from Brazil, Cuba, Spain, and […]

This is the impressive solo CD debut of a pianist-composer known primarily for her performances with the longtime Marin world music group Ancient Future. Parker, who worked with Mickey Hart on his “Planet Drum” project when she was completing her music degree at UC Santa Cruz, describes her style on […]

As we can read on the cover, Sangria promise is “An Indo Latin Jazz Musical Experience’ yet often these both these ethnic flavors are so intimately fused that the result turns into a new and fresh sonority. The Latin and Indian rhythms come together naturally, blending smoothly into the sound […]

Like the festive wine and fruit drink the album takes its name from, the music on Mariah Parker’s “Sangria” is, indeed, an intoxicating melange of diverse sonic ingredients. The album’s subtitle: “An Indo Latin Jazz Musical Experience” further hints at the heady fusion contained within. Mariah shines on piano and […]

Sangria is billed as an Indo Latin Jazz Musical Experience. While we weren’t quite sure what to expect, we were pleasantly surprised as the opener “Waterwheel” bathed us in relaxing harmonies. The blending of musical cultures here works extremely well! Parker plays piano and santur with support from Matthew Montfort […]

“Mariah Parker with her Indo Latin jazz quintet creates voodoo. This is the real world brought to the USA. and, man, do we need them. And when I saw them live at the Kuumbwa Jazz Cafe they were purely raw and fearless.” – John Shelton Ivany, National News Bureau

Sangria: An Indo Latin Jazz Experience Mariah Parker, Ancient-Future.com Records If Seven Serenades for Scalloped Guitar were considered the original, then Sangria: An Indo Latin Jazz Experience by Mariah Parker would certainly be a sequel of sorts. Parker produced this debut recording with Serenades Matthew Montfort. She composed and played […]

Smooth Jazz Now (SmoothJazzNow.com) is an Internet radio station based in Calgary, Canada, with a worldwide audience that generates over 4 million hits per month. Two tracks from Mariah Parker’s 2009 debut release, Sangria, “Pente” and “Waterwheel,” made the SmoothJazzNow.com Top 100 Songs of 2009 list. Mariah Parker joins an […]

Translation: The subtitle of Mariah Parker’s album Sangria reads “An Indo Latin Jazz Musical Experience”. Parker also plays in the world fusion group Ancient Future led by Matthew Montfort, and Montfort and members of the band also perform here, on Parker’s solo-album. Parker wrote all compositions, and plays piano and […]

On Tuesday Aug. 25, Mariah Parker’s Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble packed Yoshi’s in Jack London Square, and the incredible live performance had the audience roaring and screaming for more of the Indo-Latin jazz rhythms filling the celebrated jazz club during the CD release event for Mariah Parker’s debut recording, Sangria. […]

Pianist Mariah Parker cooks up a heady stew of jazz/world fusion on Sangria, a spicy intoxicating mixture of straight-up jazz inflected with ’70s era fusion (think original Return to Forever, circa Light as a Feather) and global influences from both South America and India. The CD cover reads “An Indo […]

This album with its mixture of East Indian and Latin rhythms was a terrific audio surprise. Ancient Future pianist Mariah Parker throws some quirky jazz into her World fusion mix and the results are quite appealing. Overall, the music has that upbeat Latin tempo, but it is created with Middle […]

Parker, on piano and santur, explores the exciting sonic terrain that blends the driving rhythmic syncopations of Latin jazz with the entrancing, asymmetrical meters of East India. Add intriguing melodic ideas to the mix and the result is compelling, at once adventurous yet accessible. Features original compositions that draw musical […]

Prolusion. As the press kit of this release says, Mariah PARKER is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist who has degree in music at UC Santa Cruz and has also studied with jazz great Art Lande and Latin Jazz pianist extraordinaire Rebeca Mauleon. The document also suggests she is currently a […]

Other Licks, by Margaret Coble Instrumental albums rarely catch my ear, but this world fusion set by the acclaimed California jazz pianist is a hypnotic tour of global grooves, melding Indian and Middle Eastern instrumentation with Latin rhythms. Indian and flamenco music collide via cello and tabla in the title […]

My first reaction to Mariah Parker’s Sangria was “Muy caliente!” Joined by a stellar cast of guest artists, including luminaries such as scalloped fret board guitarist Matthew Montfort and renowned saxophonist Paul Mc-Candless, Parker infuses enough heat, passion, sultriness, and sass into Sangria’s eight tracks to power the city of […]

CD Reviews Sangria (Ancient Future, 2009) Delving into Indian musical culture and incorporating elements of the Middle East together with Latin and Brazilian influences, Parker and her collective leave a very good impression at the first listening. And like well known critics say, the first impression is what counts. Parker’s […]

MARIAH PARKER — “SANGRIA” This gifted, San Rafael-based multi-instrumentalist/composer earned a music degree at U.C. Santa Cruz. She makes a dazzling debut, joined by musicians who have played in such luminous ensembles as Ancient Future, Sun Ra’s Arkestra and Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters. Parker’s subtle and sensuous sounds reflect exotic flavors […]

This debut as a leader by pianist/multi-instrumentalist/composer Mariah Parker (who performs regularly with the trendsetting world music collective Ancient Future) unveils a collection of eight original instrumental scores. Labeled as an Indo-Latin jazz musical experience, Parker and friends blend the rhythmic syncopations of Latin jazz music with the entrancing, asymmetrical […]

Sangria, Mariah Parker’s debut CD, is a lushly lyrical tapestry of Latin jazz and the enchanting rhythms of East India. Mariah is a stunning composer and multi-instrumentalist who plays piano with graceful abandon. Having worked with Mickey Hart (from the Grateful Dead) on his Planet Drum project as well as […]

Spicy tantalizing flamenco melodies cross pollinate with East Indian rhythms that beg to be imbibed in while a gentle warm breeze rustles your hair. Jazzy flirtations permeate the world music foray and are focused by Parker’s poignant piano (or santur) accentuations.

Featuring musicians from the bands Sun Ra, Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters and Ancient Future, Mariah Parker’s debut blends rhythmic syncopations of Latin jazz, hypnotic East Indian cadences and driving Brazilian and Afro-Cuban percussive beats. Although entirely instrumental, Sangria speaks. Maybe it’s the technical virtuosity abounding in the multiplicity of sounds — […]

The album “Sangria” isn’t just a collection of Mariah Parker’s (piano and santur) original compositions. This is music-prayer, music-meditation. A wonderful company of first class musicians have been gathered to record this project. All of them deserve to be mentioned. Matthew Montfort (scalloped fretboard and flamenco guitars), Mindia Devi Klein […]

Little question that this issue will be chock-full of inspiring music… the packages I received from the Ancient Future (Matthew Montfort) and Facing East (John Wubbenhorst) labels alone had true gems for fans of world/jazz/fusion in them.  I still haven’t quite figured out Mariah’s reason for titling this CD as […]

A review written for the Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange by Mark S. Tucker (progdawg@hotmail.com). I’m one of the few critics who has been singing the praises of the chamber World group Oregon for decades now, an ensemble composing the true genesis of refined world jazz music. That’s the main […]

“…this is an excellent album from pianist Mariah Parker, whose work is best described as world jazz. Parker brings a wide variety of influences to Sangria, ranging from Indian and Middle Eastern music to Afro-Cuban salsa and Brazilian samba. Parker obviously appreciates the Eastern-influenced spirituality and mysticism of John Coltrane, […]

CD Review: ‘Sangria’ Bubbles with Rhythm The CD cover describes the musical content as, “An Indo Latin Jazz Musical Experience”. That is probably a pretty good summation of Mariah Parker’s debut release, Sangria, which is Spanish for ‘bloody’. Notably, ‘sangria’ is usually referred to as a red wine. In that […]

When a CD is titled Sangria, one automatically assumes that there is going to be a strong Spanish influence. Sangria wine, after all, is as quintessentially Spanish as flamenco, bullfights, paella, the Prado Museum, Pedro Almodóvar films, and scorching heatwaves in Sevilla. But the Spanish influence isn’t as strong on […]

To heat things up on Valentine’s Day, consider adding a little sangria to the menu – and your iTunes playlist. Sweet and juicy, and leaving you with a warm glow, Sangria is a melodic mix blending Latin jazz and East Indian music. This brand-new recording features original compositions by Mariah […]

This collection of eight original instrumentals by Mariah Parker is just one of many examples of the infusion of East Indian music into Western music, but to my ears one of the most successful.  There are also influences of Spanish folk, flamenco, Afro-Cuban and Persian music.  Indian tablas and bansuri […]

“…Parker kicks off her solo career with a well textured world beat date that finds her multi-instrumentalist abilities and her wide open ears leading the way.  There’s nothing but pros on board here who know what to do and they do it in a lively, spontaneous fashion that really grabs […]

This 49-minute album is recommended for fans of world music (“Waterwheel”, “Sangria”, “Tenth Journey”) and jazz (“First Flight”, almost like Weather Report, “Between the Lines”, with a soft touch and a beautiful piano solo, “Debajo de la Lluvia”, which is Spanish for “Under the Rain”, and “Milo’s Moment”, both with […]

Mariah Parker’s latest album, Windows Through Time, explores Latin jazz, weaving together memorable compositions, a stellar ensemble, and profound themes. Parker has established herself in the genre as a pianist, composer, and bandleader. Windows Through Time follows her critically acclaimed releases, Sangria and Indo-Latin Jazz Live in Concert, further solidifying her reputation for genre-bending brilliance. […]

Very often, the shipments we receive from Kari-on productions are sources of wonder with refreshing colors, as is the case here with this album by composer Mariah Parker, whose upcoming project “Windows Through Time” is a true delight of blended cultures and elegance. From the first track, universes mingle with […]

From her early experiences at the piano to her involvement with world-renowned projects like Mickey Hart’s “Planet Drum,” Mariah Parker’s musical odyssey has always been driven by an insatiable curiosity and a love for cultural exchange. In her album, Windows Through Time, Parker presents a program of her experience through […]

One of the gems in the indie music scene, Mariah Parker, brings a vibrant synergy of Jazz and Latin Jazz in her performances. Based in Petaluma, USA, Mariah’s compositions defy conventional labels. Her music is a tribute to her dexterity on the keys and her steady passion since early years.

Pianist and composer Mariah Parker has an impressive new album titled Windows Through Time, recorded with her Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble. It features seven expansive, original works from Parker that combine Latin jazz and chamber jazz elements, infused with rhythmic intrigue and influences from multiple global diasporas. The pieces are […]

North of San Francisco in California lie Marin and Sonoma Counties, home to a number of musicians somewhat separate from the San Francisco Bay Area musical scene. Mariah Parker lives in Sonoma County, and she has included many wonderful musicians who happen to live locally on this project, as part […]

by Peter Thelen One can’t accuse Parker of flooding the market with product; this live set is only her second album, the first in nine years, but after even a single listen, one can conclude it was clearly worth the wait. First things first, this eight song instrumental set sounds […]

The opener Affinity Minus One is smack in the middle of Latin territory with no evident concession to Indian music, although the intrinsic affinities between the styles – for example the preponderance of minor harmony, syncopation and modalism – seem clear. Then there’s instrumentation: perhaps the clearest common ground, tabla […]

Short Cuts / New Releases: Blending East Indian rhythms with latin syncopations, Californian pianist Mariah Parker’s band includes reedsman Paul McCandless and takes an easy-listening route to nirvana while performing live at Yoshi’s.

The mix of live recording sounds with the vibrant energy is superb on this January 2017 album; Mariah’s piano leads a stellar crew on this high-energy live recording, including reedmaster Paul McCandless, guitarist Matthew Montfort, Ian Dogole on percussion, as well as bassists Fred Randolph and Kash Killion, percussionist Brian […]

Get your body moving to the delightful uptempo rhythms of this excellent compilation of live performances at Yoshi’s Oakland, Freight & Salvage, Berkeley, and Throckmorton Theatre, Mill Valley and TRI Studios, San Rafael. Composer/band leader Mariah Parker on piano and santur and 8 exceptional band members keep the groove coming […]

If you think paring down rock and prog into apposite sub-genres-within-genres is a mare’s nest, try subdividing World and New Age, especially the latter. Let me know when you give it a go, I still have lots of Prozac and Xanax from the vacation I had in a sanitarium after […]

With songs recorded live during her tours, pianist and composer and arranger Mariah Parker presents us with Indo Latin Jazz Live In Concert, her second recording. Parker, whose debut album dates back to 2009, offers us a musical journey that establishes a connection between the music of India and the […]

I hate to admit, I’m a sucker for Latin jazz. It’s happy music that goes straight to your hips and, as we all know, hips don’t lie. But I accept that it can sometimes have a whiff of Manchego cheese about it as it descends into easy listening, so it’s […]

Traditional Indian music, various Latin styles and contemporary jazz have negotiated an unlikely but productive friendship in the Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble, a periodically convened combo of top Northern California jazz and world music players led by pianist Mariah Parker. She reunites the unit for Live in Concert (Ancient Future.com […]

Marin may be known as a rock ’n’ roll county, but it’s also home to some of the foremost musicians in global fusion — a form of acoustic jazz that requires melodic invention, masterful musicianship and fearless improvisation. Eight of the best players on the planet are featured on pianist […]

The lilting serenity of peaceful eternal music, the purity of  creative expression in a delectable dance resonates a mystical romance. The connections of the heart rendered through celebrations of blissful music and dance have the magical ability to telepathically communicate with many a heart, easily conquering all man-made barriers. The […]

Ancient Future, the world’s “first and longest running band dedicated exclusively to the mission of creating world fusion music” has brought out Sangria, the first album in its World Jazz series.This debut recording features original compositions of multi-instrumentalist Mariah Parker, who has drawn musical inspiration from Brazil, Cuba, Spain, and […]

This is the impressive solo CD debut of a pianist-composer known primarily for her performances with the longtime Marin world music group Ancient Future. Parker, who worked with Mickey Hart on his “Planet Drum” project when she was completing her music degree at UC Santa Cruz, describes her style on […]

As we can read on the cover, Sangria promise is “An Indo Latin Jazz Musical Experience’ yet often these both these ethnic flavors are so intimately fused that the result turns into a new and fresh sonority. The Latin and Indian rhythms come together naturally, blending smoothly into the sound […]

Like the festive wine and fruit drink the album takes its name from, the music on Mariah Parker’s “Sangria” is, indeed, an intoxicating melange of diverse sonic ingredients. The album’s subtitle: “An Indo Latin Jazz Musical Experience” further hints at the heady fusion contained within. Mariah shines on piano and […]

Sangria is billed as an Indo Latin Jazz Musical Experience. While we weren’t quite sure what to expect, we were pleasantly surprised as the opener “Waterwheel” bathed us in relaxing harmonies. The blending of musical cultures here works extremely well! Parker plays piano and santur with support from Matthew Montfort […]

“Mariah Parker with her Indo Latin jazz quintet creates voodoo. This is the real world brought to the USA. and, man, do we need them. And when I saw them live at the Kuumbwa Jazz Cafe they were purely raw and fearless.” – John Shelton Ivany, National News Bureau

Sangria: An Indo Latin Jazz Experience Mariah Parker, Ancient-Future.com Records If Seven Serenades for Scalloped Guitar were considered the original, then Sangria: An Indo Latin Jazz Experience by Mariah Parker would certainly be a sequel of sorts. Parker produced this debut recording with Serenades Matthew Montfort. She composed and played […]

Smooth Jazz Now (SmoothJazzNow.com) is an Internet radio station based in Calgary, Canada, with a worldwide audience that generates over 4 million hits per month. Two tracks from Mariah Parker’s 2009 debut release, Sangria, “Pente” and “Waterwheel,” made the SmoothJazzNow.com Top 100 Songs of 2009 list. Mariah Parker joins an […]

Translation: The subtitle of Mariah Parker’s album Sangria reads “An Indo Latin Jazz Musical Experience”. Parker also plays in the world fusion group Ancient Future led by Matthew Montfort, and Montfort and members of the band also perform here, on Parker’s solo-album. Parker wrote all compositions, and plays piano and […]

On Tuesday Aug. 25, Mariah Parker’s Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble packed Yoshi’s in Jack London Square, and the incredible live performance had the audience roaring and screaming for more of the Indo-Latin jazz rhythms filling the celebrated jazz club during the CD release event for Mariah Parker’s debut recording, Sangria. […]

Pianist Mariah Parker cooks up a heady stew of jazz/world fusion on Sangria, a spicy intoxicating mixture of straight-up jazz inflected with ’70s era fusion (think original Return to Forever, circa Light as a Feather) and global influences from both South America and India. The CD cover reads “An Indo […]

This album with its mixture of East Indian and Latin rhythms was a terrific audio surprise. Ancient Future pianist Mariah Parker throws some quirky jazz into her World fusion mix and the results are quite appealing. Overall, the music has that upbeat Latin tempo, but it is created with Middle […]

Parker, on piano and santur, explores the exciting sonic terrain that blends the driving rhythmic syncopations of Latin jazz with the entrancing, asymmetrical meters of East India. Add intriguing melodic ideas to the mix and the result is compelling, at once adventurous yet accessible. Features original compositions that draw musical […]

Prolusion. As the press kit of this release says, Mariah PARKER is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist who has degree in music at UC Santa Cruz and has also studied with jazz great Art Lande and Latin Jazz pianist extraordinaire Rebeca Mauleon. The document also suggests she is currently a […]

Other Licks, by Margaret Coble Instrumental albums rarely catch my ear, but this world fusion set by the acclaimed California jazz pianist is a hypnotic tour of global grooves, melding Indian and Middle Eastern instrumentation with Latin rhythms. Indian and flamenco music collide via cello and tabla in the title […]

My first reaction to Mariah Parker’s Sangria was “Muy caliente!” Joined by a stellar cast of guest artists, including luminaries such as scalloped fret board guitarist Matthew Montfort and renowned saxophonist Paul Mc-Candless, Parker infuses enough heat, passion, sultriness, and sass into Sangria’s eight tracks to power the city of […]

CD Reviews Sangria (Ancient Future, 2009) Delving into Indian musical culture and incorporating elements of the Middle East together with Latin and Brazilian influences, Parker and her collective leave a very good impression at the first listening. And like well known critics say, the first impression is what counts. Parker’s […]

MARIAH PARKER — “SANGRIA” This gifted, San Rafael-based multi-instrumentalist/composer earned a music degree at U.C. Santa Cruz. She makes a dazzling debut, joined by musicians who have played in such luminous ensembles as Ancient Future, Sun Ra’s Arkestra and Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters. Parker’s subtle and sensuous sounds reflect exotic flavors […]

This debut as a leader by pianist/multi-instrumentalist/composer Mariah Parker (who performs regularly with the trendsetting world music collective Ancient Future) unveils a collection of eight original instrumental scores. Labeled as an Indo-Latin jazz musical experience, Parker and friends blend the rhythmic syncopations of Latin jazz music with the entrancing, asymmetrical […]

Sangria, Mariah Parker’s debut CD, is a lushly lyrical tapestry of Latin jazz and the enchanting rhythms of East India. Mariah is a stunning composer and multi-instrumentalist who plays piano with graceful abandon. Having worked with Mickey Hart (from the Grateful Dead) on his Planet Drum project as well as […]

Spicy tantalizing flamenco melodies cross pollinate with East Indian rhythms that beg to be imbibed in while a gentle warm breeze rustles your hair. Jazzy flirtations permeate the world music foray and are focused by Parker’s poignant piano (or santur) accentuations.

Featuring musicians from the bands Sun Ra, Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters and Ancient Future, Mariah Parker’s debut blends rhythmic syncopations of Latin jazz, hypnotic East Indian cadences and driving Brazilian and Afro-Cuban percussive beats. Although entirely instrumental, Sangria speaks. Maybe it’s the technical virtuosity abounding in the multiplicity of sounds — […]

The album “Sangria” isn’t just a collection of Mariah Parker’s (piano and santur) original compositions. This is music-prayer, music-meditation. A wonderful company of first class musicians have been gathered to record this project. All of them deserve to be mentioned. Matthew Montfort (scalloped fretboard and flamenco guitars), Mindia Devi Klein […]

Little question that this issue will be chock-full of inspiring music… the packages I received from the Ancient Future (Matthew Montfort) and Facing East (John Wubbenhorst) labels alone had true gems for fans of world/jazz/fusion in them.  I still haven’t quite figured out Mariah’s reason for titling this CD as […]

A review written for the Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange by Mark S. Tucker (progdawg@hotmail.com). I’m one of the few critics who has been singing the praises of the chamber World group Oregon for decades now, an ensemble composing the true genesis of refined world jazz music. That’s the main […]

“…this is an excellent album from pianist Mariah Parker, whose work is best described as world jazz. Parker brings a wide variety of influences to Sangria, ranging from Indian and Middle Eastern music to Afro-Cuban salsa and Brazilian samba. Parker obviously appreciates the Eastern-influenced spirituality and mysticism of John Coltrane, […]

CD Review: ‘Sangria’ Bubbles with Rhythm The CD cover describes the musical content as, “An Indo Latin Jazz Musical Experience”. That is probably a pretty good summation of Mariah Parker’s debut release, Sangria, which is Spanish for ‘bloody’. Notably, ‘sangria’ is usually referred to as a red wine. In that […]

When a CD is titled Sangria, one automatically assumes that there is going to be a strong Spanish influence. Sangria wine, after all, is as quintessentially Spanish as flamenco, bullfights, paella, the Prado Museum, Pedro Almodóvar films, and scorching heatwaves in Sevilla. But the Spanish influence isn’t as strong on […]

To heat things up on Valentine’s Day, consider adding a little sangria to the menu – and your iTunes playlist. Sweet and juicy, and leaving you with a warm glow, Sangria is a melodic mix blending Latin jazz and East Indian music. This brand-new recording features original compositions by Mariah […]

This collection of eight original instrumentals by Mariah Parker is just one of many examples of the infusion of East Indian music into Western music, but to my ears one of the most successful.  There are also influences of Spanish folk, flamenco, Afro-Cuban and Persian music.  Indian tablas and bansuri […]

“…Parker kicks off her solo career with a well textured world beat date that finds her multi-instrumentalist abilities and her wide open ears leading the way.  There’s nothing but pros on board here who know what to do and they do it in a lively, spontaneous fashion that really grabs […]

This 49-minute album is recommended for fans of world music (“Waterwheel”, “Sangria”, “Tenth Journey”) and jazz (“First Flight”, almost like Weather Report, “Between the Lines”, with a soft touch and a beautiful piano solo, “Debajo de la Lluvia”, which is Spanish for “Under the Rain”, and “Milo’s Moment”, both with […]